Diversity & Inclusion

Uniting Diversity and Excellence

Deep in the roots of our national conscience is the intuition that every person is created equal and endowed with certain unalienable rights. However diverse our individual beliefs, and however differently we might word it, this fundamental conviction remains. Today, we are increasingly aware that there is much to be done to make this truth a reality, and that each person, working together with others, is the key to progress.

Supporting Social Justice, Diversity, and Inclusion

We have supported, among other organizations dedicated to social justice, diversity and inclusion, the National Association of Women Lawyers, the Fund for Women-Delaware Community Foundation, the Delaware State Bar Association’s (“DSBA”) Women and the Law Section, the Boy Scouts of America, the DSBA’s Annual MLK Jr. Breakfast and Day of Service, the Minority Supplemental Bar Review sponsored by the Multicultural Judges and Lawyers Section of the DSBA, and the Delaware Juvenile Expungement Program. Our managing partner, Chip Connolly, just completed a three-year term as Co-Chair of the Combined Campaign for Justice, which raises funds each year to support legal aid organizations that provide free legal services to our most vulnerable residents – the poor, the disabled, and the elderly. On a daily basis, many of the attorneys and staff at CG contribute considerable time, talent, and treasure to a wide variety of other charitable organizations and good works.

Promoting Fair Employment Practice

We are also home to one of Delaware’s largest labor and employment law practice groups, which works to promote fair employment practices by helping employers comply with the laws and by helping employees vindicate their employment rights. The firm offers its own employees generous benefits, including extended parental leave, beyond many firms its size. In each of the last four years, CG has been recognized as one of Delaware’s Top Workplaces.

Through our Diversity and Inclusion Committee, we are committed to developing an even broader range of opportunities for service, mentorship, sponsorship, and education to promote diversity and inclusion within our firm and the larger community.

Guest Speaker: Andrew McKnight

Andrew McKnight, the Executive Director of The Challenge Program, joined our team for a lunch and learn. The Challenge Program is a local work development program that is located just a few blocks from our Wilmington office.

Among many other things, Mr. McKnight spoke to us about the history and impact of the program, which provides vocational training in the construction and woodworking trades for Delaware youth in order to empower them with the confidence, skills, and purpose to become highly employable and self-sufficient.

Guest Speaker: Bianca del Rio

Ms. del Rio is the Executive Director of the Netter Center for Community Partnerships University-Assisted Community Schools at the University of Pennsylvania. She is also an award-winning documentary filmmaker, a doctoral student at Penn’s Graduate School of Education Higher Education Division, and a board member of YMCA of Delaware’s Central Y.

Ms. del Rio spoke to our team about anchor institutions and community engagement. Anchor institutions are institutions that transcend their presence in a community and emphasize a conscious commitment to the community. As a group, we brainstormed about several things, including what anchor institutions exist in our surrounding community, as well as how we can use existing channels to better help our community.

Guest Speakers: James (Sonny) Knott, Professor David Wilk, and Fred Sears

James (Sonny) Knott, Professor David Wilk (Temple University) and Fred Sears shared lunch with us to educate us all about the Hockessin Colored School #107C, which is currently a national park and is known as the Center for Diversity, Inclusion and Social Equity. Mr. Knott brought history to life for us as he was a former student of the school from 1937 to 1944 and he told us about his experience at Hockessin Colored School #107C.

Professor Wilk is the current Executive Director of the Center for Diversity, Inclusion and Social Equity, and Fred Sears is current Director on the Board of Directors of the Center, which is currently used as a center for education, reflection and community programs. We were all fascinated by the history of this important part of our community which also happened to be at the center of a legal case that was decided in Delaware that ultimately led to the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Brown v. Board of Education, which desegregated schools nationwide.

Guest Speakers: James Russell and Natalie Kok

The firm recently hosted James Russell and Natalie Kok from Urban Promise as part of the Diversity & Inclusion Committee’s lunch and learn series. Urban Promise is a local group that strives to equip children and young adults in the City of Wilmington with the skills necessary for academic achievement, life management, personal growth, and servant leadership.

Guest Speakers: Dan Selekman and Logan Herring

The firm recently hosted Dan Selekman and Logan Herring from the Riverside Development Project as part of the Diversity & Inclusion Committee’s lunch and learn series. Dan is the Director of Safety and Security for the Riverside Development Project, and Logan is the CEO of the Riverside Development Project, which consists of three separate tax-exempt businesses that are striving to improve our surrounding communities and the lives and futures of all of the people that reside within Riverside. Dan and Logan explained the way the Riverside Development Project works as a purpose built community, and they also explained all of the exciting and innovative programs that the Riverside Development Project has developed and put in place in order to achieve its many goals.

Guest Speaker: Josh Schoenberg

The firm recently hosted Josh Schoenberg as part of the Diversity & Inclusion Committee’s lunch and learn series. Josh is a fourth generation funeral director at Delaware’s only Jewish funeral home, and he also serves as Chair of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Delaware, the public affairs arm of Jewish Federation of Delaware, and as the Israel and Overseas Co-Chair for National Young Leadership Cabinet, a role that has taken him all over the world. Among other things, Josh spoke about the alarming rise of antisemitism both globally and locally and about his observations and experiences in all of his positions.

