Traci J. Deshazor, 2023 Donning of the Kente Keynote Speaker

Recognized by Virginia Business as an Impact Maker and one of the 'Top 100 People to Meet in 2022," Traci is one of Virginia’s leading public administrators. With experience at the federal, state, and local levels of government, Traci has led initiatives at the intersection of justice and equity. 

Most recently, Traci served as the Deputy Secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia, a role she was re-appointed to in December 2017 by Governor Ralph S. Northam following an initial appointment by Governor Terence R. McAuliffe. In this role, Traci managed a team of more than two dozen personnel—overseeing eight divisions including clemency, records management, extraditions, service of process, authentications, notary, gubernatorial appointments, tribal relations, oversight of the Governor’s Office of Constituent Services and Community Engagement, and constituency-specific advisory boards. 

In recent years, Traci has been at the forefront of some of the Commonwealth's most progressive policy initiatives including the creation of the Virginia Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and the appointment of the nation's first-ever cabinet-level Chief Diversity Officer. In her role as Deputy Secretary of the Commonwealth, Traci was also instrumental in the historic restoration of the civil and voting rights of more than 300,000 individuals between 2016-2022. Moreover, Traci assisted the Governor in granting nearly 1,500 pardons and prison sentence computations that let people who have long been rehabilitated return home to their loved ones and pursue better personal and professional opportunities. 

Traci also spearheaded the reimagining of the Governor's Office of Constituent Services--establishing the governor’s first-ever community outreach and engagement team allowing the administration to better connect to and serve Virginia's residents. She led Virginia's statewide 2020 Census efforts to ensure an accurate and complete count of Virginia's residents, and led the formation of the Commonwealth Commission on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Virginia African American Advisory Board, and the Virginia LGBTQ+ Advisory Board, each codified to advise the Governor of Virginia on pressing issues. 

Traci has a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from Virginia Tech, a Master of Arts in Justice and Legal Studies from Hollins University, and she is currently pursuing a Master of Public Administration and Policy at American University. 

As a proud Virginia Tech alumna, Traci has served her alma mater in a number of capacities at the chapter and university-levels. As the inaugural Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Chair for the DC Hokies, Traci created events like the ACC Black Alumni Happy Hour and Backpack Drive that brought together more than 300 ACC Black alumni for a night of networking and community service, the first-ever Hispanic Heritage Month film screening, and an intergenerational Women’s History month panel discussion and feminine hygiene product drive. It was Traci’s service at the chapter-level that encouraged her to deepen her service to the university. Most recently, Traci supported the 2018 and 2020/21 Virginia Tech Black Alumni Reunions. As a reunion Co-Chairman, she helped lead the university’s first-ever virtual Black Alumni Reunion during the COVID-19 pandemic and the record-breaking 2018 reunion which brought more than 600 Black alumni back to Blacksburg. In this role, she also helped realize the reunion’s inaugural Step Exhibition and tailgate. Traci now serves at the university-level as a member of the Virginia Tech Foundation Board of Directors and the Virginia Tech Alumni Association Board of Directors. 

Traci is also an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated where she serves as a Virginia Social Action Coordinator–organizing members across the Commonwealth to elevate the sorority’s legislative agenda and advocate for social justice.

She has been mentioned and featured in multiple publications including the Washington Post. As a servant leader, Traci believes fervently that "service is the rent you pay for room on this earth."