Presented by The Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Committee
About the Program
For over a decade, the Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Summit has been a cornerstone of our collective journey toward a more inclusive and equitable legal profession. What began in 2016 as a bold initiative has grown into a powerful tradition that brings together leaders, changemakers, and advocates from across Connecticut to learn, reflect, and act. The Summit also serves as the annual convening of the signatories to the Connecticut Legal Community's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Pledge and Plan — a coalition of over 40 organizations committed to long-term, meaningful change. Please join us on Friday, October 23, 2026, for the 11th Annual Connecticut Bar Association Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Summit: The Collaborative Blueprint.
Agenda
8:30 AM Breakfast & Registration
9:00 AM Welcome Remarks | J. Paul Vance, Jr.
9:15 AM Signatory Analytics Overview | Hon. Cecil J. Thomas
10:00 AM Break
10:15 AM Beyond DEI Programs: Actionable Strategies for Retention in the Legal Profession | Dr. Arin N. Reeves
Despite years of robust DEI initiatives, retention numbers across the legal profession have remained largely unchanged. This interactive workshop moves past the question of whether organizations are committed to diversity and instead focuses on individual initiatives that tackle the main drivers of attrition: ambient fatigue recognition, energy management, and effective feedback.
12:00 PM Lunch
12:15 PM Working Session | Dr. Arin N. Reeves
1:15 PM Panel Discussions
3:00 PM Closing Remarks | Mallori D. Thompson
Speakers
J. Paul Vance, Jr.
CBA President, Logan Vance Sullivan & Kores LLP
As a partner at Logan Vance Sullivan & Kores LLP, J. Paul Vance, Jr. focuses his practice on plaintiff’s personal injury, workers’ compensation, and medical malpractice. His commitment to the legal profession is evidenced by his leadership as President of the Connecticut Bar Association and his service on the Board of Governors for the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association. Beyond the courtroom, Vance has dedicated decades to mentoring youth as a high school basketball coach, a role that mirrors his approach to the law: discipline, teamwork, and a relentless drive to win. Previously, he served as the State of Connecticut Claims Commissioner and held various elected and appointed positions in local government, bringing a deep understanding of public policy and advocacy to every case he handles.
Vanessa Roberts Avery
McCarter & English LLP
Vanessa Roberts Avery, former United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, draws on her extensive government experience to represent clients in high-stakes criminal and civil matters. Vanessa’s public service career includes a Presidential appointment as the US Attorney for the District of Connecticut, state service as an Associate Attorney General, and prior federal service as an Assistant US Attorney and a trial attorney with the US Department of Justice. Appointed as the US Attorney for the District of Connecticut in 2022, Vanessa brings decades of experience in both the public and private sectors to her representation of clients in a wide range of complex regulatory, commercial, and criminal matters. A seasoned litigator, she offers clients strategic guidance and insight into the litigation process and provides creative solutions to their legal challenges. At McCarter, she helps clients with federal and state government investigations and enforcement actions, the defense of high-stakes white collar matters, corporate investigations, and complex commercial litigation. As US Attorney, Vanessa exercised broad discretion and decision-making authority in a wide variety of challenging criminal and civil matters. She prosecuted cases related to violent crime and narcotics, child exploitation, human trafficking, environmental crimes, financial fraud, public corruption, cybercrime, and national security issues. She also spearheaded civil rights enforcement and hate crime prevention across the state while stressing the importance of community engagement. Prior to her appointment as US Attorney, Vanessa served as the Associate Attorney General and Chief of the Division of Enforcement and Public Protection at the Connecticut Office of the Attorney General. Her areas of responsibility included antitrust, opioids, government program fraud, consumer protection, child protection, civil rights, environment, energy, finance, and privacy. Before working in the Attorney General’s office, she served as an Assistant US Attorney in the Civil Division in Connecticut, prosecuting complex civil fraud cases under the False Claims Act, asset forfeiture cases, environmental violations, civil rights matters, and defending Bivens and medical malpractice cases. Vanessa also served as a trial attorney with the US Department of Justice in the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Civil Division.
