Meet Delaware's Most Influential People 2024 with community impact

Suzanne Thurman: Marine Education, Research and Rehabilitation Institute, founder and executive director

Suzanne Thurman is one of the state's top first responders when it comes to rescuing marine mammals. Her Lewes-based nonprofit, also known as MERR, is dedicated to the conservation of marine mammals and sea turtles. Last year the organization responded to 264 animals, which includes dolphins, seals, harbor porpoises and sea turtles — of those, two sea turtles and two seals were rescued.

Thurman's organization continues educating through outreach programs, as well as by teaching interns from different colleges. Last year's five interns participated in the release of two of Kemp's ridley sea turtles and a loggerhead sea turtle that were transported to Delaware from other facilities for release. Her group is partnering with Delaware Futures to bring an at-sea immersion experience to underserved youth. This program will bring students out into the Harbor of Refuge to be among dozens of dolphins in their native habitat. The students will help to document the dolphins using an app and will learn about the ecology of these animals, potentially inspiring further interest in the marine sciences.

One of MERR's big events in 2023 was co-hosting the Greater Atlantic Region Stranding Conference, where regional organizations from Maine to Virginia gather to share and discuss information on aiding in the response, rescue and rehabilitation of marine mammals in the Mid-Atlantic. This was the first time the event was held in Delaware, where Thurman helped showcase the state and coastal community to more than 100 stranding responders, researchers, marine scientists, students and federal representatives.

Eul Lee: A founder of Sussex2030

As a founder of Sussex2030, Eul Lee has been fighting against unchecked growth in Sussex County.

For years, the grassroots group of Sussex County residents pushed for responsible development of the county, environment preservation and economic development. While Lee said she's winding down, she is still promoting and working with others, including the Sussex Preservation Coalition.

Lee has also spent the last few years helping the next generation of activists.

Glenn Gauvry: Ecological Research & Development Group Inc., founder and president

Horseshoe crabs were not always as appreciated, which is why Glenn Gauvry founded Ecological Research & Development Group Inc. — a Dover-based nonprofit wildlife conservation organization whose primary focus is the conservation of the world's four horseshoe crab species. Prior to forming ERDG in 1995, there were no organizations interested in their conservation. Since then, the group has worked to find solutions that prevent damage to native wildlife populations and habitats caused by human activity.

Gauvry, last year, welcomed the 25th anniversary of ERDG's Just Flip 'em program which addresses the high mortality among horseshoe crabs that occurs when they are stranded upside down during spawning. The program continues asking beachgoers to flip the animal over so it can return to the water. ERDG's Backyard Stewardship Community Horseshoe Crab Sanctuary program, the companion program to Just Flip ‘em and almost as old, signed up a new Delaware Community in 2023 — that of Big Stone Beach, marking their 11th community sanctuary.

Gauvry is also a commissioner on the Kent County Regional Planning Commission and a founding member of the IUCN Horseshoe Crab Specialist Group.

Allison Levine: Local Journalism Initiative, founder and CEO

As founder and CEO of the Local Journalism Initiative, Allison Taylor Levine is hoping to strengthen Delaware by building up the local news and information ecosystem. The initiative's aim is to inspire and inform civic engagement in Delaware and empower people, particularly people in underserved and underrepresented groups and geographic areas. LJI in December launched Spotlight Delaware, the state's first collaborative nonprofit newsroom, which focuses on the impact of public policy on people's daily lives. Spotlight's inaugural newsletter went out in February. LJI also created and manages the Delaware Journalism Collaborative, a group of 21 newsrooms (including DelawareOnline/The News Journal) and community partners working together to provide communities information on issues that can be polarizing.

Richard Smith: NAACP Delaware State Conference of Branches, president

Richard Smith has been active in the NAACP since the 1960s, when the organization pushed to integrate restaurants in Wilmington. Since then, Smith has held various positions in different NAACP Delaware chapters, but always with the goal of helping all who are disenfranchised and mistreated.

Although he is president of the state NAACP chapter, Smith has not slowed down. He often travels the length of the state at his own expense to make sure people are being treated fairly.

Smith found himself in 2023 questioning what he and others see as excessive force used by law enforcement. He pressured the state to charge a Delaware State Police trooper seen on video punching a 15-year-old boy who had been playing "ding-dong ditch." Smith also demanded more transparency in the death Tremaine Jackson, who was fatally shot by police after they said an altercation started after he was caught shoplifting at a Lowe's Home Improvement.

Cristina Kalesse: Lung health advocate

Cristina Kalesse and her husband, Rob, began fundraising when he was diagnosed with Stage IV metastatic lung cancer in 2019. She continued to raise money after he died in 2020 to honor his memory, raising more than $125,000 through the Rob Kalesse Memorial Classic Golf Tournament for the American Lung Association. She's also helped raise money for the organization through the Lung Force Walk.

