Photo By Shelby West | Code 1211 Non-Nuclear Submarine Business Office Supervisor Doreka Porter-Wright is...... read more read more
At a table surrounded by her team, Code 1211 Non-Nuclear Submarine Business Office Supervisor Doreka Porter-Wright broke into song, the 1997 hit single “For You I Will” by Monica filling the room. Smiles spread across their faces as she serenaded, “I will cross the ocean for you. I will go and bring you the moon. I will be your hero, your strength, anything you need.” To this group, this was more than just a chorus – it was an anthem highlighting exactly how Porter-Wright dedicates each day to her team, ensuring they have the support they needed to help service the fleet.
Porter-Wright has been with Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) since she was 18 years old and fresh out of high school. She admitted she was scared when she first entered the workplace, being surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the industrial environment and unsure if she would be able to keep up. Despite that fear, she continued to step forward – and was able to not only make a place for herself at America’s Shipyard through 21 years of experience, her journey eventually led her to where she is now with Code 1211 and her team of 11 where they manage the submarine availabilities from planning to departure - maintaining the budget, mandays, material and more.
“I’ve been in the position for two years and I have the pleasure of having the best team at NNSY,” said Porter-Wright. “We have a diverse team of different ages, backgrounds, knowledge and abilities coming together to provide their own perspective of what we can do to best serve our mission. They are critical thinkers, self-motivated, and not afraid to ask questions or make mistakes. They aren’t afraid to be vulnerable with me – they know that if they ever need anything, they can come to me and I know that I can be vulnerable with them as well. We can come in every day and have fun doing our jobs and doing it well.”
She continued, “I value each of them at work and as people – some may say I have an emotional attachment to my team, but how can I not? I think having that attachment to them is what helps me be a better leader. To me, supervising and leading people is not a one size fits all – I lead them based on who they are, based on their abilities, based on what I know they can do even though they may think they can’t do it. Sometimes I have to make tough decisions and pull people out of their comfort zone because they don’t think they can do it. I see so much in my team and I hope I can inspire them the same way they inspire me each and every day.”
When she first came into the position, Porter-Wright noticed the diverse team she was expected to lead and wanted to find a way to get a fundamental understanding of the tools needed to operate cohesively and proficiently together. She researched the contractor CACI and reached out to see if they could come out to not only help out Code 1211 but to help her be a better leader for her team. “One of the most important things we learned from CACI was emotional intelligence, understanding people and meeting them where they are at in not just their work but also as a person so we can have healthy conversations and improve as a team,” said Porter-Wright. “They came up with exercises to help us foster team building and also provided everyone with any individual coaching they wanted to pursue. They helped us organize our tools, and see things from different perspectives.”
When asked to share a little about Porter-Wright as a leader, her team was unanimous in saying she was meant for the role.
“I’ve been here for about eight years and before Doreka was my manager, I felt like I came to work, did what I had to do, and then left for the day,” said Shanell Mark-Cooke, Business Agent for the USS Montpellier (SSN 765) Project. “But with her, we’re much more of a family. We work together, hang out together, have conversations, do team building – whatever we can as a unit. She’s also very crafty so there’s always something at our desk or in our cubicle that makes us feel more valued. I feel it helps us work better because it truly feels like she cares about us. We see her working hard and doing her best for us and we want to do our best for her as well.”
Syreena Valentine-Williams, Cost Advocate for the USS John Warner (SSN 785) Project, came to the shipyard one year ago from the education field. She said, “This is the first time I’ve ever felt so supported from a supervisor. The shipyard is new to me so any time I have a question, Doreka and the team are right there to answer. We’re always working well together but I don’t think that would be possible without a leader demonstrating and modeling that for us to follow through. She celebrates us, invests in us – coming from education, that’s important because it’s how you get people to buy into you as a person. She engages with each and every one of us according to our personalities and that takes time and effort – you can’t just do that with walking in and saying 'good morning' – she spends time with us every morning, asks us how we’re doing, what we’re working on. That makes us want to work for her, have her back, and whatever she asks us for, we’re going to do it for her – we got her back, she’s got ours. I never felt like a new employee with Doreka, I felt like I belonged here since day one.”
Ashley Whitfield, Business Agent for the USS John Warner (SSN 785), added, “Doreka is so deserving and works hard every day to bring her best self to the job. Even when sometimes she doesn't know the answer, she’s going to go find that answer – or she’s going to say 'honestly I don’t know but we’re going to figure it out together.' I’ve been here going on twelve years – I’ve been every level – apprentice, mechanic, work leader, supervisor, trades manager – nowhere along that line did I have a supervisor that cares as much as Doreka does about the people and the job. When it comes to leadership, there isn’t anyone else I would want to walk behind. When we talk about building a better culture, our C.O.R.E. values, the pillars that hold our shipyard together – look no further than this team and Doreka. We have a leader who believes in it and makes sure we carry it out in everything we do.”
“My perspective as a leader is it is important for me to be in front of my team so that I can remove any barriers in their way before they even get there,” said Porter-Wright. “I always want to see what’s ahead of them, predict and gauge any barriers, and remove what I can so they don’t have to face them. Not all barriers can be removed but I want to be able to see them and say ‘Hey, here’s what’s ahead of you – so before you get overwhelmed let’s go ahead and address it now.’ Whatever is in the way, we can overcome it together. My team always has me in the court.”
Porter-Wright is known not only for her dedication and hard work to her team within Code 1211, but also to the shipyard at large. She is constantly looking for ways to give back to NNSY, including hosting Random Acts of Kindness Day where she and her team purchased and passed out breakfast to the workforce, feeding nearly 200 people. In addition, she encouraged others to practice random acts of kindness, including providing compliments to others, holding the door open, and aiding someone in need without being asked. “We wanted to do something from the heart,” said Porter-Wright. “If we can just impact someone’s day in a positive way, it matters. You never know what a person is going through and if we can all just help make one person’s day, it goes a long way.”
Porter-Wright is also the Champion of the Individuals with Disabilities Employee Resource Group (IWD-ERG), a role that is near and dear to her heart. “I was on social media one day and saw this campaign that said people are not punchlines. That hit home for me,” she said. “My daughter has autism and there are so many instances where unfortunately people don’t seem to understand invisible disabilities. We as a world don’t fully understand those with invisible disabilities, their coping mechanisms, sensory issues, and more – I don’t really think it’s intentional, just a lack of awareness. I’m the type of person who wants to be part of the solution. I became the champion to help bring more awareness to the shipyard of our individuals with disabilities and what we can do to assist them. With awareness, I believe more people can recognize the signs of those with disabilities and reach those individuals on their level so they can communicate and better understand them. Our ERG is awesome and our president Daniel Freeh is someone who inspires and motivates me to do my best every day. We’re looking ahead at big things we can bring to the shipyard to help bring awareness to the forefront.”
Porter-Wright credited her family is a big inspiration for how she takes on each day with a smile, ready and willing to lend a hand. She has five children ranging in ages five to 24. Her husband, Walter Wright, is the Submarine Preservation Manager at NNSY. “He is the yin to my yang – he’s serious while I’m the joker of the household. He keeps me balanced and is always there to give me advice when I need it,” she said. “We both wake up blessed for the opportunity to work at a place that is contributing to protecting our Nation, keeping our kids and us safe each and every day.”
| Date Taken: | 06.03.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 06.03.2022 09:37 |
| Story ID: | 422100 |
| Location: | PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 69 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Shipyard Spotlight: Doreka-Porter Wright, by Kristi R Britt, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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