Mayor Kenneth Cooper Alexander, Ph.D.

Kenneth Cooper Alexander was elected Mayor of the City of Norfolk on May 3, 2016, and re-elected in May 2020 and November 2024.   He is a lifelong resident of Norfolk and has distinguished himself through his civic, business, legislative, and community leadership.

 Dr. Alexander is president of Metropolitan Funeral Service, and Vice Chancellor for Strategic Partnerships of Virginia Community College System (VCCS).  He also serves as Executive Director of the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education (VFCCE).  Before his appointment as vice chancellor, Dr. Alexander was chancellor of a national network of career colleges where he provided strategic oversight to 20 campuses. Under his leadership, enrollment rose by 15.4%, and graduation rates climbed to 86%. 

 A native of Norfolk, he began his public service career more than two decades ago. 

Dr. Alexander served in the Senate of Virginia from 2012 – 2016 where he was a member of the committees on Commerce and Labor, Finance, Transportation, and Privileges and Elections. Before his election to the Senate, he represented the 89th District in the House of Delegates from 2002 until 2012, serving on the committees of Commerce and Labor, Education, Privileges and Elections, and Rules.

Before his tenure in the General Assembly, Mayor Alexander held positions in various organizations including the Norfolk Economic Development Authority, City Planning Commission (vice chair), and Human Services Commission. Additionally, he is affiliated with the Greater Norfolk Corporation, Norfolk Chapter of the FBI Citizens Academy Alumni Association, and is an alumnus of the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership. 

Dr. Alexander began his community service as president of Berkley’s Beacon Light Civic League and Beacon Light Community Development Corporation.  Mayor Alexander is proud that his first full-time job was with the City of Norfolk’s Department of Parks and Recreation as a cemetery manager 1989 to 1990.

Alexander graduated from Norfolk’s Lake Taylor High School in 1985 and continued his education in Virginia’s public institutions earning an associate degree in mortuary science from John Tyler Community College, a bachelor’s degree in political science from Old Dominion University, a master's degree in diplomacy from Norwich University, and a Ph.D. in Leadership and Change from Antioch University.

Dr. Alexander has been a guest columnist in many of Virginia’s major newspapers, and he is the author of Persistence: Evelyn Butts and the African American Quest for Full Citizenship and Self-Determination; Leadership Unlocked: Exploring the Dynamics of Effective Leadership, Theory, Practice, and Emerging Trends; and Narratives: A Qualitative Researchers Guide. 

Alexander and his wife, Donna Burnley Alexander, have been married for 35 years and are the proud parents of Kenneth II, a third-year law student at the University of Richmond, and David, a senior at Virginia Tech.