Her efforts resulted in her being recognized as an American Lung Association Lung Force hero in 2021.

Kalesse, who is principal of A.I. du Pont Middle School, has advocated for the Lung Association in Washington, D.C., speaking with congressional members regarding healthcare policies and funding related to lung health.

Ladaye "Cooley" Johnson: The nonprofit Cool Shoes Inc., founder

Ladaye “Cooley” Johnson grew up in Wilmington’s East Side neighborhood, raised by a single mother. The neighborhood was known for its flourishing drug trade, and Johnson faced many challenges growing up, eventually dropping out of high school.

After receiving advice from older men in the community, Johnson changed course. He pursued his secondary education and then attended college where he decided he wanted to give back to neighborhood children like himself. In 2014, he organized his first Easter egg hunt, which was attended by hundreds of families.

Today, Johnson's nonprofit, Cool Shoes Inc., continues to organize various community events throughout the year, including father-daughter dances, back-to-school supply giveaways, toy drives, Thanksgiving turkey handouts and summer camps.

Inspired by the wisdom of his mentors, Johnson is committed to emphasizing the importance of sharing one's personal story with children. He said sometimes, the most helpful thing they receive is undivided attention and an honest conversation from an understanding adult.

Ray Fitzgerald: Wilmington Housing Authority, executive director

In 2021, Ray Fitzgerald took the helm as executive director of the Wilmington Housing Authority during a severe housing crisis in the city. Under his leadership, the housing authority has shifted its focus from solely maintaining publicly subsidized housing to seeking multiple solutions to address housing needs.

Fitzgerald's initiatives include reviving the organization's inactive nonprofit, the Delaware Affordable Housing Group, to refurbish long-term vacant units. The nonprofit is also building and selling homes at market rate, with the proceeds being reinvested into the housing authority’s affordable housing programs.

Prior to his tenure, the Wilmington Housing Authority rejected anyone seeking housing assistance who wasn't a client. Fitzgerald, former director of the Delaware Division of Social Services, established the Premier Rapid Housing Placement Team to provide direct assistance to any Delawarean impacted by the housing shortage, offering comprehensive case management services.

The team also performs outreach to landlords, educating them about the Section 8 program. These efforts have successfully recruited more landlords into the program, increasing rental options for individuals with low incomes.

Dionna Sargent: Cinnaire Corporation, vice president of community development

In October 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic and an escalating housing crisis, Dionna Sargent introduced Jumpstart Wilmington.

The groundbreaking program was created to increase the availability of affordable housing by enabling residents — particularly women and individuals from under-resourced communities — to become real estate developers. To date, 131 participants have graduated from the program. To facilitate their entry into real estate development, the graduates are offered opportunities to transform vacant properties in Wilmington into affordable housing.

Sargent also oversees Cinnaire's administration of the Catalyst Fund. Through a collaboration with the Delaware State Housing Authority, the Catalyst Fund provides real estate developers with construction financing to create affordable housing statewide. Participants receive a subsidy to cover the shortfall between acquisition and renovation costs once the homes are sold at or below 120% area median income.

Cerron Cade: Delaware Office of Management and Budget, director

Delaware spends billions of dollars on commodities, professional services and construction projects. A 2022 state disparity study revealed that the First State, known for its business-friendly environment, was not so friendly to nonwhite businesses. It showed that nonwhite businesses received 6.13% of state contracts for construction and professional services with more than 90% of these contracts awarded to white male-owned businesses.

Cerron Cade, director of the Delaware Office of Management and Budget, is leading efforts to make substantial changes that will lead to the expansion of the state’s vendor marketplace.

Under Cade's leadership, state agencies are developing initiatives that allow disadvantaged business owners, women-owned businesses and minority-owned enterprises the opportunity to secure state contracts to provide construction and professional services, helping these businesses to grow.

Vandrick Hamlin: Local champion for students

Even before officially starting his nonprofit in 2014, Vandrick R. Hamlin Sr. saw there was a lack of resources in the neighborhoods where he worked as a mail carrier. This led him to organize an annual back-to-school bookbag drives and winter coat giveaways.

Hamlin retired in 2019 after 30 years as a postal worker, but his commitment to the children in the communities he once served continues. The bookbag drive, which initially provided 600 bookbags to families in need along Lancaster Avenue, has declined in numbers due to the gentrification of the area. However, the book bags, coats and school supplies are given to students at Bayard School.

Hamlin also established the Cameron D. Hamlin College Scholarship to recognize and support long-term student volunteers who assist him with his giveaways. This scholarship was established in honor of Hamlin's son, Cameron Hamlin, who was killed on Sept. 24, 2006.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware's most influential people who are making a difference in 2024