Elaine M. O'Neal (born 1962) is an American attorney, academic administrator, judge, and politician who served as the mayor of Durham, North Carolina from 2021 to 2023.

O'Neal was born in Durham in 1962 and grew up in the West End community, spending much of her childhood at the Pauli Murray Family Home.

[4] Her parents were active in the local community; her mother, Nakoda, worked in electoral precincts and served as a school parent–teacher association president and her father, Rueben, was a custodian and the treasurer of their church.

[3] O'Neal attended North Carolina Central University, where she became a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority and graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in mathematics in 1984.

[7] In 2015, O'Neal was appointed as the Chairwoman of the Superintendent's Code of Student Conduct Task Force for Durham Public Schools, focusing on ending the school-to-prison pipeline.

[3] In June 2018, O'Neal retired as a judge and was selected as interim dean of the North Carolina Central University School of Law.

[4][8] That same year, O'Neal was appointed as Chair of the Racial Equity Task Force for Durham by Mayor Steve Schewel.

United and not divided.”[9][better source needed] O'Neal was elected as the first African-American woman Mayor of Durham in 2021, succeeding Steve Schewel.

[11] City councilwoman Javiera Caballero, also a Democrat running for mayor, suspended her campaign on October 11, 2021, and ceded the election to O'Neal.

In an effort to address the scrutiny, O'Neal stated: "it pains me to think that we should not talk or interact with these young men, to get their perspective on Durham and have them be a part of the solution.

[16] The program has distributed $800,000 in loans to 38 small business owners since the summer of 2020, contributions were made from the city and county funds and Duke University.