On Friday, October 20, 2023, the Chatham County Board of Commissioners was formally introduced the the County's first Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Administrator, Freya Huffman.

“I am a native of Georgia. I just came from South Carolina. My husband is a retired Air Force Chief, so that was his last station,” said Huffman. “I have 16 years of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion experience, leading teams, standing up global frameworks.”

Huffman attended Claflin University on a basketball scholarship, playing the position of power forward for the Lady Panthers while majoring in mathematics and computer science. After graduating, Huffman launched her professional carrer as a computer programmer. 

"While doing that for ten years or so, I really fell in love with the training side."

Huffman expanded her expertise into the human resources and payroll industries, which eventually led her to becoming a leader in the private sector focusing on diversity, equity and inclusion.

Huffman spent the last month visiting with Chatham County departments, getting to know members of Team Chatham.

“The strengths that I see thus far is really the desire for this role to be here, the desire to see people collaborate. Working with the various departments thus far, I’ve been going on a listening tour listening to what’s going well. Everyone’s been so receptive. That is definitely a strength. People want to learn; they want to learn how to collaborate. That is a strength. And as I often say, with Chatham County, it is set up for people from around the world to come and visit and feel comfortable.”

With a passion for teaching, Huffman added she's looking forward to sharing DEI-focused strategies with County leaders.

"I love collaboration, I like working with others. I like understanding how I can use my diverse background to provide support, to provide training, to understand and to facilitate conversation."