Devon Trotter (also known as Devon “Dvonne” Trotter) serves as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Program Administrator for the City of Newport News, Virginia.
He leads the city’s ABIDE program (Access, Belonging, Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity).
Key Job Duties and Responsibilities
Based on the City of Newport News official site and related sources, his role centers on developing and implementing the city’s DEI strategy across the municipal workforce. Core areas include:
Strategy: Developing the ABIDE mission, vision, and values; supporting diverse recruitment, retention, and promotion; and embedding equity into city-wide and departmental decision-making processes.
Engagement: Building participation through a city-wide ABIDE committee, employee resource groups (ERGs), cultural celebrations, events, and resource libraries.
Communication: Managing outreach via the city webpage, blog, social media, email blasts, webinars, and bulletin boards to connect with employees.
Training: Overseeing and delivering DEI education, including courses on DEI 101, unconscious bias, microaggressions, accessibility, inclusive workplace practices, and leadership.
He also participates in external panels and events, such as serving as a panelist for the City of Hampton’s Diversity College LGBTQ+ Panel Discussion.
Background and Qualifications
Experience: Over 15 years in organizational development, operations, finance, governance, and DEI across nonprofits, philanthropy, and local government (e.g., prior roles or affiliations with National Audubon Society, The Pew Charitable Trusts, and Institute for Sustainable Communities).
Credentials: Diversity and Inclusion Professional Certificate (Cornell University), Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC), Associate Certified Coach (ACC), B.A. in International Relations (College of William and Mary).
Additional Expertise: Certified life coach, trainer, facilitator, and peer mentor. He brings a focus on equity, queer liberation, and community building (publicly identifies as a Black, queer, HIV+ man).
He is based in the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area (lives in Newport News) and is active in local LGBTQ+ and community organizations, including serving on boards.
The LinkedIn profile aligns with this but requires login for full details; public summaries confirm his senior operations and culture leadership role at the City of Newport News.
This appears to be a relatively new or recently expanded program position, with ongoing initiatives focused on making the city workforce more representative of the community. No detailed internal job description (e.g., full bullet-point list from HR) is publicly available beyond the city’s ABIDE overview.
The city has a required 2 hour DEI and gender equity training class that is taught by this person