By Erica Noonan
noteworthy
Last spring at its fourth annual Celebration of Black Excellence, the University honored seven alumni who embody Suffolk values of inclusion, equity, and opportunity.
“Black excellence lifts everyone, and it’s always been so,” said keynote speaker Linda Dorcena Forry, a former state legislator and vice president at Suffolk Construction. “Our greatness enhances the fabric of America, making it stronger and nimble and resilient.”
The honorees have been active members of the University community for decades. This year’s faculty/staff award recipients were Sonia Alleyne, MPA ’01, executive-in-residence, Institute for Public Service; Jennifer Blakely, MEd ’20, head of access services, Mildred F. Sawyer Library; and Lolita Darden, JD ’91, former associate clinical professor of law and director of the Intellectual Property and Entrepreneurship Clinic.
Alumni honorees came from each of Suffolk’s three schools. They were the Honorable Serge Georges, Jr., JD ’96, HLLD ’21, associate justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court; Tony Richards, MPA ’21, vice president of equitable business development at the Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency; and Rachel Deleveaux, MEd ’07, assistant vice president of organizational culture, inclusion, and equity at Simmons University and the first Black woman president of the Suffolk University College of Arts & Sciences Alumni Board of Directors.
University Trustee Ernst Guerrier, BS ’91, JD ’94, was honored with the evening’s Black Excellence Trailblazer and Icon Award.
To watch the ceremony, go to suffolk.edu/black-excellence2022
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Photographs by John Gillooly
| Fall 2022
Photos, from top: Trustee Ernst Guerrier received the Trailblazer and Icon Award, while Jennifer Blakely (center, with Ahria Ilyas and President Marisa Kelly) was one of three Suffolk employees honored. The evening was organized and hosted by the Black Alumni Network, including Chair Tamela Bailey (center).
Last spring at its fourth annual Celebration of Black Excellence, the University honored seven alumni who embody Suffolk values of inclusion, equity, and opportunity.
“Black excellence lifts everyone, and it’s always been so,” said keynote speaker Linda Dorcena Forry, a former state legislator and vice president at Suffolk Construction. “Our greatness enhances the fabric of America, making it stronger and nimble and resilient.”
The honorees have been active members of the University community for decades. This year’s faculty/staff award recipients were Sonia Alleyne, MPA ’01, executive-in-residence, Institute for Public Service; Jennifer Blakely, MEd ’20, head of access services, Mildred F. Sawyer Library; and Lolita Darden, JD ’91, associate clinical professor of law and director of the Intellectual Property and Entrepreneurship Clinic.
Alumni honorees came from each of Suffolk’s three schools. They were the Honorable Serge Georges, Jr., JD ’96, HLLD ’21, associate justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court; Tony Richards, MPA ’21, vice president of equitable business development at the Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency; and Rachel Deleveaux, MEd ’07, assistant vice president of organizational culture, inclusion, and equity at Simmons University and the first Black woman president of the Suffolk University College of Arts & Sciences Alumni Board of Directors.
University Trustee Ernst Guerrier, BS ’91, JD ’94, was honored with the evening’s Black Excellence Trailblazer and Icon Award.
To watch the ceremony, go to suffolk.edu/black-excellence2022