Page 17 - 10 Year Anniv Gala Program 2

Yolanda Trotman
CANDACE AWARD NOMINEE FOR ADVOCACY IN EDUCATION
Yolanda Trotman is originally from High Point, North Carolina and graduated from UNC-Charlotte in 1996 with a Bachelor of Arts in History and she was a North Carolina Teaching Fellow. Yolanda was a high school history teacher, debate and speech coach, and Mock trial coach for three years at North Mecklenburg High School. She was honored by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, as the First Year Teacher of the Year amongst all high school teachers in the district.
In 1999 she attended law school at the University of Pittsburgh and graduated in May 2002 with her Juris Doctor degree. She received the Community Service Award from the law school upon her graduation for her work within the community. Yolanda began her career as an Assistant Public Defender in October 2002 and handled criminal matters in District and Superior Court. In 2005 she opened her own law practice, the Law Office of Yolanda M. Trotman, PLLC. She has been elected to and served in several positions as a judge in NC Court system.
In September 2015 Yolanda founded iSpeak Now, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that teaches public speaking, critical thinking and related skills to elementary, middle and high school students by utilizing an interactive mock trial model called the Mock Trial Experience in partnership with law enforcement, law and college students and members of the community.
Yolanda left the bench in December 2016 and returned to the private sector to practice law, to pursue development and expansion of iSpeak Now throughout local schools and to develop a non-profit organization to address four key areas where there is a lack of access to legal representation that she observed from her time on the Bench.
Yolanda is a member of Delta Sigma Theta, Sorority Incorporated. She has continuously served the community and has received a number of awards and recognitions for her service to the community. Among them are:
• A Commendation from Governor Pat McCrory as a result of the community service award she received from Distinguished Partners;
• The first recipient of the Queen Community Activist Award presented by the Hassan Whiteside Foundation.
• The Charlotte NAACP Community Empowerment Award for her work with iSpeak Now. Has been named a Radio One “Woman of Excellence”
Named as one of the “50 Most Influential Women” from The Mecklenburg Times.