Jeffrey Bevis Trammell (born January 13, 1950) is an American public affairs consultant and higher education official. He has served as an advisor to U.S. presidential candidates and as Rector of the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public university, public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III of England, William III and Queen ...

Early life

Trammell is originally from

Blountstown, Florida Blountstown is a city and the county seat of Calhoun County, Florida, Calhoun County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 2,266. Name Blountstown is named for John Blount, a Creek Indian chief who served ...

, where he was a standout athlete, leading his basketball team to the state championship and being named High School All-American. He attended the

on a basketball scholarship. He served as captain of the men's basketball team, and as a junior in 1971–72 he was named to the all-

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Southern Conference College football, football teams c ...

second team. Trammell graduated in 1973 with a BA in history, then received his J.D. from

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

in 1976.

Career

Trammell served on the staff of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

and

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

. Over the course of his career, Trammell has worked on the presidential campaigns of

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

and

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

. In 2001, he founded Trammell & Company, a Washington, D.C.–based public affairs firm, having previously been senior managing director for

Hill & Knowlton Hill & Knowlton is an American global public relations consulting company, headquartered in New York City. The firm has over 80 additional offices in more than 40 countries. The company was founded in Cleveland, in 1927 by John W. Hill and is no ...

. Along with Congressman

Barney Frank Barnett Frank (born March 31, 1940) is a retired American politician. He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts from 1981 to 2013. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, Frank served as chairman of th ...

and attorney Chad S. Johnson, he helped found the National Stonewall Democrats. He chaired the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund and served on the boards of the

Human Rights Campaign The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is an American LGBTQ advocacy group. It is the largest LGBTQ political lobbying organization within the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., the organization focuses on protecting and expanding rights for L ...

and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum's Gay and Lesbian Victims Remembrance Project. From 2011 to 2013, Trammell served as the Rector (Chair) of the Board of Visitors of the College of William & Mary. He was initially appointed to the board in 2005 by

Mark Warner Mark Robert Warner (born December 15, 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Virginia, a seat he has held since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Warner served as the 69th gove ...

and reappointed in 2009 by

Tim Kaine Timothy Michael Kaine ( ; born February 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States senator from Virginia since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party (United States ...

. He was the first openly gay board chair of a major public university in the country. As rector, Trammell led a reinvention of the university's financial model, called The William & Mary Promise, to protect its longterm future. He also was outspoken in his efforts to persuade the Virginia government to allow the state's public universities to provide benefits to same-sex partners of employees. He served on the Virginia Commission on Higher Education Board Appointments, the board of trustees of the Association of Governing Boards of Colleges and Universities and on the board of advisors of the Institute of Human Virology of the University of Maryland Medical School. He also chairs the board of the Harriman Fellows which provides embassy internships for promising U.S. students of international diplomacy. He is on the editorial board of Trusteeship magazine, where he has published articles on the value of liberal arts and the challenges of LGBT diversity.

Personal life

Trammell is the great-nephew of

Park Trammell Park Monroe Trammell (April 9, 1876 – May 8, 1936) was an American attorney and politician from the state of Florida. Trammell represented Florida in the United States Senate from 1917 until his death in 1936. As chair of the Senate Naval Aff ...

, a Florida politician who served as governor and US senator. He married Stuart Serkin, whom he met in 1977 while taking the Florida

bar examination A bar examination is an examination administered by the bar association of a jurisdiction that a lawyer must pass in order to be admitted to the bar of that jurisdiction. Australia Administering bar exams is the responsibility of the bar associat ...

, on October 29, 2013, at the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

. Former Supreme Court Justice

Sandra Day O'Connor Sandra Day O'Connor (March 26, 1930 – December 1, 2023) was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1981 to 2006. Nominated by President Ronald Reagan, O' ...

presided over his wedding. It is believed to be the second same-sex marriage performed in the Supreme Court building.

References

External links

Trammell & Company official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trammell, Jeffrey Florida Democrats Living people American lobbyists American men's basketball players American political consultants American gay sportsmen Florida State University College of Law alumni LGBTQ people from Florida People from Blountstown, Florida People from Washington, D.C. Place of birth missing (living people) William & Mary Tribe men's basketball players 1950 births LGBTQ basketball players 20th-century American sportsmen