We sit down with Anthony Trotman, Deputy County Manager of Consolidated Health and Human Services for Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Join us as we talk with Anthony about his extensive career, from his beginnings in St. Augustine, Florida, to his impactful work in health and human services. We discuss the challenges of leading in one of North Carolina's most populous counties, the importance of community support, and innovative solutions to housing insecurity and mental health issues.

Memorable Moments

(01:43) AnthonyTrotman talks about how he got into health and human services

(08:06) Housing insecurity is one of the most pressing issues facing Franklin County

(18:26) Every county employee contributes to the success of the county,

(25:27) There's not community housing or community shelter today. The housing stock and rental stock was too costly

(30:43) Quality of schools is talked about a lot

(36:53) Part of the issue right now is there's a lack of access

(39:57) The fentanyl issues and intellectual developmental delays,

(43:00) Talk about work life balance and why it's important

(51:01) You talk about leaving it all in the field when it comes to family

(54:31) Congratulations on 35 years with Omega Sci-Fi and Kappa Alpha sign

(01:00:12) Worked in Franklin and Mecklenburg counties for eight years

(01:06:37) Mecklenburg County is investing in innovative ways of helping people

(01:18:51) Trotman is president of the National Association of County Administrators

talkofthecounty@franklincountyohio.gov

Copyright 2024 Franklin County Board of Commissioners

Mister Trotman talks about how he got into health and human services

So, uh, Mister Trotman, let's talk a little bit about your background and how you found yourself in the health and human services space. Uh, because I'm sure this isn't something you've said on your, um, back porch as a kid and say, this is what I want to be when I grow up.

Anthony Trotman: Well, first, uh, thank you for the invitation to be a part of team Franklin County Some 15 years ago, I think I was a part of team Franklin County two times. One as assistant director and the second as director. And you're absolutely right. We went through a lot of positive things and a lot of, um, things that we had to deal with on the spot. Um, but it definitely was a pleasure to work, uh, for you, uh, and with you, team, uh, Franklin County is always going to be in my heart. Um, in the last 910 years, although I've been in Mecklenburg County I have talked to members of the Franklin County team every month for the last years. So, um, uh, I've been gone, but I'm still, um, um, present. And I love it, um, though there are friends and colleagues that are in Franklin County and it is an honor to support them. But how I got into this space, I, um, grew up in St. Augustine, Florida, and I remember, um, getting my first pair of, uh, eyeglasses from the human services office. And I was always kind of wondering, like, you know, how all that stuff worked. Um, but after I left St. Augustine, I joined the air force and I spent uh, nine years in the air force, in the intelligence industry, uh, stationed in Anchorage, Alaska and Omaha, Nebraska. Some pretty wild places.

Kenneth Wilson: What was that like? How many people that look like you weren't in Alaska?

Kenneth Wilson: So I mean, your career well prepared you for um, where you are today and each step of the way, because, you know, the department of Medicaid goes by three letters, ODM. I mean a, ah, multi billion dollar, uh, agency and exposure to that alone, uh, is the big league, so to speak. Um, when we talk about health and human services in this, it's funny, you talk about being an 18 year old in Anchorage, Alaska and then moving on to Nebraska. I've also been fortunate enough to be in your mother's presence, Miss Beverly. And she was not the type of mom that you gonna call and say, I think I'm coming back home. She is strong and was gonna make sure you were gonna, uh, see this out.

Anthony Trotman: Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson: So you didn't have, looking back, you know, sort of like one of our uh, quotes that bonded us failure is not an option. She was a failure, not an option. Uh, mother raising you up.

Anthony Trotman: Uh, yeah, there was no option.

Kenneth Wilson: So I knew you just. You was gonna make Alaska work some kind of way.

Anthony Trotman: My mother said in my senior high school to one of her friends, I don't know what he's gonna do, but he gonna get the hell out of my house, quote, unquote. I heard her talking to a friend. I was in the other room, and I'm like, I don't know what I'm gonna do.

Kenneth Wilson: Yeah, but she. I mean, she, she had a cake and a good meal. Way though, you stopped by, you could visit, but you wasn't gonna live there no more.

Anthony Trotman: You knew that.

Kenneth Wilson: You knew you could come and get a meal, but you wasn't gonna live there no more.

Anthony Trotman: Praise the lord.

Kenneth Wilson: That is, uh, hey, that kind of direction and guidance is a blessing. Uh, and that's what builds winners. Uh, when you got parents that don't play, when they gonna drive you, uh, to, uh, be uncomfortable, but yet keep going. And on that note, what are some of the challenges of being a high level leader in one of the most populous Counties uh, not only in the State of North Carolina, two big metro Counties in the whole State that pretty much drive everything urban and have all of the urban problems. And then you also are, uh, one of those big Counties that are defined by being over a million people in population and have a budget of at.

Kenneth Wilson: Franklin County is a major issue. The majority of homes are, ah, purchased by individuals that own 500 or more. But, you know, these are, uh, basically little mini real estate trusts.

Anthony Trotman: That's true. And so, um, you know, housing is a way to, uh, economic prosperity. And so as individuals are not able to get equity, it really causes, um, problems, um, for, you know, economic mobility for the individuals that we work with. And so rental properties are also at an all Time high, uh, as well as rental apartments at an all Time high. And, uh, salaries, uh, have not kept up with the rate of inflation. And so we have over 400,000 individuals, um, accessing, uh, services through the County which is a problem, uh, for a community of one point, uh, 2 million individuals. Having, uh, the capacity to serve them and serve them adequately is also a challenge when you want, um, a systems approach, uh, to deal with poverty and to support individuals. Uh, but yet, uh, the economic forces, uh, make it difficult to establish that systems approach. It definitely creates problems, and that's some of the more pressing issues. And from there, um, there are a multitude of issues that families and children face in our community.

