Sandy combines incisiveness with deep empathy

In our professional lives we hunger for those people of such striking and sharp intelligence, they put an entire room at ease simply from the aura of their competence. Sandy is one of those people.

She knows her areas of expertise as you always hope an expert would. She is seasoned by notably diverse experiences. She has not only the insight but the awareness and adaptability to handle any situation – including knowing when outside help is required – and of what type.

Yet perhaps most remarkably, Sandy combines incisiveness with deep empathy. She understands the law, but more valuably, she understands people – from why and how they posture in negotiations and in court, to the deep-seated, often subconscious biases that can lie behind their beliefs and behaviors, particularly across and within cultures. She is a deeply caring person with profound integrity who views the world through honest eyes, while always retaining a pragmatic clarity of what should and needs to get done.”

Craig D Bamsey, Founding Partner, Chief Strategy Officer, Fathom+Hatch LLC

Appreciated the opportunity for growth

A couple of years ago, being… unenlightened, maybe just ignorant? I asked for you to educate me, as a white woman, and said that you should be happy that people were willing to listen and learn. (I know, I KNOW. I’m sorry. Again and again. I am SO embarrassed that it is hard to actually admit that I wrote that.)

You educated me all right, quickly, that you don’t owe me an education, and that my job, should I want to learn, was to go out and learn from the resources already out there. That POC had spent lots of time writing and speaking and posting about the very things that I was asking about, and that I needed to avail myself of those resources. And you were totally right. You don’t owe me anything at all, and I had no right to ask you to do anything for me.

I just wanted to apologize. I never thought about how my words came across from any point of view but my own, nor did I see the privilege inherent in them. I am truly sorry for my words, and the lack of knowledge, compassion, and understanding behind them. I am sorry for the arrogance and the demand that they showed. I am humbled and ashamed that I even thought something like that, let alone put it in writing for the world to see.

Over the last two years, I took the opportunity to do what you said. I researched. I read. I watched. I listened. But mainly, I shut my mouth, and quit making it about me, when it was and is not. So for that nudge in the right direction, I thank you.

Please just know that even though I am only one person, I am continually learning and striving to be a better one. I am sure I still have a long way to go, but I will keep at it.

I just thought you should know that I took your words to heart, and appreciated the opportunity for growth.

–Anne Florek Baranski

Sandy is uniquely gifted in her presentation and delivery and anyone who has the privilege of learning from her is receiving a rare gift

I can not think of a person more well suited for antiracism education than my dear friend and Dartmouth Sister, Sandy Broadus.

I have known Sandy over 34 years. Both of us, in our respective years, arriving on Dartmouth’s campus at the tender age of 16.

In that time, I have known her to be steadfastly loyal to her friends, consistently grounded in her convictions and firmly guided by her fierce sense of justice.

It has been my experience that when people are exposed to stress and adversity, their true characters are revealed.

Sandy’s steely fortitude is grounded in her upbringing by her two loving parents and further forged in the figurative fires of the Black American experience.

She brings to this work a lifetime of rich and diverse experiences which informs and empowers her.

Her genuine sincerity and naturally empathic predisposition, coupled with her legal brilliance and verbal eloquence makes her perfectly suited for this work.

She is insightful, discerning and her exceptional ability to modulate tone and temperament pitch perfectly to any situation renders her powerfully effective.

Her no nonsense, straight, no chaser style is refreshing and appreciated.

Sandy is uniquely gifted in her presentation and delivery and anyone who has the privilege of learning from her is receiving a rare gift.

I offer my highest recommendation without reservation.

–Suzanna Dotson, M.D.

She is an amazing human being who truly cares for people

I had the pleasure of working with Sandy at Day Pitney (formerly Day, Berry & Howard) where she was a leader of our Diversity & Inclusion initiatives. She established our Executive Committee’s mentoring program and other initiatives that resulted in greater diversity, retention and promotion of attorneys of color. She was also a leader of our Women Working Together program. In short, she is tactful, strategic and persuasive in helping to change culture from the top down that is inclusive and equitable. Moreover, she is an amazing human being who truly cares for people. I highly recommend her!

