Navigating the Wakes in the Water: A Leadership Retreat

Jamaal Thomas

Associate Director, Deputy ADA and Section 504 Coordinator, and Deputy Title IX Coordinator

Yale University

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamaalthomas/

Jamaal Thomas is an experienced attorney who provides leadership and support in the effort to create and sustain equitable, diverse and inclusive working/learning environments for all in the Yale community. He addresses complaints of discrimination, harassment, sexual misconduct, and unfair treatment based on a person's identity. He also helps manage the University’s accommodation program for faculty members and other academic employees with disabilities.



Mr. Thomas also has six years of practical experience enhancing programs and operations for CASES, a New York based not-for-profit organization that delivers innovative services designed to reduce crime/incarceration, improve behavioral health and promote recovery and rehabilitation. Mr. Thomas was CASES' General Counsel for four years. In that role, he provided legal counsel to CASES in all areas (tax, government relations, real estate, employment, litigation, regulatory compliance and general corporate matters). Mr. Thomas also supported CASES as a development professional for six years. In this role, he helped create new initiatives, engaged in fundraising activities and supported strategic planning processes for the organization.



Specialties: Title VII/Title IX/Section 504/ADEA compliance, non-profit law (formation, governance and operations), mental health law, employment discrimination law, labor/employment law, legal education, regulatory compliance, human resources, fundraising, strategic planning, program evaluationJamaal Thomas is an experienced attorney who provides leadership and support in the effort to create and sustain equitable, diverse and inclusive working/learning environments for all in the Yale community. He addresses complaints of discrimination, harassment, sexual misconduct, and unfair treatment based on a person's identity. He also helps manage the University’s accommodation program for faculty members and other academic employees with disabilities.

Mr. Thomas also has six years of practical experience enhancing programs and operations for CASES, a New York based not-for-profit organization that delivers innovative services designed to reduce crime/incarceration, improve behavioral health and promote recovery and rehabilitation. Mr. Thomas was CASES' General Counsel for four years. In that role, he provided legal counsel to CASES in all areas (tax, government relations, real estate, employment, litigation, regulatory compliance and general corporate matters). Mr. Thomas also supported CASES as a development professional for six years. In this role, he helped create new initiatives, engaged in fundraising activities and supported strategic planning processes for the organization. Specialties: Title VII/Title IX/Section 504/ADEA compliance, non-profit law (formation, governance and operations), mental health law, employment discrimination law, labor/employment law, legal education, regulatory compliance, human resources, fundraising, strategic planning, program evaluations.

Will McDonough

Director of Community Engagement, History Faculty

The Country School

https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-mcdonough-68b71015/

Will McDonough is a distinguished educator, speaker, facilitator, and thought leader recognized for his innovative contributions to education. Named one of the Global Forum for Education and Learning’s “Top 100 Visionaries in Education” (2020), Will's influence extends across various educational spheres. He currently serves as the Director of Community and Curriculum Coordinator at The Country School in Madison, CT, where he continues to teach and lead with his optimistic approach.

Raised in a one-room schoolhouse in the mountains of northern New Hampshire, Will's upbringing by a street-performing juggler/storyteller and a teacher of the deaf and blind has deeply influenced his educational philosophy. His academic journey includes studying history and education at Middlebury College with a focus on Black revolution and the racist vilification of native peoples in Colonial America. He earned his M.Ed from the University of Illinois in Global Studies in Educational Policy, Organization, and Leadership, with a Master's Thesis on post-Apartheid citizenship-based education in South Africa.

Will’s career is marked by significant roles such as Program and Leadership Director at YMCA Camp Belknap (Wolfeboro, NH) and Founder and Director of a tuition-free Ministry-Based overnight camp, Standing Rock Camp (Easton, CT). This camp offered a faith-based model of manhood, emphasizing responsibility, rejection of passivity, and courageous leadership. Will also has partnered with local schools and organizations (specifically New Haven’s IRIS) to develop a curriculum entitled The Young Leader’s Toolbox for Connecticut teenagers.

In addition to his work in education, Will is an accomplished speaker who has delivered a TED Talk, and shares his insights on innovative educational practices and leadership often at national and regional conferences. He is also the author of four books, including The Things We Shared in the Time We Had: A Letter to My Students, and Pause Together: A Handbook for Humans.

Previously, Will was a world cultures and English teacher, 8th grade Dean, Director of Service Learning, History Department Chair, and Head Cross Country Coach at New Canaan Country School in New Canaan, CT. He remains actively engaged with his community through his involvement with youth sports, environmental stewardship, and ministry-based service. He resides in Guilford, CT, with his partner Nicole and their three children.

