A proud graduate of the Nonprofit Leadership Center and DePaul University in Chicago, Deon’s leadership journey includes serving as a Senior Vice President for the Fortune 100 company BellSouth, where he led a $500 million statewide sales organization. In the nonprofit sector, he has served as a CEO, board member, consultant, and volunteer for over a dozen organizations across four states.

Notably, as CEO of the Harvey B. Gantt Center in Charlotte, NC, Deon successfully spearheaded the $18 million construction of the second-largest regional African-American cultural art center in the U.S. His extensive board and volunteer service includes, United Way, Boys & Girls Clubs, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Boy Scouts, YMCA, Goodwill Industries, Tampa Bay Wave, the Tampa Lighthouse for the Blind and the  Lighthouse for the Visually Impaired and Blind of Pasco County.

Deon is a Certified Leadership Development and Career Coach (since 2012) and a Certified Grant Writer. He has also shared his expertise as a leadership instructor at DePaul University and Hillsborough Community College. He is dedicated to empowering the next generation of nonprofit managers through mastery of leadership, board relations, and organizational development.