–Stan Twardy, Partner, Day Pitney LLP

I’ve also learned by her modeling how to begin to read, predict and handle the behaviors of whiteness and white fragility that emerge when white people feel challenged by anti-racism work

I know Sandy Broadus through her anti-racism work. Sandy is the administrator of anti-racism education online forum that I participate in. I am a white woman and a psychologist. I’ve witnessed Sandy educate in both a large group setting and with individuals one-on-one. Members in this multi-racial group range from seasoned activists who are people of color to white people who are becoming aware of the depth and breadth of systemic racism for the first time. Sandy is incredibly knowledgeable and her teaching style is straightforward, non-judgmental and matter of fact. She fosters a learning environment that is healthy, educational and non-shaming. Sandy demonstrates incredible patience when working with anyone who is genuinely interested in learning more about their own biases and the ways systemic racism operates. At the same time, she does not allow unbridled ignorance or defensive white tears to run rampant in the group and holds the emotional safety of people of color as a top priority. She calls upon the more racially literate and fluent white people to take difficult group members aside in a private message to help get them started in their antiracism education and informs them that they are not allowed to comment until they have a baseline understanding. This serves multiple purposes: Getting a less informed white person a one on one tutorial that does not belabor a person of color; keeping the large group safe for people of color; helping the more racially literate white person hone their skills and fluency in discussing racism and navigating white fragility by teaching a white person who is new to anti-racism work

Sandy is incredibly astute when it comes to assessing emotional intelligence, insight and general personality of someone she is working with and tailors her responses accordingly. Sandy holds an awareness that people, especially white people, have a wide range in levels of awareness of racism and unconscious bias, and is particularly skilled at pointing white people in the direction where they most need to focus their own anti-racist internal excavations. I’ve also witnessed her lovingly show people of color where their unconscious internalized oppression might be holding them back.

I’ve learned an incredible amount from Sandy. I’ve learned a great deal of general knowledge about systemic racism. I’ve also learned by her modeling how to begin to read, predict and handle the behaviors of whiteness and white fragility that emerge when white people feel challenged by anti-racism work.

-Virginia Seewaldt, Ph.D.

Sandy is the first and best choice to help your organization make substantial and lasting changes

I first met Charlsa (Sandy) Broadus through her public anti-racism efforts. After joining an anti-racism group under her leadership, I quickly came to value both the example she provides and the mentorship she offers.

In my corporate experience, I have participated in numerous disappointing and ineffectual “diversity” workshops or leadership retreats. Sandy, on the other hand, combines personal life experience, passionate commitment, skilled group management, and deft legal analysis into a potent tool to pry open both individual and systemic racism.

My respect for her has been heightened by watching her apply these skills to challenge even friends and associates to address their own biases against another group.

If your company or group recognizes the moral, legal, and financial liability that systemic racism can be, Sandy is the first and best choice to help your organization make substantial and lasting changes.

James Ka’amoku Moulds, Senior Director of Technical Sales,
Deibel Laboratories

She’s changing lives, influencing generations, breaking cycles

Sandy is a thoughtful and intentional educator whose efforts are impactful to many. Personally, Sandy has been directly responsible for my understanding of my privilege. She has a frank approach that has resonated with me in many occasions, and as a result I’ve made changes in my life. I strive to be a more well rounded person because of her. I believe she’s changing lives, influencing generations, breaking cycles.

Deadra Berkan, LinkedIn Testimonial

Her work exposes and elucidates the facets of racism

I had the great privilege of learning from Sandy Broadus in the eleven years we worked together at Day Pitney; during that time, she was a Counsel, and then Partner, and I was the Director of Professional Development, Diversity & Attorney Recruitment. I knew Sandy to be a vibrant and authentic advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion at every level of the firm. In my view, Sandy was uniquely skilled at spurring dialogue, new thinking and important action around this challenging and critical issue.

While at the firm, Sandy suggested that we host informal small group gatherings to share perspectives on race; her honesty and directness during a series of six one-hour conversations—each with an increasing number of attendees — helped us begin to see beyond the lenses we each brought to the table and to understand how skin color and cultural background change how people experience life.

