WILMINGTON, Del. — After over eight years as Executive Director of the ACLU of Delaware, Kathleen MacRae has announced that she will retire effective April 15, 2019.
“We’ve accomplished a great deal in legislative, litigation and public education efforts that span the range of criminal justice reform, LGBT equality, rights of the incarcerated, and expanding First Amendment protections for the people of Delaware,” MacRae said. “Because our organization is so strong both in talented staff and finances, I believe that the time is right to turn the work over to new leadership that can steer this organization to even greater heights.”
Prior to leading the ACLU of Delaware, Kathleen was development director at the ACLU of New Mexico, where she was the executive director of the New Mexico Coalition to Repeal the Death Penalty. In March 2009, after a 10-year effort, New Mexico’s death penalty was repealed. In Delaware, she led efforts across the spectrum of social justice issues, most recently the Smart Justice campaign to cut Delaware’s incarcerated population in half.
“We are so grateful for the years of Kathleen’s work in advancing civil liberties in Delaware. Kathleen has a unique passion for social justice and has been tireless in advocating for the people of Delaware,” said Kathryn Jakabcin, President of the ACLU of Delaware. “We wish her the best in all her future endeavors and are inspired to continue her work.”
During the transition as the organization seeks a new Executive Director, David Bever has been appointed to be the Interim Director. Prior to joining the ACLU-DE in October 2016 as Director of Development, Dave served as Executive Director of two nonprofit victim service agencies in Pennsylvania. He holds a Masters of Social Work from Temple University and a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work from the University of Maryland Baltimore County.