Kenneth Wilson: You got one of the toughest jobs in America. The fourth leading cause of death in the United States is poverty.

Anthony Trotman: Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson: I mean, just let that sink in. A fourth cause, death in this country is possible, and that's lack of access to quality and accessible health care, lack of access to, um, proper food, food insecurity, lack of access to, um, quality educational opportunities, and even lack of excess access to abilities to go to a park, to have somewhere to be physically fit. Because parents are keeping kids, for example, in the house because of the fact that the neighborhoods are not safe.

Anthony Trotman: Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson: And they're not even safe sometime in the house. That is what we're dealing with, um, in the United States right now. And that's why I say that as the american rescue plan dollars the window, there's still many parts of America that needs rescue, and they ain't been rescued yet.

Anthony Trotman: Absolutely. Absolutely. You know, part of my, um, portfolio, um, goes from prenatal to burial services. I have public health, um, children's Services domestic, uh, violence, substance use, homeless Services all of the benefit programs and all of these various, um, programs from child support and workforce development. Um, you know, there's definitely, um, issues. Um, I am fortunate to work for, um, one of your colleagues, um, County manager di Orio and the board of commissioners that, um, like to invest, um, you know, heavily in local resources to support, uh, our, ah, work. Um, but it's definitely, uh, difficult as you talk about poverty, um, being, uh, um, fourth cause, leading cause of death. I'm also looking at m communicable diseases, um, that, uh, are causing lots of problems in the community, as well as infant mortality. We have a prenatal to three plan. We have a pre k plan just concluded with a behavioral health plans. Um, uh, need execution and implementation. And in order to do that, you have to work with the entire community, because government, uh, cannot do it by itself. Um, you need all the nonprofit organizations as well as the business community to align in order to combat some of the issues that we are talking about. And it's a slow churn. And when, um, a point that you made about failure is not an option, um, that also creates anxiety because there's a lack of patience, um, for excellence. And so, um, I want to win right now. I don't want to win ten years from now or 20 years from now. I want to solve some of these issues right now. And that does definitely create, um, problems.

Kenneth Wilson: Yeah. You're not impressed by incremental progress?

Anthony Trotman: No.

Kenneth Wilson: You know, I've seen you look at dashboards, and you like to see, um, ring, but you also want something done immediately about the red light issues.

Anthony Trotman: Yeah. Yeah. It is, um, difficult when you don't control your customer base.

Kenneth Wilson: Yeah. You know, you can be intimidating. You, uh, know that well, that is a part of your leadership, uh, for some.

Anthony Trotman: Well, is it on purpose? I demand excellence. Uh, I demand excellence, uh, from everyone around. And when you know that you are responsible for 1.2 million people, um, when you take on a responsibility that, uh, not just interpreting policy, but making policy based off of the actions that we, um, do in our local community, because I think this is what policy should be. I want to influence, uh, not only state policy, but national policy by the actions that we take in our community. And I want a coalition of the willing to go along, um, as we go in Mecklenburg County Also, I share about everything that I do, um, view and my colleague Joy Bivens, because I want us to win together. That creates anxiety and stress for some people, um, because, you know, failure is not an option.

Kenneth Wilson: And, you know, you. You developed a quality that you're gonna have a scoreboard no matter what you're doing.

Anthony Trotman: Right. Right.

Kenneth Wilson: And you want. And you're gonna measure yourself, and you're gonna measure those around you, and you're gonna be unapologetic about it. And I think, uh, probably your background talk a little bit about running track and not wanting to lose, and all the sports you play coming up and how this. How the sports were sort of a escape from, uh, uh, their life.

Anthony Trotman: Well, I mean, I played all the sports, football, uh, basketball and track, but I enjoyed track the most because, uh, you know, it was. It's you against another individual, or it's just you against yourself. You know, you have the team sports in football and basketball, and you gotta pass the ball, throw the ball. But when you are running, it is you against yourself. And, you know, you have to prepare in order to perform. And that's something that, uh, I look at. At work as well. You know, I want my team to be prepared. So, say, if another pandemic comes along or if there are other issues, um, just like in the military, you're preparing to go into some level of battle. Um, and the battle is just different. Depends on what the work is. And so that's what sports kind of taught to me, the competitive edge to actually go out and get it done. But measuring myself, m against myself, I had a target and I wanted to not only meet that target, but I wanted to exceed it.

Kenneth Wilson: And you had to put in a lot of work in order to continue to progress because you know that everybody that you gonna be at, uh, that next track meet against was gonna be working as well.

Anthony Trotman: Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson: And, ah, you gotta outwork them.

Anthony Trotman: Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson: In order to give yourself an opportunity to finish. We want to finish it.

Anthony Trotman: Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson: That's the other thing that a lot of people don't get is no matter what you do, you gotta consider the fact that there are some other individuals that have your same competitive streak. There's some that don't. And that's why somebody finishes last in every race.

Anthony Trotman: Yep. Yep. Well, I used to tell my daughter, if you're not first and last, um, well, you know, we know you got.

Kenneth Wilson: That from a movie. That's, uh, one of your quotes that.

Anthony Trotman: Used to, that's, uh, Ricky Bobby, Talladega nights, Ricky Bobby. I remember a time that she came in second. She, we're in Orlando and wild world sports. This is national league, and she came in second and she cried. Um, I'm like, okay, I'm putting too much pressure. This is too much. Um, and so I had to really refocus her to compete against herself and set times for herself, have a measuring stick for herself. We have to actually care about the work that we do. Um, and everybody has to have their own personal drive. And then the team score actually can be great if everybody, you know, prepares themselves for whatever the job, whatever the sport is.

