It might be bad luck to enter in the first days of 2025 with a tagline picked, but it’s hard not to consider the monumental shift in leadership Delaware will see in the coming weeks.
2025 will be the year of changeover.
Yes, that includes the new governor as well as the new Wilmington mayor and the downstream effects of picking their new administrations while handling the day-to-day tasks and setting the culture of government in the First State and the state’s largest city. Governor-elect Matt Meyer has already announced he will bring top advisors that served in New Castle County government with him to run critical agencies like the Department of State and the Department of Finance.
But I’m also thinking of the other major job transitions for many of our top business and arts officials in the state.
So many dynamic leaders announced that they will retire or transition to new roles. That includes figures such as Delaware Museum of Nature & Science Executive Director Halsey Spruance, the Daily State News Publisher Konrad La Prade, Delaware Contractors (DCA) Association Executive Director Bryon Short, Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Ed Capodanno, La Red Health Center CEO Brian Olson and more.
Many of those listed above are retiring, like Spruance, Capodanno and Olson. All three have had tremendous impacts in our state. Spruance, for example, oversaw the operations of Delaware’s oldest science museum which contains decades of history built upon John E. du Pont’s collections of seashells and bird eggs.
At ABC, one of the most influential construction trade organizations that has a heavy presence when it comes to lobbying on legislation in Dover, and Capodanno was a frequent voice during the session. At La Red, Olson helped develop the health center from a telephone hotline for underinsured and uninsured people in Sussex County into a health center that serves just under 15,000 people in Milford, Georgetown and Seaford.
Meanwhile, Short— who was a former legislator who led the DCA, another prominent construction association — will be joining U.S. Rep.-elect Sarah McBride’s team as her state director. La Prade, who took the reins as publisher of central Delaware’s only print newspaper, has departed to a similar role in Indiana.
The work of these Delawareans has impacted, quite literally, thousands of people, whether it’s seeking care in some of the rural parts of Sussex County or taking your child to enjoy the new dinosaur exhibit.
But I’ve started to think that a legacy is less about what you build to stand the test of time, but more how you leave things for others to inherit after you are gone. All of these men have left a strong foundation for the next in line, whoever that may be though some institutions have already successfully named successors or started plans in motion to do so.
ABC of Delaware has already tapped Jennifer Cohan to lead with Capodanno staying on in an advisory role until the summer. La Red has a strong leader in former deputy director and CEO-elect Rachel Hersh who has already started her first days in the position.
Other institutions still have some uncertainty. The Delaware Museum of Nature & Science, formerly known as the Delaware Museum of Natural History, has contracted with a search firm for the job, while the DCA selection committee is reportedly interviewing candidates.
Whatever lies ahead, those who take the top roles in these institutions will inherit the choices their predecessors made, the good and the bad, as they learn to navigate how the organization does business as usual while deciding if that is working for the vision they may have ahead.
Again, that’s all true of the next governor, the next mayor of Wilmington and their teams. But what’s different for Meyer and Governor and Wilmington Mayor-elect John Carney is they have already had years of experience navigating “the Delaware Way” and its unique complexities of working in a small state with such a diverse landscape. Meyer will be tasked with issues faced in the rural parts of Kent and Sussex County as well as balancing the needs of the rapidly developing places in Sussex and the needs of the workforce that holds up the tourist economy. For Carney, he will be facing many of the same issues his predecessor Mayor Mike Purzycki did in a majority-minority city, as well as the steady growth of young professionals moving out of Philadelphia and into Wilmington’s borders.
But as we look ahead to the weeks and months to come, let’s not forget the other people to watch in Delaware. The CEOs and executive directors who are responsible for organizations that can change lives and shape culture in our state are changing and it would be a mistake to let their faces fade into the background.
