It's time to elect new ACLU-DE board members! Click here to elect new members to the ACLU of Delaware Board of Directors. Nominee Profiles are below.
Only your current ACLU membership is required; no additional donation is necessary.
To vote you will need your eight-digit account number and voting code, which can be found on the mailed election reminder postcard or email you received in mind-April.
If you have any questions, please contact Morgan Keller at [email protected] or 302-654-5326, ext. 109.
Online voting will close at midnight on May 11, 2018.
Nominee Profiles
Adriana lives in Wilmington, DE, with her husband and two children. Her parents moved to Wilmington in 1980 as the city was experiencing the desegregation of its public schools. She and her brother grew up in a working class community rocked by violent racism such as the murder of Sheila Ferrell (1976); therefore her parents taught her Black & Third World History and Working Class History every day. Adriana's parents’ organizing influenced her profusely and she became a student activist who then went on to earn a Ph.D. in Sociology from Temple University (2002), coincidentally the same year she became a member of the ACLU.
Adriana has been a Sociology Professor at Delaware County Community College in Media, PA since 2001. She teaches stratification courses with a strong emphasis on white privilege and transgender equality and co-chairs the college’s Institutional Diversity Committee and the Faculty Diversity Committee. Furthermore, she is on the Red Clay School Board (elected 2013), where she has taken the lead on introducing equity initiatives such as the Resolution for Safe and Inclusive Schools, the creation of the Diversity Committee, the Racial Equity Initiative, and the increase in race, trauma and LGBTQ focused Professional Development for employees.
Adriana is humbled by the opportunity to join the ACLU Board because she has spent her life working with others to fight injustice and create a more inclusive and egalitarian society. Becoming an ACLU Board member will allow her to continue this work and be part of a larger movement for legal justice. Adriana finds this opportunity both exciting & energizing and looks forward to working with other like-minded community members. Ever onward!
After a long and varied career in banking, Kathleen Epler has devoted her retirement to social activism. She strongly feels that decisions surrounding reproductive choices have a profound impact on people’s lives, so reproductive justice has always been at the center of her activism.
To proactively put that activism to work, she served as a board member on Planned Parenthood Delaware for ten years, serving as chair, for the last four years.
During her time as chairperson, Kathleen helped lead the effort to successfully codify Roe v. Wade in Delaware law; believing that it’s imperative that we protect all the rights guaranteed us by the Constitution, as well as advocating for those whose voice has been silenced or ignored.
Leland R. Kent Sr. is a middle school Math teacher in Wilmington, Delaware. Mr. Kent left a rewarding 19-year career as Director of Victim Advocacy and Services to answer the call to teach. He began his career with the Philadelphia District Attorney's office in 1994 as the Victim-Witness Coordinator of the Homicide Unit. In 1999, Mr. Kent was promoted to the Assistant Director of Victim-Witness Services and was given oversight of the Witness Relocation Program. In April of 2011, Mr. Kent was elevated to serve as the Executive Director of Victim, Witness and Neighborhood Services.
He earned his Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice from Mansfield University of Pennsylvania, a Master's Degree from Relay University's Graduate School of Education and is now pursuing a second Master's Degree in Public Administration from the University of Delaware. Mr. Kent and his wife Shawnickque’ have five sons and reside in Middletown, Delaware.
Leland is committed to serving our fellow citizens who are disenfranchised within our communities.
Nichelle is a WHYY reporter who hit the ground running in the state, covering everything from human interest to social justice stories. She has worked in multiple newsrooms since starting her career in 2004, and joined WHYY in 2012. The Temple University graduate now freelances at the PBS network, which allows her more time to be actively involved in the community. Nichelle enjoys giving back through the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, DE Chapter, and the Christina Cultural Arts Center as a board member. She is also committed to Ballard’s Reading Buddies program, where she volunteers and reads to first grade students.
She hopes to serve the American Civil Liberties Union as a board member, fight for the voiceless, and ensure public policies protect the civil rights of all people.
In her spare time, the Philadelphia native, loves traveling with her husband, family, friends and meeting new people.