Kenneth Wilson: I was talking to a group of aviation students, uh, young kids that are, uh, uh, learning, uh, the possibilities in aviation. And I told him, uh, to aim high and always reach for the sky and go as high as you possibly can, because when you miss, you're going to be feathers. By, uh, going on, uh, the journey, having that attitude, that's good. Um, and I said, you cannot just settle for being average. You got to keep pushing yourself.

Anthony Trotman: Yeah. Yeah. Learning other aspects of work m and how government actually works, I think, is critically important. And that's part of that whole preparation. Uh, one of the things, uh, key takeaways I got from you, um, was when you would go to New York and meet with the rating agents and understanding that every person within Franklin County um, you know, had a piece of, um, the triple a bond rating, um, that Franklin County um, continues to have. If there are negative articles in the paper because, um, government is ran poorly, if a department is running poorly and it continues to be negative press, um, those rating agencies look at that information, um, and could cause us. Could cause Franklin County or any County um, to, um, have a negative impact on the rating. I used to share that with staff, that everything that you do, uh, contributes to the success of this, not only Franklin County Job Family Services but the entire community. The amount of money that we were able to borrow to build Bridges, roads and highways, uh, to invest in schools and other buildings, um, directly related to the work that everybody within Franklin County did.

Kenneth Wilson: Yeah. That's that pressure. That's that major stage you on. Um, but you, in those moments, professionally, that's like a playoff game. If you. If you choke, say the wrong thing, lose track of, uh, uh, the numbers, and your narrative gets twisted up.

Anthony Trotman: Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson: You could cause your County to be put on negative watch.

Anthony Trotman: Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson: Because they're listening at everything with a third year, because there's investors that are looking at Franklin County's bonds and putting people's retirement money on it.

Anthony Trotman: Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson: So they got to know that it's competent people running the ship.

Anthony Trotman: Right.

Kenneth Wilson: Well, they going to say, no, you might not want to buy those bonds. Uh, and if you do charge a high interest rate on them because they carry some risk. That's how it works.

Anthony Trotman: Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson: Uh, you got to be ready for those. You got to be ready for those moments. Um, and I think everything we do, and that's why it's really no days off, because you got to keep your mind focused. And is it fair? I don't know. But when you shut it down, you got to really pick your spot. You need to be somewhere in the middle of the ocean where you just away from anything with nothing you can, nobody can, you know, call you. Nothing that can go wrong because you, like, totally removed from it.

Anthony Trotman: Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson: But otherwise, you always in the game if you around, and then there's an expectation that you perform. Professional athletes said this, and I kind of take it everywhere I go. Special players make special plays on special days. The good ones are, uh, at their best under the spotlight.

Anthony Trotman: Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson: You know, I mean, I can like. And then your life prepare you for that, though, Anthony. I remember I say this now, and, ah, you probably had the same experience. Rewind yourself to, like, being ten years old and it's Easter, you got all these new clothes on the. And you gotta get his speech, man, that was more pressure than me speaking in front of 300 people. Now they mess this speech up.

Anthony Trotman: Yeah. Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson: I got this new suit on.

Anthony Trotman: Yeah. Yeah. Um, I remember those days.

Kenneth Wilson: I got to remember all of these words with this new suit on.

Anthony Trotman: Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson: Um, and it. I was in it. I was doing a sports theme, a podcast, and I talked about, um, 50, um, six years old and still remember in the labor bowl, we didn't practice all summer long. And it's Labor Day, and it's a small town I grew up in. This game is like a big deal. It's at the high school.

Anthony Trotman: Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson: And I got called for clipping, like, an 80 yard touchdown. I didn't even want. I ain't even want. I ain't even want to go home tripping.

Anthony Trotman: Yeah. Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson: I didn't. I didn't know. I didn't know. Uh, I joked around. I said my athletic, uh, career was open. I ain't even know then. I didn't. I didn't never sign that national letter of intent and probably began that day. But that is the way life is. You had those moments, but you have to learn through adversity.

Anthony Trotman: Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson: You have to have a resiliency and learn from those adverse moments that you. That you face. But let's go back to poverty and let's look at the way things are today. Think about the fact. And I could be wrong. I was having this conversation. There's not community housing or community shelter today. The you know what, public housing, uh, being in the projects, um, that is not. Don't exist now. Now it's like low rate, market based housing, motels in extended stage. Yeah. And if rough is people that live their projects, talk about their memories.

Anthony Trotman: Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson: A number of made it out.

Anthony Trotman: Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson: But now she is today, don't have the opportunity to live in the projects.

Anthony Trotman: Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson: They ain't even living in that kind of structure, that kind of sense of neighborhood. I mean, I know people that I grew up with, they proudly say they from this project, they from this hood.

Anthony Trotman: Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson: Cause they had that sense of community.

Anthony Trotman: Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson: And in a lot of Time, they didn't even realize how bad their circumstances was until they got out.

