Q: How long have you been with the CHRO?
A: Next month it will be 10 years. I started in January 2014 as a durational attorney on a grant from HUD, focusing solely on housing discrimination litigation. At the end of that year, I was hired full time in the legal department. I actually interned with the CHRO back in 2009 while in law school, so it was nice to come back after practicing law in New York City.
Q: What originally drew you to civil rights work and what keeps you inspired to do the work today?
A: It’s hard to pinpoint any one draw. I was raised in Northampton, MA in a progressive, social justice oriented Jewish community that was focused on inclusion, individuality, and justice. I was also lucky to have the opportunity to go to a progressive high school – shout out to Northfield Mount Hermon! – where I took classes on discrimination and lived with students from around the world. I had role models that encouraged me to think critically about the world, laws, history, and media. In college I majored in public policy and law, and then after a couple years off, I went to law school to pursue public service.
What keeps me inspired today is the combination of anti-bias work and shame-resilience work. The insights and tools I’ve learned from authors like Beverly Daniel Tatum, Layla Saad, and Brene Brown. We can’t address what we are unwilling to see. And we won’t see what our egos protect us from seeing because of shame. I had to work to remove the good/bad person binary from my way of thinking because it was keeping me stuck. Diving into the work of diversity, equity, and inclusion has given me renewed confidence that my work matters on both a small and large scale. This newsletter for instance, was just a little inkling of an idea two years ago. With supportive management and an incredible team of colleagues, that little idea has blossomed – we have put out 17 months of consistent material and delivered it to more than 1,000 subscribers! That feels like something tangible.
What also keeps me going is the simple fact that I want my children and all children to inherit a world that affirms their dignity and humanity, so I need to do my small part. The next generations are watching what we do, not just what we say. In the end, I want my kids to know in their bones that I fought for a world that sees them for who they are and respects them.
Q: What is the last show you binged and the last book you read of your own choosing?
A: I’m on a pretty solid rotation of bingeing all the Shonda Rhimes shows over and over again. I also recently watched all of Mindy Kaling’s Never Have I Ever – I’m a 90s kid and just loved that show more than words can express.
I have a book buying problem. At any given time, you’ll find me 20% into 7-10 books on varying formats. I’m currently reading Caste by Isabel Wilkerson, The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown (I read this one at least once a year because growth is apparently a spiral and I keep needing these lessons), an incredible parenting book called Good Inside by Becky Kennedy…and many more. My kids and husband and I also love to listen to Kevin Hart’s Marcus Makes a Movie on car trips. I’m also a consistent listener of the 2x weekly podcast We Can Do Hard Things.
Q: What work or non-work-related topic could you give a presentation on with little to no preparation?
A: I could probably give a presentation on easy and fun parenting tricks – like buying bulk colorful shoelaces to individualize and swap out, doing photoshoots of the never-ending art and turning them into art books through a service like Shutterfly before throwing them away, and keeping enough glowsticks on hand to have frequent, spontaneous glow dance parties. I could also show folks how to make friendship bracelets!
CT CHRO 