Colby Fraschilla
Sipman & Goodwin LLP
Colby A. Fraschilla is the Director of Professional Development and Diversity at Shipman & Goodwin LLP, where she leads firmwide diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives alongside attorney training and development. She is dedicated to shaping strategic diversity goals and fostering a culture where attorneys from all backgrounds have equitable access to mentorship, training and advancement.
Moy Ogilvie
McCarter & English LLP
Moy Ogilvie is the Hartford Office Managing Partner at the law firm of McCarter & English. She has over twenty-five years of legal experience and her areas of practice have included product liability, pharmaceutical, toxic torts cases and complex business litigation. She has regularly handled pro bono matters through organizations such as Lawyers for Children America and Greater Hartford Legal Aid. Moy also serves as the partner overseeing McCarter’s culture and inclusion initiatives firm wide. Moy is active in the legal and local community. She is the Immediate Past President of the Hartford County Bar Association. She currently serves on the Connecticut Criminal Justice Commission as well as various local boards, including Lawyers Collaborative for Diversity and Hartford Youth Scholars. Moy received her bachelor’s degree from Bowdoin College and her J.D. from Boston University School of Law.
Dr. Arin N. Reeves
Nextions
Dr. Arin N. Reeves is a renowned researcher, best-selling author, and trusted advisor to global leaders navigating the evolving landscape of leadership and workplace culture. Her work spans critical themes, including emotional intelligence, energy management, diversity and inclusion, transformational leadership, generational dynamics, and organizational change. Known for her intellectual depth and practical insights, Dr. Reeves helps executives lead with clarity, equity, and resilience in increasingly complex environments. Her research and advisory work are grounded in a commitment to challenging norms and inviting contrarian perspectives that drive transformational growth. Arin is the author of several influential books, including The Next IQ, One Size Never Fits All, Smarter Than a Lie and In Charge. Her newest title, Ethical Influence Under Pressure: Choosing Integrity to Create Change that Endures, dives into what it means to create change with integrity and the deeper architecture of influence in our world today. She has led groundbreaking research initiatives on gender equity, LGBTQIA+ visibility, racial and ethnic diversity, cultural integration, implicit bias, energy management, and generational collaboration. As founder and managing director of Nextions, a firm specializing in workplace culture change, and creator of The JEDI Collective, Arin has redefined how leaders and organizations approach progress. Beginning her career in law, Dr. Reeves earned her doctorate in sociology from Northwestern University, where she has also served as an Adjunct Professor teaching on law and society. Intellectually curious and unapologetically bold, she continues to push boundaries —helping leaders not just lead but evolve.
Asker A. Saeed
KPPB Law
Asker A. Saeed is a business lawyer and DEI leader who helps small and mid-sized organizations navigate legal challenges while building stronger, more inclusive workplaces. As a member of KPPB LAW’s General Counsel Services and leader of its DEI Strategic Counseling practice, Asker brings three decades of experience across law, business, and organizational leadership. He takes a practical, solutions-focused approach, helping businesses address day-to-day legal needs, manage risk, and develop sustainable workplace strategies. As part of the firm’s commercial real estate department, Asker also provides legal advice and support to real estate developers and hoteliers.
