Join us!

6:00pm – Buffet Reception and Networking
7:00pm – Program and Honoree Recognition
8:00 – 10:00pm – Dessert and Dancing

Attire: You are invited to wear professional attire for this event. Formal dress is not required.

This Event is Fragrance-Free: For the comfort of all, we discourage all attendees from wearing perfumes, colognes, or scented hair or body products before or during this event.

Featured Speakers

Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester

Lisa Blunt Rochester began her professional career as a problem-solver and an advocate. A caseworker for then-Congressman Tom Carper, Lisa helped people during challenging times with their Social Security benefits, disability insurance claims, IRS disputes and housing needs. She served in the cabinets of two Delaware governors as the first female African-American Secretary of Labor and the first African-American Deputy Secretary of Health and Social Services and State Personnel Director.

As Secretary of Labor, Lisa managed 500 employees and an $87 million budget; she focused on connecting employers to resources and jobseekers – particularly those on welfare or leaving Delaware prisons. As State Personnel Director, Lisa was commissioned to investigate the Delaware State Police for racial and sexual discrimination. Working with local and national experts in policing and civil rights, the 2001 Blunt-Bradley Report served as a roadmap to improve the internal and external relations of the State Police.

She also served as the CEO of the Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League – an action-oriented, public policy research think-tank focused on the inclusion of people of color.

Lisa grew up in Wilmington, graduated from Padua Academy, and worked her first job at the McDonald’s on Market Street. She majored in International Relations as an undergraduate at Fairleigh Dickinson University and later earned a Master’s in Urban Affairs and Public Policy from the University of Delaware. Lisa believes our national security requires a strong understanding of the rest of the world. She has helped women enter the workforce in the Middle East, provided vaccines to children in Africa, and co-authored a book while living in China with her late husband Charles. Her book, THRIVE: 34 Women, 19 Countries, One Goal, profiles women who reinvented themselves while living in a foreign country.

Lisa is the proud mother of Alyssa, age 27, and Alex, age 30, both of whom graduated from Delaware’s public schools. Education and college affordability are important to her.

Lisa once again made history in 2016 when she was elected to Congress. She was the first woman and the first person of color to represent The First State in such a role.

Mary Lazare

President Trump appointed Mary Lazare to serve as the Administration for Community Living at the US Department on Health and Human Services on June 19, 2017.

Ms. Lazare comes to ACL from St. Louis, Missouri, where she most recently served as Vice President for Home- and Community-Based Services for Lutheran Senior Services. With master’s degrees in both management and gerontology and an extensive career in long-term care and community health operations, she combines hands-on program-level knowledge with strategic planning and organizational development expertise, and has led organizations in delivering quality services and advocating for the people they serve while adhering to sound stewardship principles.

Entertainment

DJ Afuw is the wow factor among elite DJs in the DC metropolitan area. Known for his high-energy mixes, this DJ’s captivating sound spans the eras and blends genres of hits. For more than a decade, he has stimulated audiences as a premier orchestrator of sound for all ceremonies, receptions, corporate events, fundraisers, holiday parties, and nightclubs.

With an eclectic list of clients ranging from The Congressional Black Caucus, The Kier Company, Haworth Inc., Venable LLP, to BET, he has a proven record of creating an atmosphere that exceeds his clients expectations.

DJ Afuw proudly partners with AUCD for their 2018 Gala in celebrating their honorees who are leading the way toward inclusion, opportunity and justice. This will be an amazing night to remember for all party people, see you on the dance floor!

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