Anthony Trotman: Yeah. Yeah. Um, emergency shelter systems is supposed to be one, two days. Um, and then you move on to wherever you're supposed to go, maybe a week. People are staying in emergency shelters now for years. Uh, and this is happening throughout the country. Um, and that is part of the issue. As HUD developed this new strategy to, uh, remove all of the large housing projects because the, uh, density of poverty caused a number of issues. And the lack of investment in these facilities also caused issues. The cost of dollar to maintain it. The investment was maybe $0.25 or fifty cents. And then those individuals were blamed, uh, for those issues, as well as some of the rules that governed, uh, the ability to stay in these facilities. Took the fathers out of the home because they were income based. And so the lower the income, you know, the higher the probability that you were going to get a unit. If the father had, uh, additional income, that would eliminate them from being able to stay in these particular units. But the housing stock and the rental stock was too costly for them to stay there. And so the father had to leave the house and or sneak in at various times to take care of their Family But that definitely caused a ripple effect in specifically the african american community, um, but many other communities as well. And they're still suffering from the effect of policies that were put in place, um, that were income based, that were not really focused on the Family Years later, here we are. We just talked about motels. Motels became a central focus during the pandemic because of the eviction prevention rules that were in place that you couldn't evict someone if they were there. So many motels became run down housing stock for individuals. And emergency shelter also continues to be a, uh, major concern, uh, for various communities. We have to develop strategies, uh, that's not just focused on one population, but we have to do two generational, um, strategies to combat the issues. We have the adults and then we have the children because you gotta, like at some point, um, stop the bleeding, um, from dealing with some of these issues. How do we prepare these kids so when they turn 18, they either can go to college or a career or the military. There's three different options. Trade schools, uh, is a major option right now because of the lack of availability of individuals and construction trades. It takes sometimes months for you to get somebody to come out and repair something in your house. And so these are really the job opportunities. We have to have a strategy to deal with that. And we also have to have a strategy to deal with the adults because we have to empower the adults and take responsibility, um, for themselves and their particular communities.

Kenneth Wilson: I want you to share with our podcast audience and elaborate on it a little bit. Um, the quality of schools is talked about a lot and there's a lot of pressure on school administration, administrators. There's a lot of pressure on teachers, uh, in the classroom, because every child does deserve to have a quality education. But one thing that you would say, and you probably still say, you say, but remember, they go home.

Anthony Trotman: That is true. Yeah. Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson: And I knew what that mean. But talk a little bit about on this podcast what that really mean.

Anthony Trotman: A lot of pressure, I think, is put on teachers to not only teach whatever their subject matter is, but also raise their children. Kids, uh, come to school not prepared to learn because of whatever's happening in their household or emergency shelter or hotel. If the parents are not equipped and or prepared to pour into their children, meaning reading, uh, arithmetic, social emotional skills, it will be difficult for that teacher that may only have them for an hour or two to teach them all of those things, uh, and prepare them to really learn and grow. Education is not just a responsibility of the school district. Education is responsibility for the entire community. Uh, the churches can, uh, play a major role in education because in every community, uh, there are certain buildings, uh, unless it's a new community. In a lot of the old communities, there are churches, there are union halls, there's also masonry halls in these various communities. And how do we get them to be a part of the solution and not a part of, you know, just the continuing of doing the same thing?

Kenneth Wilson: Yeah. Yeah. Is that, uh, it takes that whole, um, package of wrap around services for a child to really succeed.

Anthony Trotman: The village concept is like, we used to talk about the village. We used to talk about knowing our neighbors and knowing, you know, Family members coming in and chipping in the. But because going back to this affordable housing crisis that we have in our country and the level of evictions, people don't know their neighbors. And I'm only. I'm specifically talking about low income communities. Right.

Kenneth Wilson: Because of the level more, the minor mobility that is all over you moving all over t force to move all over town.

Anthony Trotman: Right, right. And so you don't know your neighbors. Uh, people are moving into the major metropolitan areas because there's more, uh, resources and opportunity. So these communities are now becoming these multicultural communities, which is a good thing, but it creates, uh, issues. Um, when, you know, you don't have a sense of community, that is something that I think we can invest in and then reinforce, empowering communities, um, uh, to take care of some of these, um, pressing issues in every community. And the number one thing is education.

Kenneth Wilson: Yeah. Um, as a leader, is there one single thing that keeps you up at night.

Anthony Trotman: Uh, well, because my portfolio is so big, there are multiple things that keep me up at night. Uh, I run a 24 hours, seven days a week to 365, have staff in the office, and that's the children's services work. And so sometimes I get these reports, um, that we had to go pick up a, um, kid for some reason. And I've also dealt with a number of issues in Mecklenburg County alone. I've had a hepatitis outbreak. I've had a brain eating amoeba, um, from the White water rafting center that killed someone, actually, from Franklin County Um, I've had, obviously, this major pandemic, um, and several other, um, issues. In Franklin County we had a stakeout of a childcare provider, um, where an individual was defrauding the government. Um, we also had an issue called, um, project veritas, um, where an individual came in with a russian hat on and was trying to discredit, um, the affordable care act. You never know what's going to come at you on any given day. Uh, all those things, including this global pandemic, you don't know what's gonna hit you that next day. And I feel like, you know, many times, that we're in the real world and others are in the matrix.

Kenneth Wilson: Yeah, you got, I can't stress enough, you got a plan, because organically, stuff happens. Yeah, you know, it's a PG podcast, I would say stuff happens. So you need to have a plan. You need to be paired, you need to be well studied, because you're going to deal with a lot of different situations. And in your line of work, you're, uh, in charge with looking out for welfare, the most vulnerable residents of Mecklenburg County in various different ways. Um, and, I mean, it's hard to find someone that does not have a deficit somewhere where they need some kind of help. Um, what is the State of, uh, mental health in mexican bird town, particularly in populations that tend to have a stigma associated with seeking help?

