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Crispin Etherington has a background of over thirty-five years in commercial, residential, and educational real estate in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States. He received his B.Sc. in Real Estate Management from Liverpool John Moores University in England and is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
Etherington and his late co-founder, Eugene Alpert Ph.D. realized that there was the absence of an online forum where educators, faculty and students could communicate at any time and on any subject with each other. They foresaw the need for a platform that could support student exchange programs, the promotion of global studies, internships, employment opportunities, professional services, housing, community outreach and in fact anything in the arena of education.
Etherington has considerable experience in many facets of education including past Board member with the Edward St. John Real Estate Program, Johns Hopkins University, Vice Chairman with Phillips Programs, a non-profit, private organization serving the needs of children with emotional and behavioral problems, Board member with ACE Mentoring Program, a national program that helps mentor high school students and inspires them to pursue careers in design and construction.
He is Chairman of the Annapolis Trust, a non-profit that provides financial support to “first in family” students pursuing post-secondary education, as well as an adjunct teacher in the Anne Arundel Public School System, Maryland.
The late Dr. Eugene Alpert was a visionary leader and dedicated advocate for student experiential learning. He received his Ph.D. from Michigan State University and was on the faculty at Texas Christian University for 17 years and directed its Washington Internship Program and graduate programs.
As Senior Vice President for The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars for 20 years, Dr. Alpert oversaw The Washington Center’s academic programming, working with faculty, campus directors, and partners to expand its high-impact offerings. Over 2,500 students and faculty participated in the signature national party convention program he developed during his tenure. He was an early adopter of online learning methods student access that included the provision of distance learning opportunities.
In recent years, he brought together internship program directors from 145 institutions and other higher education-focused groups to develop best practices for student experiential learning in the nation’s capital. One of his most important legacies was developing the talents of younger professionals and preparing them for the next generation of leadership.
His last initiative involved the development of an experiential learning center under one roof for HBCU students. Regrettably, Dr. Alpert did not live to see the fruits of his vision in the establishment of such a center in Washington D.C. in October 2021.
(Dr. Alpert passed away in October 2020 after a short illness).