As an Army officer, Rhodes Scholar, youth advocate, and now CEO of BridgeEdU, Wes Moore’s adult life has revolved around accountability. So it is fitting that he discussed the subject in the UMB Core Values Speaker Series on Feb. 14, 2017, at 8:30 a.m. in Westminster Hall.

Moore overcame early academic and behavioral struggles to graduate Phi Theta Kappa from Valley Forge Military College in 1998 and in 2001 received his bachelor’s degree with honors from Johns Hopkins University. He completed an MLitt from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar in 2004. Upon graduation, Moore served as a paratrooper and captain in the U.S. Army, serving in Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne Division. He then served as a White House fellow to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

In its core values, UMB refers to accountability as “The University is committed to being responsible and transparent.” Moore has been responsible in his many initiatives, starting as a student at Johns Hopkins, where he founded an organization called STAND! that works with Baltimore youth involved in the criminal justice system.

Still an advocate for youth as a married father of two in Baltimore, Moore’s latest endeavor is BridgeEdU, a national initiative focusing on addressing the college completion and career placement crisis by reinventing the freshman year of college. He is also the author of two New York Times best-selling books, The Other Wes Moore, and The Work.

The popular public speaker, who was featured at UMB’s 2014 commencement, is the host of Future City on WYPR Radio, Beyond Belief on the Oprah Winfrey Network, and is executive producer and host of PBS’ Coming Back with Wes Moore, which follows veterans as they reintegrate back into society. He is the executive producer for the PBS documentary All the Difference, which follows two African-American teens from the South Side of Chicago on their journey to achieve their dream of graduating from college.