Anthony Trotman: Well, it's interesting. It's an interesting question. Part of, uh, the issue right now is there's a lack of access, and so people access services sometimes when it's too late, and that's in the emergency room. And many things could be prevented if they would have access services prior to. But there's a stigma to even attempt to get therapy. That's for those people. Uh, so people don't get it until there's a real breakdown and there's a bottleneck of resources for an emergency response when it comes to behavioral health care. Uh, hospitals are overrun mental health facilities. Uh, the strategy for the large mental health hospitals has changed to community, uh, health. So we got it. We good? Yep. Starting to start over.

Kenneth Wilson: Yeah, if you don't mind, or just.

Anthony Trotman: Pick up wherever you've stopped, and we'll just edit it together. Good. Ah. There was a national strategy to close down many of the large mental health hospitals, and it happened all over the country.

Kenneth Wilson: It happened in Ohio.

Anthony Trotman: I know, right. And the goal was to do more community based services. But there isn't enough community based services.

Kenneth Wilson: No, because we all know some folks that are, to this day, somebody's on a bus right now, they should be getting help, and they just ride the bus all day.

Anthony Trotman: That's correct. So one of the things that we did in Mecklenburg was open up a behavioral health urgent care. We didn't have one, um, up until maybe a year and a half ago. And I was fortunate enough to get with one of the former Carolina Panther football players, Steve Smith, and partner with him, uh, to market to the community the importance of accessing mental health services based off of his own background and experience. And we are working with another entity to open up a second behavioral health virtual care because of the overwhelming success of this particular facility. The fentanyl issues, uh, and intellectual developmental delays, is also another issue that is causing a bottleneck of, um, Services because this fentanyl issue is definitely a lot deeper than most people think. It's my understanding that individuals, when they hear about individuals overdosing, um, they, you know, they get excited because they think that particular drug is. Is the drug to go get. And so instead of, uh, saying that, hey, um, that drug is killing someone, some of these individuals that have these mental health, uh, issues, that's the high need. That's the high need, and they go for it, and then it causes more and more overdoses. It's a fascinating issue to study, and some of us that don't have those issues, we don't really understand the psyche behind. How can somebody actually think this way? How can someone actually be this way? We have, ah, hiv numbers that, uh, continue to grow. Um, we have syphilis numbers that are continuing to grow. And it's amazing. And I've learned a lot about this particular population. One thing is these parties that some of them go to, and they call them giveaway parties. It's a party where you go and give away your, um, sti. Your disease, and you normally receive whatever the disease is.

Kenneth Wilson: Wow, that's something else right there. And I think that today, um, sexually transmitted diseases is not discussed and not as fear as much as it was in the seventies and eighties.

Anthony Trotman: There's a major concern throughout the country for the platinum growth of syphilis, um, in donor wheel. And because of, you know, some of these, um, mental health concerns that have gone undiagnosed for years. And there's some new medication out there to prevent the cause of AIDS, which is called Prep. So some individuals feel like if I'm able to access prep, that I'm okay. But they continue, um, to get some of these other diseases, uh, to include now monkeypox. It's amazing that some of our monkeypox numbers continue to grow.

Kenneth Wilson: Wow, that's deep right there. Now I'm going to change, uh, the pace and talk about work life balance. And on a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your work life balance and why?

Anthony Trotman: There has been appearance in my tenure that if ten is, like, the worst one is the best at periods of Time, it's been ten. It's never been one. As of late, uh, there's been a major push for work life balance in Mecklenburg County and specifically, uh, for me, um, with my boss, with the expectation that you have vacation Time and you should use it m and cut off the phone and kind of really, um, unplug, uh, from all the work, because one thing that we know, we can work as hard as our bodies will allow us, and the work will be there the next day. I used to say that about, uh, Franklin County Like, the doors of Franklin County is going to be open for business regardless of what. Right.

Kenneth Wilson: But many times when you were the JFS director and there I was a, uh, deputy County administrator back then, uh, that didn't stop us from talking about it each and every evening, as if we could do something about it before we go to bed, or we would talk about the problems of the day. As a rapper, uh, and if I didn't hear from you, I think something might really be wrong. If I heard from you all day, I'm thinking something might really be wrong.

Anthony Trotman: But that was. But to me, when you have a good relationship with your boss, uh, that is such a huge, uh, benefit that actually, we may be talking about stressful situations and issues, but when you got a good relationship, it also is a joy because somebody actually understands what's going on, and that person is in the position to actually do something. Genesis. So that is a. That's a huge benefit that doesn't happen. That's not an automatic thing in these various Counties and communities, but I feel it was an automatic thing when I worked with you.

Kenneth Wilson: Yeah. I mean, going to work, life balance. I know that there is one, um, thing you make, um, a point of being on top of, and I won't say girl dad. In this case. You are a proud, ambitious young lady, dad. And I know you get a lot of pride, uh, out of fatherhood. And being there, um, for your daughter and watching her excel saying don't finish in second place has led to her being an all Acc track athlete.

Anthony Trotman: Sure.

Kenneth Wilson: And so talk a little bit about that relationship and that bond, uh, and how it has been a motivating factor, and it has to bleed over into what you do and who you are.

Anthony Trotman: Well, failure is not an option. You know, when you have a kid that's looking up to you and that has expectations of you, and when you take those expectations, um, seriously, uh, it is motivating. And, uh, I believe, uh, part of my daughter's success is, uh, that she feels safe and secure, and then she knows that her father is going to be there for her regardless of whatever the issue is. And unfortunately, that has been tested sometimes where she's been in two accidents, and I'm, um, three and a half hours away. And the first phone call she made was to me, and, um, that was, ah, it was tough because you want to make sure your child is safe and protected. But also, it's like a proud moment that my daughter knows if she needs something, she knows who to call, and she knows who's going to be there for her. Not that her mother is not going to do that, uh, as well. Um, but she knows that regardless of where I am in the country, um, I'm a phone call away, and I'm going to be there. She is an amazing young woman that has done some amazing things from starting a leadership and development program for young women in high school. She was a senior in high school. She created a program. This is now five years ago, and that program is still there, um, called, um, it was a girls leadership program. Um, she also, uh, was a student government president. She was on the student council at Georgia tech. Track athlete, piano. She was in orchestra. She's done just a ton of things, and she's now preparing to be accepted to go into Law School, because this was part of her dream, and I am. I couldn't be more proud of her, uh, and everything that she, you know.