Sandy also led the firm’s Hiring Committee and Summer Associate Program for several years, collaborating closely with the Diversity Committee to identify high potential law students of color and pairing them with firm attorney mentors throughout the school year. These efforts resulted in year-over-year increases in the number of attorneys of color working and deciding to stay at the firm.

Sandy was a key contributor to the creation and launch of Day Pitney’s Executive Committee Mentoring Program, through which associates and counsel of color were paired with Executive Committee mentors. The ExComm Mentoring program ensured that attorneys of color received guidance and support from firm leaders as they advanced within the firm, and provided firm leadership with honest, direct and immediate feedback from those whom they mentored.

Finally, Sandy was a Co-chair of the firm’s Women Working Together (WWT) affinity group, and made it her mission to ensure that WWT members—partners, counsel, associates, and summer associates– had opportunities to learn more about topics important to their career success, such as self-promotion and effective interpersonal communications.

Simply stated, I know Sandy Broadus to be a leader who motivates others to join her in making real and meaningful change: when it comes to anti-racism, Sandy Broadus doesn’t just “talk the talk” she “walks the walk.”

–Lynn Baronas

She’s an activist focused on impact. She inspires, motivates, and leads. She’s a mind-changer. A game-changer.

There is no one like Sandy Broadus.

Sandy can count on being the smartest person in any room she enters. Her brilliance is grounded in knowledge and experience, as reflected by her professional accomplishments.

That fierce intellect is driven by boundless emotional intelligence. Sandy speaks truth to power, with eloquence and integrity. She tackles complex issues with clarity and compassion. It’s impossible to spend any time in her orbit and not learn, deeply, about the true nature of the world and your place in it.

Most important, Sandy compels us to DO something with that learning. She’s an activist focused on impact. She inspires, motivates, and leads. She’s a mind-changer. A game-changer.

Knowing Sandy has enriched my life immeasurably, showing me how to be a better ally to the Black community – and a better human being.

–Cathy Loup

Sandy asked me to look at my comment in a new light

Sandy friended me after I posted a comment on a [friend’s Facebook page]. [My friend] and I have been friends since our 20s and she has recently been instrumental in opening my eyes to the world in my 40s. I posted something thoughtless in response to the status. Sandy interceded in the comments by asking me to look at my comment in a new light and probing me about how my experience as a white woman might be different than hers and [my friend]. It was the most tepid of draggings, but looking back I know it was an important moment for me. I was hurting my friend by not thinking of her. Sandy called me out and held me accountable for that. I apologized for my words. Looking back, I am appalled by my cluelessness and I am grateful to Sandy for making me better.

–Melissa, Comment on Facebook

The overall result of Sandy’s work is that our Firm became more diverse and inclusive and our culture improved such that we became known as a Connecticut employer of choice for attorneys of color.

I worked closely with Sandy at Day Pitney (fka Day, Berry & Howard) for more than ten years. During that time, Sandy took on a number of important leadership roles relating to diversity and inclusion, as well as a number of other firm initiatives. Her great energy, enthusiasm, personality, and insights helped to bring about a number of important changes at the Firm.

She initiated a program with the Executive Committee in which lawyers of color met with the members of the Executive Committee on a quarterly basis, with a predetermined agenda of topics for deep, candid discussion. The topics in those meetings regularly covered not just recruiting but also retaining and promoting lawyers of color, and the inclusion of diversity efforts as a factor affecting partner compensation in self-evaluations. In addition, this program involved having each of us on the Executive Committee act as mentors to each of the associate lawyers of color. This effort went far beyond just an occasional lunch meeting; it was a concerted, intentional effort by Firm leadership to ensure all attorneys of color were assigned meaningful work and were given real opportunities for professional growth and promotion within the Firm.

Sandy also designed and worked with the Marketing Department to produce a Firm brochure highlighting attorneys of color at the Firm and emphasizing their subject matter specialties and skills. She also involved associates and staff members of color in planning cultural celebrations across all offices.

