Chief Equity Officer Troy Williams

Troy serves the City of Arlington as the city’s first Chief Equity Officer. He currently leads the Office of Business Diversity, promoting growth of Minority and Woman Owned Business Enterprise businesses, and Grants Management. 

Prior to joining the City of Arlington, Troy was appointed as Baltimore County’s inaugural Chief Diversity Officer, where he established the county’s first Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Office. In addition to serving as the Chief Diversity Officer, Mr. Williams served as the Executive Director of the county’s Human Relations Commission.  Under Troy’s leadership the DEI Office’s efforts were highlighted by the restructuring of the county’s MWBE program; the establishment of an immigrant affairs practice; the delivery of enterprise-wide DEI training; the creation of various departmental DEI initiatives & positions; and the expansion of internal and external stakeholder engagement and inclusion practices.   

Mr. Williams began his career in higher education administration, serving in Student Affairs and Institutional Advancement, during which he was responsible for the development of an “African-American Male Leadership Institute” which focused upon student retention supports. Troy then joined the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), where he administered the development and implementation of the state’s first service-learning graduation requirement for all Maryland students. Upon departing MSDE, Troy was appointed as the nation’s first Community Specialist in a United States Attorney’s Office. 

Troy joined DOJ’s Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office in Washington, DC, where he served as a Grant Monitoring Supervisor and later as the National Program Coordinator of the Obama Administration’s “Advancing 21st Century Policing Initiative”.  He also served an executive detail with DOJ’s Community Relations Service (CRS). He has developed and evaluated community reinvestment/development initiatives; school violence reduction strategies; gang prevention/intervention programs; and police reform legislation. Upon departing DOJ, Troy established a consulting and legal practice, which provided legal representation to underserved populations and consulting services to academic institutions, governments, and small businesses.  

Troy holds an undergraduate degree in Marketing from Howard University and a master’s degree in Adult Education Administration from Coppin University.  Mr. Williams also holds a JD from the University of Maryland. He also attended American University where he earned an MPA in Executive Leadership.  Troy resides in Arlington with his wife, Alicia.  Troy also has three adult children that reside in Arlington, TX and Raleigh, NC.