Kenneth Wilson: We talk a lot in this field about you can't be what you don't see. And we try to create exposure, not just for our kids, but for everybody's kid. Everybody's kid to be able to see what they can be.

Anthony Trotman: Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson: And it's very difficult to do that when it's only in a Book. You don't see a real, live, breathing, uh, figure.

Anthony Trotman: Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson: And when you have access to important people and you're around important people, it's pressure and motivation at the same Time.

Anthony Trotman: Sure.

Kenneth Wilson: You know, it's not, uh, you know, Camille for her, at the same time, she has that support, but also comes with that is pressure because everybody expects her to be great, to do great things, um, because of, uh, having the parents supporting her and all the wrap around and then the pressure of this. Check this out. How many young people who's getting ready and aspiring to be an attorney can have a video where whoever Reverend Al Sharpton refers to as black America's attorney general? You know, having, uh, one of the most powerful civil rights attorneys in America, you know, shout. Shouting out her name, you know, that is just, uh, uh, something that, you know, right there. You know, you got Benjamin Crump. Attorney Benjamin Crump. Everybody knows him and he's saying, camille Trotman, you're great. You're going to be a great lawyer. One. Think about that. How many young ladies have that, you know, on video?

Anthony Trotman: Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson: You know, but there's a connection there I see around your wrist. Uh, uh, a brotherhood you got with Mister Crump and other men of Omega Sci-Fi fraternity, incorporated. Talk a little bit about that fraternity, that brotherhood, those principles and how they've had an impact on what you have done and will do.

Anthony Trotman: Well, before I do that, I do want to give a shout out, um, to two of some of the greatest kids on earth as the Wilson girls. Um, I had the pleasure of spending a lot of Time with the elder Wilson, Kayla. And one of the things she said to me was, uh, you know, I have the opportunity. She's getting married. But I don't want to get married until I finish my doctorate degree. Because I want my doctorate degree to say doctor Wilson, because that's my daddy's last name, that is. So, as we celebrate, you know, um, my daughter, um, I celebrate your daughters as well. Because that is an amazing testimony to you and your wife, um, and your entire Family and what you all have done to raise, um, those girls. Amaya is doing amazing things as well. And I know that she's. She's. I already seen it. Cause her birthday last year and everything that you all did for her, uh, it was her week and her time. She's getting ready to do some amazing things as well, so I just wanted to give that shit.

Kenneth Wilson: We give a lot and we expect a lot.

Anthony Trotman: Yeah. Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson: And I will continue as a dad to try to give everything I got. Well, that's all you can, uh, talk about leaving it on the field. I'm gonna leave it on the field when it comes to my Family Well, you do anybody that know me know that's just how I roll.

Anthony Trotman: It is clear, again, when you're not around and your daughter speaks of you in a way that doctor Wilson spoke from you, um, because she's doctor Wilson. Um, that, again, that is a clear testimony of you leaving it all in the field.

Kenneth Wilson: But, you know, they, um, got no lack of. No lack of confidence amongst them. I tell you, I know that they got, you know, I had my moments in life, but they tend to do all right. If anything, they get on my case about the amount of pressure that I put on him.

Anthony Trotman: I've seen that.

Kenneth Wilson: So we bump heads. We have bump heads over the years because I try to give all I got, but I expect you to give all you got at all times.

Anthony Trotman: It's clearly that has happened.

Kenneth Wilson: And so that that causes stress. Um, and that's the hardest job. Um, and it's funny you talk about always being there, um, going to your philosophy in working. You also carry that and expect that of those that work for you. We had an unnamed employee. You were trying to reach him and he wasn't available. It turned out the person had a very valid excuse. They were unconscious in the dentist, cheer podcasters. That's why they couldn't answer his phone call, what he wanted.

Anthony Trotman: Well, um, you know, some of that, you know, you speak of, um, the fraternity, and again, congratulations to you. And, you know, second place men of Kappa Alpha sign to Omega So, um, but I've been. I've been. I was fortunate enough to, um, join, um, Omega some 35 years ago. I have held numerous leadership roles within the fraternity, at all levels of the fraternity, to also receive every award that the fraternity offers, from international men of the year to the founders award, um, to, uh, brotherhood awards and so on and so forth. It prepared me to deal with difficult people in difficult situations, because some of the alpha, um, male type menta in these organizations, especially the more senior brothers, uh, they demand excellence. They went through a lot, as these organizations were founded over 100 years ago for these organizations to still be here. That says that there were a lot of things that occurred, uh, throughout the tenure of the organizations and there was just excellence. And so there was an expectation on me that, uh, when I joined the fraternity that I was going to finish school. The conversations were similar to the conversations that you had with your daughters, with some of the older, uh, brothers. And you're going to finish your education and that you're going to handle, um, every issue with its tenacity and grace. Expectations, uh, are high because we represent, uh, um, a legacy of leaders. And that's, uh, something that I'm very proud of. I'm proud of all the organizations that stand for, you know, high aspirations in manhood and scholarship, perseverance. And I'm proud of all of the organizations. And I'm happy, um, to be joined by you now, uh, in these organizations.

