Thursday, September 25, 2025
10:00 AM to 3:00 PM (Eastern Daylight Time)
Connecticut Bar Association
538 Preston Avenue, 3rd Floor,
Meriden,
Connecticut,
United States
This year's Annual Leadership Retreat for officers, section chairs, and committee leaders will include onboarding training and leadership materials, all paired with a mentorship happy hour.
This annual program is designed for CBA leadership including members of the House of Delegates and Board of Governors, Section Chairs, and Young Lawyers Section Executive Committee members. Section Chairs are asked to attend and, if unavailable, to designate another section officer to participate.
Please register by September 17.
Agenda
10:00 AM | Registration and Welcome
Lina Lee, CBA Executive Director
10:30 AM | The Multigenerational Advantage: Collaboration for Legal Success
Andrea Hawkins, Leading Culture Solutions
12:00 PM | Lunch
12:15 PM | Opening Remarks
Emily A. Gianquinto, CBA President
- CBA President’s Welcome:
- Unified leadership messaging and cultural alignment
- Incorporating 150th Anniversary initiatives into leadership
12:25 PM | Leadership Training and Standardized Materials
- Presentation by CBA Staff and Leadership
- Essentials of Planning your Bar Year
- Finance, Section Expectations, Meetings, Checklists, Reports, SideBar – Carol DeJohn, Director of Membership and Office Services | Shirley Perrin, Event Administrator
- Education Programs – Thomas Genung, Director of Continuing Legal Education
- Marketing and Communications – Alysha Adamo, Director of Communications | John Mooney, Marketing Lead
- Advocacy and Lobbying – Melissa Biggs, CBA Lobbyist
1:00 PM | Break
1:15 PM | Leadership Recruitment and DEI
Speakers: Cindy Cieslak, Former Labor & Employment Section Chair | Scott Garosshen, Former Litigation Section Chair | Lisa Lugauskas, Former Real Property Section Chair
Moderators: Mallori Thompson | Ron Houde, DEI Committee Co-Chairs
- Fostering inclusive engagement in sections and committees
- Identifying and mentoring new leaders and integrating DEI into leadership roles and decision-making
- Structuring leadership pipelines for sustainability
- Best practices for onboarding new leaders
- Pro Bono – Emily A. Gianquinto, CBA President
2:00 PM | Mentorship and Networking Happy Hour
Connect with leadership peers
The Multigenerational Advantage: Collaboration for Legal Success
Join Leading Culture for an engaging 90-minute interactive discussion tailored to legal professionals, focusing on navigating the intergenerational dynamics within law firms and legal teams. Through a Community of Belonging lens, participants will explore strategies to enhance collaboration across generations and apply these concepts in practical, hands-on exercises. This session emphasizes team-building and collaborative decision-making, equipping lawyers with actionable tolls to create inclusive, cohesive and high-performing legal environments.
Speaker
Andrea Hawkins, Leading Culture Solutions
Andréa Hawkins is the CEO and founding Partner of Leading Culture Solutions, a boutique business advisory firm serving organizations in several practice areas including Strategic Planning, Culture Transformation, Leadership Development, Interim Executive Leadership and Organizational Health all offered through a belonging lens.
Andréa approaches leadership with a unique blend of emotional intelligence and strategic consulting that helps organizations build employee and customer-based solutions by linking innovation with culture.