As a result of these programs and initiatives, a number of organizations, including the Amistad Foundation, the Urban League of Greater Hartford, and the Lawyers Collaborative for Diversity, presented awards to the Firm. Although not directly related to this program, but as a natural extension of it, Sandy also acted as a mentor to many of the lawyers of color and women at the Firm. These activities helped improve the experience that lawyers of color had at the Firm, and helped make the Firm more cohesive.

Sandy took on other leadership roles within the Firm. She served as the co-chair of the Firm’s Women Working Together (WWT) action group for almost two years. As part of her work with WWT, Sandy put on a successful program on leadership and co-authored an article on women in the legal profession. She also was on the hiring committee her entire time at the firm, serving as the hiring partner for the Hartford office, and ran the summer associate program in the Hartford office for two years.

As a member of the hiring committee, she made strong and extensive efforts to recruit and retain lawyers of color, developing pipelines at various law schools (such as Howard University and the University of Connecticut) to introduce high potential law students to the Firm and stay in touch. Her work included conducting workshops on resume writing and interviewing skills for law students. The overall result of Sandy’s work is that our Firm became more diverse and inclusive and our culture improved such that we became known as a Connecticut employer of choice for attorneys of color.

In addition, on top of her own excellent work on cases she was handling, Sandy also made valuable contributions to the work of what was then called the Insurance and Torts Litigation Department, including marketing of the practice area and the direct supervision of the work of associates.

Sandy was collaborative in all she did and it was a personal and professional pleasure to work with her during the many years she was at the Firm.

-James H. Rotondo, Esq. Partner, Day Pitney LLP.

Appreciated the opportunity for growth

A couple of years ago, being… unenlightened, maybe just ignorant? I asked for you to educate me, as a white woman, and said that you should be happy that people were willing to listen and learn. (I know, I KNOW. I’m sorry. Again and again. I am SO embarrassed that it is hard to actually admit that I wrote that.)

You educated me all right, quickly, that you don’t owe me an education, and that my job, should I want to learn, was to go out and learn from the resources already out there. That POC had spent lots of time writing and speaking and posting about the very things that I was asking about, and that I needed to avail myself of those resources. And you were totally right. You don’t owe me anything at all, and I had no right to ask you to do anything for me.

I just wanted to apologize. I never thought about how my words came across from any point of view but my own, nor did I see the privilege inherent in them. I am truly sorry for my words, and the lack of knowledge, compassion, and understanding behind them. I am sorry for the arrogance and the demand that they showed. I am humbled and ashamed that I even thought something like that, let alone put it in writing for the world to see.

Over the last two years, I took the opportunity to do what you said. I researched. I read. I watched. I listened. But mainly, I shut my mouth, and quit making it about me, when it was and is not. So for that nudge in the right direction, I thank you.

Please just know that even though I am only one person, I am continually learning and striving to be a better one. I am sure I still have a long way to go, but I will keep at it.

I just thought you should know that I took your words to heart, and appreciated the opportunity for growth.

–Anne Florek Baranski

Sandy combines incisiveness with deep empathy

She is thoughtful and forward thinking in her teachings of issues with racism. She asks pertinent questions about race and racism which provoke introspective self-analyzing answers from all. Her work as an Anti-Racism Educator is beneficial and vital. I’ve learned so much from her and I hope to continue to learn more. Her expertise should be a requisite and integral part of all truly successful organizations.

PETA ANNE J. Senior Paralegal Specialist

Her work exposes and elucidates the facets of racism

Sandy is an accomplished and very knowledgeable educator with vision and a passion for racial justice. Her work exposes and elucidates the facets of racism embedded in our day to day life and provokes discussion and self inquiry, while promoting a crucial discovery process. Both inwardly and outwardly, this Anti-Racism Education is a no nonsense journey, valuable beyond estimation for those who undertake it, and for those around them. Her work is deeply beneficial, and a critical component of success that every organization can greatly benefit from. I have learned a great deal from Sandy and look forward to learning more.

Marie Krueger,  Design Curriculum Writer