Kenneth Wilson: Yeah, I've always. I say this, you know, all of the divine nine organizations, uh, are built on, uh, principles, uh, that are positive. A lot of them are rooted, um, in a spirit. It's biblical. And a lot of it is, like you say, focus on.

Anthony Trotman: Honor.

Anthony Trotman: Sure.

Kenneth Wilson: For 35 years, all the years that you put in.

Anthony Trotman: Sure. We both, um, you know, we both are honored. I work for, on my board of commissioners. There's a cap on it. One cap on two Omega I know there's one Omega and then an Aka. So we both work for members of the divine nine organizations. And it's a good thing because there's a shared understanding of excellence amongst them all. And we share, uh, in, you know, we have the same bond, understanding. So I'm lucky and I'm honored to again be amongst all.

Kenneth Wilson: Yeah. So you've lived in both, uh, Franklin County and Mecklenburg County as you stated, you, uh, worked in Franklin County almost eight years, somewhere in that neighbor syndicate. And, um, in another year, you will have been in Mecklenburg. Ten years. Talk about the two communities and how you see them.

Anthony Trotman: Similar.

Kenneth Wilson: Um, and what differences that you see.

Anthony Trotman: I think the demographics are very similar. Uh, the, um, two communities are kind of naked neck, give a couple hundred here and there, but, uh, they're major hubs. Um, so, and we share in some of the same issues. We talked about housing, we talked about education. Uh, we share in the same types of issues. I think the structure of government is very different amongst the two communities, where Franklin County uh, is the home of the State capital, and Mecklenburg County is similar to, say, in Ohio, Cuyahoga County uh, the state folks call it the great state of Mecklenburg because of the level of industry, uh, and wealth, uh, that is centered in Mecklenburg County and how it supports the entire State. And the structure of County government is very different there as well. Where there aren't levy agencies in Mecklenburg County there aren't separate entities that govern most of the departments. Again, I oversee public health and children's Services where public health is under the city and Franklin County and Children's Services. Um, so that's some of the differences. And then I know in Franklin, it's a County administrator, former government, where many of the commissioners, uh, are really a part of some of the day to day decisions as it relates to contracts, where in Mecklenburg is the County manager of formal government, where I sign, unlike the last signature, as delegated by County manager on many of the contracts and the board, beyond approving the budget, they never see their contracts. So that's some, there's some new nuances, uh, and differences there, but I think some of the same issues, uh, and the same coalitions exist in both communities.

Kenneth Wilson: Have you adopted all the sports teams in Carolina now?

Anthony Trotman: Um, you know, not yet. I'm still a Beagles fan as it relates to football.

Kenneth Wilson: Who they?

Anthony Trotman: Who they, um. It's difficult. I think we were the worst team in the country last year, football team. In basketball, uh, we have, uh, new ownership. So I have high expectations for the basketball team, Charlotte holders now, and they're going to overcome, so we'll see what happens.

Kenneth Wilson: They had a couple resigners, uh, here recently. Yeah, my hornets have. And, um, they, uh, resigned Miles Bridges to a three year.

Anthony Trotman: I like it. I like him. He's good. They needed that.

Kenneth Wilson: So they write big checks in the spectrum center.

Anthony Trotman: Yeah, I write big checks, and the ticket price is going up, too.

Kenneth Wilson: And, um, it's a thing. I mean, um, I sit on the experience Columbus executive committee board, and we're looking at a scoreboard, and we looking at Charlotte like, we got. We. We can't let them, uh, be out in front of us like that. We gotta come with it.

Anthony Trotman: Well, Franklin County the investment in the hope hotel definitely was a huge win for Franklin County to, um, score many of these large conferences, that's a big change in Mecklenburg County The weather, um, is just a huge attraction, and it's a banking center for the east coast beyond New York. So people want to come there.

Anthony Trotman: Sure.

Kenneth Wilson: Um, but, you know, it's coming back. I mean, I remember my first trip there, um, probably about 16 years ago. I was like, yeah, this. This is what's up. This is a. This is the place where all the trade is happening. Finance. Being a finance person, I was like, oh, this is. This is nice. Then, too, big fail happened.

Anthony Trotman: Yeah.

Kenneth Wilson: And we all know. We all know, uh, what happened after that. But again, life is about resiliency, and cities have to be resilient, and Counties have to be resilient. And I think you all have, um, bounced back and recreated, um, some things and filled gaps with new, uh, enterprises, and, um, will, in the end, sure look different and be different. Um, as we wrap up, I want to talk a little bit about innovative ways of helping people. You can't help people the same way you did 20 years ago, 25 years ago, even ten years ago. And one of the innovative things you all have done is people have talked about one stops. There have been, uh, one stops. But the consolidated community services buildings that you all have, they different. You all can walk around with t shirts that say, they not like us. They not like us.