Guest Speaker: Dick Nenno

The firm welcomed Dick Nenno to share his story leading a successful legal career at Wilmington Trust and being blind. Although society labels blindness as a disability Dick Nenno is far from disabled. He graduated cum laude from Princeton University then earned a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He is a nationally recognized speaker and published authority on estate planning issues. His contributions to the national estate planning community are tremendous.

Guest Speaker: Shari Preston

May is Jewish American Heritage Month (“JAHM”). This year’s JAHM takes its theme from the ancient sage Rabbi Hillel’s most well-known saying–“If I am only for myself, what am I? If not now—when?”–and the work of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Selma. Connolly Gallagher LLP and the D&I Committee welcomed Shari Preston, the first female cantor at a synagogue in the Wilmington, DE area back in the 1980s.

Guest Speaker: Susan Love

Globally, Earth Day is celebrated on April 22nd to demonstrate support for environmental protection. Connolly Gallagher welcomed Susan Love, the Administrator of Delaware’s Climate, Coastal and Energy Division to speak to us about the state’s approach via science, education and policy development to address climate challenges. Ms. Love engaged the firm with “fun facts” and afforded us ideas about how we can support environmental efforts in the future.

Guest Speaker: Anne M. Boylan

March is Women’s History Month and the firm was pleased to welcome Anne M. Boylan, Professor Emerita from the University of Delaware to present on “Delaware and the Women’s Suffrage Movement.” The virtual presentation afforded insight not only on the prominent Delaware suffragists but the drama that took place in Dover between March -June 1920 including; our Pro-suffrage Republican governor John G. Townsend who called a special session of General Assembly, the parades, lobbying, rallies, speeches and finally the Senate that ratified Women’s Right to Vote in May however the House adjourned without ratifying on June 2.

Guest Speaker: Duffy Samuels

Duffy’s H.O.P.E. (Helping Our young People to Excel) is a Delaware youth education outreach program started in 1998 by Allen “Duffy” Samuels, a former Glasgow High All-State point guard. His organization is 100% staffed by volunteers and has serviced over 4,500 children through mentorship, intervention, youth basketball and a community garden. Upon acceptance into the H.O.P.E. Duffy works with the entire family in order to promote success, safety and performance at home, school and community

Guest Speaker: Wanda Burgos-Rincon

The Latin American Community Center (“LACC”) is a more than a community resource. Having recently celebrated their 50th anniversary here in Wilmington, LACC works hand-in-hand on issues facing the Latino community. Ms. Burgos-Rincon spotlighted programs for both youth and elderly residents, engagement with immigrants to assist with transition to life in the United States and ongoing development and expansion of the LACC mission.

Guest Speaker: Professor Ann Juliano

Having learned of our client, Delaware Municipal Electric Corporation’s recent philanthropic efforts with the Navajo Nation, the Diversity & Inclusion Committee decided to invite Villanova University Law School professor, Ann C. Juliano in to the firm to share some of her extensive Native American knowledge. The educational presentation afforded the audience a better understanding of Federal Indian law as well as enriched perspective on issues we see in the news media.

Guest Speaker: Dr. Tony Allen

The firm’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee hosted Dr. Tony Allen, Executive Vice President and Provost at Delaware State University, one of the nation’s oldest and most diverse Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Dr. Allen shared informative and inspiring facts about the university that afforded the audience knowledge about yet another fine institution here in the state of Delaware making a difference for many “Dreamer” students as well as first-generation college students.

Guest Speaker: Carol Waldhauser

The firm’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee hosted Carol Waldhauser, executive director of the Delaware State Bar Association’s Lawyers’ Assistance Program (DE-LAP) in to the firm to present a program titled Control Over Chaos. Ms. Waldhauser has served the legal community in Delaware and Maryland for over 20 years, helping promote healthy work-life balance and address problems such as depression, stress management, and substance abuse/dependence.

Guest Speaker: Gabriel Said Reynolds

The firm’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee hosted Gabriel Said Reynolds, a professor of Islamic Studies and Theology at the University of Notre Dame for an ice cream social and a short talk about his recent book on the Bible and Qur’an. He spoke on recent discoveries of ancient manuscripts that have challenged traditional Islamic views about the Qur’an, and the relationship of the Qur’an to the Bible.

Guest Speaker: Kimberly Schlichting

The firm’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee recognized Native American Heritage Month by inviting Delaware Municipal Electric Corporation (DEMEC) President and CEO Kimberly Schlichting to share more information about DEMEC’s participation in Light Up Navajo, a joint initiative with the Navajo Nation to electrify 300 homes in six weeks. In the remote areas of Navajo Nation, electricity provides not just light, but refrigeration to protect food and medicine. In 2019, a four-member DEMEC crew worked alongside crewmembers from the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority (NTUA). The teams worked 12-hour days for two weeks at a time. Although initially delayed by the pandemic, DEMEC hopes to return to the Navajo Nation to continue this valuable work in partnership with residents and the NTUA.