Kirk Hatcher

26th District Senator

Alabama State Senate

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirk-hatcher-135385114/

Kirk Hatcher serves as Head Start Director in Montgomery County, and in the Alabama State Senate where he proudly represents the fine citizens of District 26 in Montgomery. A former English educator, Mr. Hatcher taught a total of 17 years in schools in Montgomery, Alabama, Florida, and Rye, New York. He is a native of Montgomery, Alabama, and a graduate of Saint Jude High School and Resurrection Catholic Elementary School.

Kirk received his Bachelor of Arts degree in the English and Political Science departments at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. He later earned the Mater of Divinity degree from Emory University’s School of Theology in Atlanta, Georgia.

Prior to his arrival at Rye Country Day School, Rye, New York in Fall 2012, Kirk served on the faculties at Palmer Trinity School in Miami, Florida and as an adjunct instructor/lecturer at the University of Miami, Florida. He also spent a couple of years serving on the English faculties in the Montgomery Public Schools, Montgomery, Alabama beginning in January 2000. Having served as an intern in the Office of Admission at Emory University from 1996-1998, he was later appointed to the position of Associate Dean of Admission in the Office of Admissions at on e of the country’s largest consortium of seminaries The Interdenominational Theological Center, Atlanta, Georgia. He was later selected to serve as the Senior Program Officer for ITC FaithWorks Foundation.

Once active on the visiting lecture circuit, Kirk has offered annual mini-lectures on the Theology of Gospel Music mostly during the fall/winter semesters at the following institutions: Smith College, Northhampton, Massachusetts; Hamilton College, Clinton, New York; Wells College, Aurora, New York; Claremont School of Theology, Claremont, California; Hollins University, Roanoke, Virginia; Muhlenberg College, Allentown, Pennsylvania; The Dana Hall School, Wesley, Massachusetts, and The Asheville School, Asheville, North Carolina.

While in his native Montgomery between the years of 1988 and 1992, he served as a member of the staff at Alabama State University in the following capacities: Special Legal Assistant to the University General Counselor (Solomon S. Seay, Jr., Esq.); and Program Coordinator for Targeted Educational Advancement. A 1992 alumnus of Leadership Montgomery Class iX, Kirk served as the founding President of Success Roundtable: 2001, Inc. (an economic development organization comprised of business leaders, college presidents, clergymen, lawyers, lawmakers, physicians, educational leaders, and military officers). A 32nd degree Mason (Prince Hall Grand Lodge F. & A. M. of Alabama – Abraham Consistory), Kirk is also a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

Kirk is an accomplished vocalist and pianist (having served as choral director/keyboard accompanist beginning at age nine in his home/family congregation, Pilgrim Rest Baptist

Church). A licensed Baptist minister, Kirk once served a yearlong appointment as the guest interim Senior Minister at the historic Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, Birmingham, Alabama.

A true believer in the words uttered by St. Luke (paraphrased) – “To whom much is given, much is indeed required.”

Daryl Denelle

MDiv '23/ STM '25

Yale Divinity School

https://www.linkedin.com/in/daryl-hopkins-denelle-477017a1/

In my second year as a Master of Sacred Theology, I'm dedicated to exploring disability theology, liturgy, and institutional policy. I hold a Master of Divinity from YDS (’23) and a Diploma in Congregational Studies from Andover Newton Seminary.



I earned a B.A. in English Literature from Stonehill College in Massachusetts. During my time at Yale, I've held various leadership roles and co-founded DivineAbilities, a disability advocacy group at YDS. I'm honored to have received the Martin B. Copenhaver Preaching Prize in 2023 and the William E. Downes Prize in 2021.



Outside of my studies, I enjoy spending time with my cat, Gus, and re-watching musicals with loved ones. I'm also passionate about houseplants, the ocean, crafts, and everything fall-related. You'll often find me rolling around near the Chapel or the DEIB offices.

Lynn Sullivan-Harmon

Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Yale Divinity School

Dean Sullivan serves as Yale Divinity School’s Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging (DEIB) and the Discrimination, Harassment, and Resource Coordinator (DHRC). She also works with a team of HR leaders at Yale to provide input for the program design and cohort experience as the co-facilitator for the Emerge at Yale Program – an 8-month leadership program for high-potential managers from across the university.



Prior to coming to Yale, she spent 20 years working in independent school settings as an admissions director & director of financial aid, dean of community development, director of public purpose, and dean of DEI. She served as the chair of the Commission on Diversity for Independent Schools (CT) for three, 3-year terms and helped to organize the largest student diversity conference in CT.



She has degrees in Organizational Leadership: Adult Learning & Leadership and Education. She is a proud member of the largest African American public service sorority, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and she is an active member of The Links Incorporated.