Angela Schlingheyde
Connecticut Bar Foundation
Angela Schlingheyde has served as Executive Director of the Connecticut Bar Foundation since October 2023, where she provides strategic leadership in advancing access to justice across the state. In this role, she oversees organizational strategy, legislative advocacy, financial stewardship, and day-to-day operations in support of the Foundation’s mission. Before joining the Connecticut Bar Foundation, Attorney Schlingheyde spent more than eight years at The Center for Family Justice in Bridgeport, Connecticut, serving as Director of Civil Legal and Court Advocacy Services. There, she played a central role in expanding legal services for underserved communities and developing innovative programs to meet unmet legal needs. A long-time advocate for equitable access to legal representation, Attorney Schlingheyde spearheaded the creation of the Justice Legal Center in 2017, Connecticut’s first legal incubator designed to help attorneys build sustainable practices focused on serving low- to moderate-income clients. She later secured funding to launch the Pro Bono Legal Center in 2019, ensuring survivors of domestic and sexual violence have access to trauma-informed, high-quality legal assistance regardless of financial resources. Attorney Schlingheyde began her legal career more than 28 years ago as an Assistant State Attorney in Miami-Dade County, Florida, where she prosecuted cases involving domestic violence, sexual violence, and child abuse. She earned her Juris Doctor from Hofstra University School of Law in 1998 and her bachelor's degree from Boston College in 1995.
Alexis Smith
New Haven Legal Assistance Association, Inc.
Alexis is currently NHLAA’s executive director. She previously served as the organization’s Deputy Director, and before that was a staff attorney at Greater Hartford Legal Aid where she represented children facing denial of their educational rights. In addition to leading NHLAA, Alexis has served in numerous leadership roles for the Connecticut Bar Association (CBA), including as Secretary of the CBA, a member of the CBA’s House of Delegates, co-chair of the CBA Task Force on Policing, a member of the CBA Awards Committee, and the Pandemic Recovery and the Future of Court Technology Task Force. She has also served as president of the George W. Crawford Black Bar Association and has earned awards from The West Haven Black Coalition, Junior Achievement, New Haven Probate Court, and Gateway Community College Foundation. Committed to community service, she currently serves on a number of local non-profit boards. Born and raised in Connecticut, she earned her bachelor’s degree from Duke University and her law degree from University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Mallori D. Thompson
CBA DEI Committee Chair, Robinson+Cole LLP
Mallori Deanna Thompson is an associate attorney in the business litigation practice group at Robinson+Cole. Mallori is also the Chair of the Connecticut Bar Association's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee and a faculty member for the Connecticut Judicial Branch’s Civics Academy. Previously, she was a judicial law clerk for Chief Justice Richard A. Robinson (Ret.) of the Connecticut Supreme Court and Judge Victor A. Bolden of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut. Mallori received her B.A. in Comparative Women's Studies with a concentration in Public Policy from Spelman College and her J.D. and Human Rights Certificate from the University of Connecticut School of Law. While a student at UConn Law, she successfully represented an asylum seeker in a removal proceeding, completed the Community Justice Fellowship at Greater Hartford Legal Aid, and published articles in the Michigan Journal of Race & Law, the Georgetown Journal of Law and Modern Critical Race Perspectives, and various other journals on a variety of subjects such as maternal mortality, reparations, and economic justice. Mallori also served as the first Black Editor-in-Chief of the Connecticut Law Review. Mallori serves on Robinson+Cole's Diversity, Equity, Inclusion + Belonging Committee and is the Immediate Past President of the George W. Crawford Black Bar Association. Mallori has been named a 2026 Next Generation of Leaders (Law Firm) Winner as part of Corporate Counsel's Women, Influence & Power in Law Awards, and received the 2024 Graduates of the Last Decade Impact Award from the UConn Law Alumni Association, the 2023 Robinson+Cole Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award, the 2021 American Law Institute Continuing Legal Education Scholarship & Leadership Award, and was a Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence 2019 First 100 Plus Honoree. She also recently completed over ten years of service as a Captain in the United States Army Reserves Medical Service Corps.
Cost
Free
Parking Information
Directions & Parking
Free parking is available in the Gateway Garage (171 Crown Street). Attendees should take the southeast elevators inside the garage to the first floor, where there is an entrance to Gateway’s North Building and its Curran Community Center.
CLE Credit
CT: 5.25 CLE Credits (Ethics)