While applying for a new historic position at the Delaware Courts, Kaelea Shaner said she recognized a unique opportunity.
If she was selected for the job, she could continue to fuel her passion as a community advocate − this time, as the court’s system’s first diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) officer.
Shaner, who was hired by the Delaware Judicial Branch, started the new position on October 10. As the DEI Officer, she will work out of Wilmington and spearhead efforts to attract, retain and promote a diverse workforce throughout all courts in the state.
Shaner, 32, comes to the court system as part of a key recommendation from the Delaware Supreme Court’s 2022 Strategic Plan, which provides detailed steps on improving diversity and inclusion on the Delaware Bench and Bar. The plan was released on Jan. 31.
“I’m really excited,” Shaner said. “It’s something I’m familiar with because I also had to build a program from the ground up in my last position. I’m so excited to gather some of the research that’s been done already and really put it into practice.”
Shaner has extensive experience in higher education, along with helping organizations with strategic planning around diversity, equity and inclusion, including at Strayer University from 2015 to 2019. Her most recent role was the DEI program manager at Strategic Education Inc., an education services company operating at several educational institutions.
A native of Philadelphia, Shaner moved to Delaware after earning her bachelor’s degree in English at Pennsylvania State University. She also holds a master’s in education from Neumann University.
Delaware Online/The News Journal spoke with Shaner last week about her new role’s opportunity, potential obstacles and where DEI initiatives should sit for any organization to be successful.
The following Q&A has been edited for length and clarity:
Question: What are some roles and responsibilities that you will take on as a DEI officer?
Answer: One of the biggest pieces is taking some of the findings from the Supreme Court’s Strategic 2022 Plan on improving diversity and inclusion on the Delaware Bench and Bar and really implementing them. That will be a big part of this role along with expanding community outreach for DEI initiatives within the courts and improving upon some of the existing resources.
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Are there areas you know right now that you want to prioritize in the Delaware court system?
One of the findings within the strategic plan focuses on education and building up a pipeline from K-12 all the way through law school. It will be really interesting to partner with organizations within Delaware that will facilitate and make that happen. I’m very confident that it will expand and shift as I continue in this role.
Diversity and inclusion have become a newly visible topic within the last couple of years. What are some obstacles that may come your way in this position?
The primary obstacle will just be getting all of the irons that are currently in the fire all together — that’s the biggest piece. There is so much passion for this kind of work and people that are interested in supporting this. Another big challenge is finding all those key stakeholders and bringing them together to build a team but it’s a challenge I’m super excited for.
In your experience in DEI-related roles, what are some common issues you usually see in organizations?
I tend to see folks not understanding what we’re talking about when it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion or folks not really knowing where to start. Having a diverse team is a good start but diversity is just one factor of the equation. You add on to that a sense of equity to ensure that everybody has what they need to reach their full potential and then all of that kind of sensitizes into this idea of inclusion. A lot of times some organizations will have one piece or maybe two pieces of that, but it takes a hub or central resource for folks to integrate those and that can be a challenge.
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Are there any other specific goals you have?
One of my goals is to not only learn the court system but figure out ways to share that with the wider Delaware community. I think we often think of the court as not necessarily a fun place to be but I’m excited to learn about all of the things the court does, and how it operates, and share that with my own community and larger communities here in Delaware.
Have a tip or story ideas? Contact local reporter Cameron Goodnight at cgoodnight@delawareonline.com, or by calling or texting 302-324-2208. Follow him on Twitter at @CamGoodnight.