Anthony Trotman: That is true. The investment in the initiative, uh, it was a facility strategy and a service, uh, delivery strategy. The facility strategy was called bringing Mecklenburg to you. And so we were tearing down some of the old buildings and building new buildings. So, beyond the health and human services facilities called community resource centers, several other buildings, uh, were constructive, a part of the facility's master plan. And with the community resource center, that was one of the things that was my first initiative when joining the Mecklenburg County team. Uh, the vision was there to build communities, uh, centers. But how to actually do it and how to integrate health and human services was something that I brought to the table, and the goal was to not, uh, duplicate the DMV or not create, uh, ah, a system where individuals had to go to multiple places, uh, to receive services. Because I believe individuals don't become unneedy, uh, on war between programs. Individuals are eligible for multiple programs, so why aren't we delivering those programs? And why are we educating the public on multiple programs so that they can experience economic mobility and receive the benefits that we receive in this community? So, from Medicaid, to snap benefits to child support or benefits, to pre k Services to WIc, uh, to immunizations, uh, to childcare, um, coordination for kids, to, uh, the workforce Investment act, to having a mental health provider on staff, to having the hospital systems connected, to having legal aid, uh, to having the community college, one site. To have communities and schools, one site. To have veterans Services one site, uh, uh, and that is just the name of few, uh, that was in the first facility, and the goal is to build five, uh, facilities throughout the community. Our second facility, um, uh, held a larger public health clinic, um, where we're doing pap smears. And, um, we're also, uh, testing for Sti's and other services and other services to support the community. We've connected it with, uh, one of the hospital, um, clinics, atrium health, that has all the primary care and multispects special services that's right there. Um, and we're building a Bridge that will go across the rail that, um, will connect with our park and rec site to, um, further focus, uh, on, uh, health and wellness. Within this particular site, we have senior housing on site as well. So it's a whole campus facility. In our next, uh, community resource center, we're going to build a full dental clinic, um, for individuals, in addition to all the services that, uh, I just mentioned. And we're going to just continue to go. The goal is to not just look at, uh, accounting Services but to look at services through the lens of the social determinants of health and then align our Services services based on those social determinants and the data and heat maps in a particular community in order to meet the needs of, uh, that community. We have a community of room that is a part of the facility, but is separate, uh, from all the service models where community organizations can hold meetings there at night, in the weekends. Because it's not just a County facility, it is the people of Mecklenburg County owns that facility, and we have structured it, um, to be just that. We have Family uh, team meetings for our child welfare services. We have a domestic violence counselor there for individuals that, you know are experiencing domestic violence. Um, we have a substance use counselor that is there as well. And so we, uh, again, we tried to consider all of the needs of those individuals. And the technology solution that we built has said that no matter where you are, how many services that you asked for in that day, you don't lose your place in loan. Um, I asked for three Services Time step at the Time that you get in. And so you go from one service to the next service to the next service. We also have a no line concept where there are no lines. Uh, you come in, um, there are kiosks that are set. You identify what services that you desire to pick a ticket. And then you go sit down while you, while you're there, if you have children, we have a, what we call a kids corner where um, there's like a daycare on site. And every kid that goes into the kids corner, they're able to get, um, they leave with a kid friendly Book, uh, because we're reinforcing education to those children.

Kenneth Wilson: So that's, that's, that's a, that's a community, uh, benefit. Uh, a very, uh, significant community benefit. Um, and it's thinking innovatively. It's thinking outside of the box. The whole no line concept, uh, is really cool. And, um, one of the largest pictures of Anthony s. Trotman I ever saw was in the front door of the community center. I went to.

Anthony Trotman: What a blessing. Want a blessing.

Kenneth Wilson: Uh, that is. But you, you, you've earned it, sir. Uh, you've earned it every day. Uh, people don't understand the sacrifices that those in high level leadership position. Yeah, if it was easy, everybody would sign up for it. Sure, everybody will sign up for it. Many people like the thought of the compensation tied to tasks. Until they look at the task and then they like, nah, I'm good. I'll keep what I got. I'll keep my size, cross that I got on my back. I don't want to carry yours. They don't want to carry yours, man. Uh, so, um, I will keep rooting for you, uh, professionally and personally, uh, as I know you're going to continue to do great things, uh, in your career. Um, we're the same age, basically. Um, but I feel like you. I'm on my way somewhere, uh, else. And, uh, you still got, uh, a lot of tread on the tires. Um, but I'm thinking I don't know. I'm going to keep working. I don't know how not to work, though.

Anthony Trotman: We got as much one another. My trade ain't no different than yours.

Kenneth Wilson: I, um, mean, I enjoy this, this work. It's going to take a real policy, uh, wonk, to probably listen to this whole, uh, podcast. Um, but it is what I think both of our passions have become respected league, and that is trying to put our residents in the best position possible to succeed in an equitable fashion. I keep repeating that I'm not, uh, just looking at my Circle, uh, doing well. We need everybody's Circle to do well. And although respectively, in our line of work, uh, should at first be for everyone to eat, but ultimately for everyone to eat well. And you talk about a strong community, a strong County that can't be stopped is when you are, uh, able to spread prosperity and physical wellness and safety across over a million people, and you can do that consistently. That's what winning looks like.

Anthony Trotman: Yeah, well, I believe in the old v that's on tagline. If you don't look good, I don't look good. So until everybody looks good, there's a lot of work, uh, to be done, and I'm just the lucky person that gets to do it every day.

Kenneth Wilson: So, um, what is the favorite thing that you do when you offline?

Anthony Trotman: Um, I like to. I've been recently getting into travel and going to see different things. I was, a few weeks ago, I was down in st. Lucia. I took my daughter and two of her friends to St. Lucia for her college trip, and I enjoyed unplugging. Um, phone didn't work down there, so I couldn't actually look at my emails and fill you back. I'm planning to go to Barcelona and on a cruise. My first cruise. I never been on a cruise before, um, for days. I know you have. I love cruising, so I'm looking forward to that. Going at the end of august for seven days. So I am starting to really enjoy the unplugging. Um, I don't golf like some people do. I have golf clubs and I hit the ball, but I'm not good, so I don't enjoy losing. And so, you know, that's difficult. But I'm enjoying now totally unplugging along with spending, uh, Time with Family good friends, since most joyous stuff, stuff that.