alumni profile | Steve Lawson ’83 Helping to Improve the Housing Industry

The Lawson Companies has a policy of giving employees two days off each year to perform community service, and a history of positively serving the Hampton Roads community through its housing and development projects. That devotion to service started when Bob Lawson, a former Norfolk Academy trustee, founded The Lawson Companies in 1972. It has continued with Bob’s son, Steve Lawson ’83, at the helm.

Steve Lawson became the companies’ President in 1999 and is now Chairman of the Board. For following his father’s model of improving the housing industry by doing what is fair and right, he this year received the Community Leaders Award from the Urban League of Hampton Roads at its annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day breakfast.

During the breakfast, held virtually, Lawson thanked the entire Lawson Companies team. “We are an honest, hard-working group sharing a strong set of core values and believe in our purpose — to positively impact people,” he said.

After graduating from Norfolk Academy, Lawson earned both undergraduate and graduate degrees from Duke University. He didn’t intend to join the family business; he studied engineering in school and thought his future was in mechanical engineering. But as he weighed the pros and cons of his next steps, he decided following in his father’s footsteps was his best move.

Both Lawson’s parents instilled in him the values of service. His mom, who sadly passed away in 1996, volunteered at the Virginia Beach Correctional Center, teaching inmates. While running The Lawson Companies, his dad became heavily involved in housing policy at the state and even national levels; his motto was to strengthen the industry by acting ethically and helping the communities in which he built.

While his parents played an instrumental role in his character development, Lawson also credits his studies at NA. “The Academy really encourages students to get involved in the community,” he said. The rigors of student life at NA also benefited him, he said. Even though math and science were his strengths, he learned to write at a high level and gained public speaking confidence, both skills that remain crucial. He also developed time management by balancing academics and extracurriculars, including playing varsity lacrosse.

“I learned a lot from the challenge that the Academy offers its students, and I think that is truly formative in a lot of different ways,” he said.

The Urban League’s Community Leaders Award goes to individuals or groups who exemplify service, demonstrate the values modeled by Dr. King, and make significant contributions to Hampton Roads. In receiving the award, Lawson noted his father’s early adoption of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program, which he has built upon.

“My father instilled in us a duty to make a positive impact in the community,” Lawson said. “We’re incredibly fortunate to be able to do that through the creation of affordable housing throughout Virginia.”

Northwestern, Ethan is at Cornell, and Zachary graduated last year from Washington University. They split their time between Fort Lauderdale and Park City, UT. Doug has been at H.I.G. Capital, a private equity firm, for more than 25 years.

1985

▸ DANIELLE SCHWEIKERT ’85 (DANIELLE.SCHWEIKERT@GMAIL.COM)

After almost 30 years at Paul Hastings LLP, Behnam Dayanim has joined the law firm of Orrick

Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP as Global Head, Digital Commerce & Gaming, in Washington, DC. He continues to live in Silver Spring, MD, where he and his wife, Carey, are almost empty nesters, with one child at home for a few more years and three (plus a son-in-law) who have already flown the coop. Danielle Schweikert has been at Charles Schwab for more than a year. Making a change from Wells Fargo has been a great decision so far. She is also hoping to relocate back to Virginia Beach and looking forward to seeing more classmates.

1986

▸ RUTH ACRA ’86 (RACRA@NORFOLKACADEMY.ORG)

Brand Fuel, a brand merchandising agency, has become a Certified B Corporation, one of only about 5,000 companies to earn that designation globally. Brand Fuel’s co-presidents are Danny Rosin and Robert Fiveash ’87. Danny also recently received the branded merchandise industry’s Humanitarian Award, presented to someone who has shown longstanding empathy, devotion, and commitment to

Alumni Board President Loves Giving Back to NA

Mike Moore ’85 still fondly recalls his time as a Norfolk Academy student, the speaking, writing, and thinking skills he developed and his play on two state champion lacrosse teams, including an undefeated squad his senior year.

Moore traveled the world after graduating from the Academy. He attended college at Hampden-Sydney and worked for about eight years in south Florida, earning a master’s from the University of Miami’s Herbert Business School. He even worked in England for close to three years.

Through all that travel and the higher education degrees he gained, his love and appreciation for what he learned as a Bulldog never waned. For that reason, he happily agreed to serve as NA’s Alumni Board President, starting in 2021 and continuing through the close of the 2022–23 school year. (Merrick McCabe ’98 will begin a two-year stint at the start of next school year.)

As President, Moore helps lead board meetings and participates in fundraisers and other school activities. He also builds connections with fellow alumni, a task he particularly enjoys because it allows him to reminisce about teachers, sports, speeches, and other memories from his school days.

Moore is well suited for the position: In addition to the strong friendships he maintains with NA classmates, his three sons graduated from the school in recent years — Ridge ’18, Cole ’20, and Drew ’20.

“I wanted to give back because I wanted other students to enjoy the same things I enjoyed,” Moore said.

For almost 20 years, Moore has been with London & Norfolk Ltd., a commercial insurance agency based in Norfolk. He is a commercial property casualty broker, working mainly with mid-sized businesses. The agency serves business segments ranging from government contractors to healthcare to real estate to manufacturing and well beyond.

The keys to being a successful broker are responsiveness and honesty with customers, Moore said. He cultivated those traits at Norfolk Academy, where he absorbed the Honor System.

“You need to be able to analyze and think through what is right,” Moore said. “And NA really helped develop my brain.”

Mike Connors is Digital and Social Media Specialist.