With more than 30 years of military and law enforcement experience, Nero Priester is a career law enforcement executive who serves as the Associate Director for the District of Columbia, Department of General Services (DGS) Protective Services Division. Priester's career in public service began in 1988 when he joined the United States Army and was trained as an ammunition specialist. Priester is a combat veteran, having served in the Persian Gulf War.

In 1994, Priester joined the Orangeburg County Sheriff's Department, where he served as a Sheriff's Deputy before moving to the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department in Charlotte, N.C., where he served in various units.

In 1999, he began his career in Federal Law Enforcement with the United States Department of Justice. He was appointed a Special Agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). Five years later, he was transferred to a High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Unit where he focused on complex drug trafficking cases. Priester also served as the Senior Operations Officer and the Public Information Officer for ATF's Atlanta Field Division.

Priester served as the Resident Agent in Charge (RAC) of criminal enforcement operations for the State of Arkansas. During this assignment, he led Special Agents and ATF Task Force Officers in conducting complex criminal investigations.

In 2019, Priester was transferred to Washington, D.C., where he assumed a position in the Human Resources and Professional Development Division. He was assigned as the Branch Chief of the ATF's Advanced Training Division.

In 2021, after almost twenty-three years with the Department of Justice and twenty-eight years in law enforcement, Mr. Priester retired from the Federal Government and joined the Government of the District of Columbia serving at Department of General Services.

Priester holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Georgia Southern University and a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of North Carolina.