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2023 Grand Marshal - Judges - Entertainment
Hon. Toni N. Harp -
Grand Marshal
An abiding commitment to social justice steers former New Haven Mayor Toni Harp’s career in public service. Her drive for inclusiveness, equality, and integrity is the byproduct of resonant, across-the-board life experiences. Toni’s public service in elected office began first as a member of New Haven’s Board of
Aldermen – for three terms – and then for 21 years, as the state Senator for the 10th District. Over time she earned a reputation as “the conscience of the Senate” at the Connecticut state Capitol.
For 11 years, Toni was co-chair of the legislature’s budget-writing Appropriations Committee, deftly balancing fiscal prudence with state government’s many financial obligations.
In 2014 Toni became the first woman to be Mayor of New Haven and went on to serve three two-year terms. She has been a stark supported of the ECFFPC.
Aldermen – for three terms – and then for 21 years, as the state Senator for the 10th District. Over time she earned a reputation as “the conscience of the Senate” at the Connecticut state Capitol.
For 11 years, Toni was co-chair of the legislature’s budget-writing Appropriations Committee, deftly balancing fiscal prudence with state government’s many financial obligations.
In 2014 Toni became the first woman to be Mayor of New Haven and went on to serve three two-year terms. She has been a stark supported of the ECFFPC.
Lt. Samod Rankins, NHFD -
Guest Judge
Samod Rankins also known as “Nuke” was born on May 22, 1992, to proud mother;
Novella Guiont and proud father; Sam Rankins. Nuke graduated from Eli Whitney Technical
High School where he obtained a trade in carpentry. After completion of trade school, he decided
to pursue a career as a firefighter. His interest in the fire service began as a result of his mentor
Gary Tinney, Retired Captain of the New Haven Fire Department. In 2013, he became a
volunteer firefighter for the Town of Orange where he fell in love with the profession. In
February of 2018, Nuke joined the City of New Haven Fire Department where he serves as a
career Firefighter and Emergency Medical Technician. He was promoted to Fire Lieutenant in
March of 2021 and appointed Fire Commissioner for the Town of Hamden in January of 2022.
Serving his community and helping others became Lt. Rankins’ priority. After joining the fire service, he obtained the following certifications: Firefighter I, Firefighter II, Hazmat Awareness,
Hazmat Operations, Hazmat Technician, Emergency Medical Technician, C.P.R/A.E.D, Tactical
Emergency Casualty Care, Fire Service Instructor I, Fire Service Instructor II, Fire Officer I, Fire
Officer II, Public Fire & Life Safety Educator I and National Incident Management System 100,
200, 700, 800,. He also gained skills such as: cold-water rescue, pump operations, dispatch
operations, report writing, radio communications, mass casualty and emergency medical
services.
During fire department recruitment efforts, he teaches preparation classes for city
residents to prepare them for the written exam, oral exam, physical agility test and extensive
background investigation. He demonstrates a great deal of patience, professionalism, versatility,
effectiveness, confidence, and passion for recruiting and teaching city residents.
Lt. Rankins is very active in his community, spending countless hours volunteering at
community events such as the annual thanksgiving turkey drive, Christmas food drives, back to
school events, feed the homeless events, dressing up as Santa Claus for annual toy drives and
dressing up as the Easter Bunny for Easter events in the community.
He's an active member of
the American Red Cross Disaster Action Team; which provides shelter to families whose
homes are destroyed in fires & Firebirds Society of Greater New Haven; which is a black
fraternal organization of firefighters that serves as vehicle for minority firefighters to fellowship,
network with each other and give back to their community; Sickle Cell Disease Association of
Southern Connecticut; which provides support to persons affected with sickle cell disease ; the International Association of Black Professional Firefighters; which promotes interracial
progress throughout the Fire Service, and assists in the recruitment and professional development
of minority firefighters; Hamden Community Emergency Response Team; which assists the
community after major disasters when first responders who normally provide fire and medical
services, will be unable to meet the increased demand for their services; Jesse Homeless
Outreach Project; which organizes community, volunteers, sponsors and professionals to serve
the Homeless needs in the City of New Haven. He was also a member of Connecticut Urban
Search; Rescue Task Force; which provides a coordinated effort of personnel and resources
to locate, extricate and provide immediate medical treatment to victims trapped within collapsed
structures.
Recognized as a leader in his community, Lt. Rankins received the following awards for his
community involvement: First Responder's Appreciation award, Gary Chambers Community
Service award, Christian Leadership & Community Service award, Outstanding Service to the
Northeast Region I.A.B.P.F.F award, Jesses Homeless Outreach Project Extraordinary Volunteer
Efforts in Serving Others award, New Haven Board of Alders Community Service Official
Citation and Connecticut General Assembly Community Service Official Citation. Lt. Rankins
shows a high level of calm determination, remains calm under stress, takes initiative, and handles
various tasks simultaneously while working efficiently and effectively. His passion for helping
youth is admirable. He's a role model for youth in his community, an upstanding citizen, a
phenomenal family man and is devoted to helping others. Helping his community will always
come first!
Novella Guiont and proud father; Sam Rankins. Nuke graduated from Eli Whitney Technical
High School where he obtained a trade in carpentry. After completion of trade school, he decided
to pursue a career as a firefighter. His interest in the fire service began as a result of his mentor
Gary Tinney, Retired Captain of the New Haven Fire Department. In 2013, he became a
volunteer firefighter for the Town of Orange where he fell in love with the profession. In
February of 2018, Nuke joined the City of New Haven Fire Department where he serves as a
career Firefighter and Emergency Medical Technician. He was promoted to Fire Lieutenant in
March of 2021 and appointed Fire Commissioner for the Town of Hamden in January of 2022.
Serving his community and helping others became Lt. Rankins’ priority. After joining the fire service, he obtained the following certifications: Firefighter I, Firefighter II, Hazmat Awareness,
Hazmat Operations, Hazmat Technician, Emergency Medical Technician, C.P.R/A.E.D, Tactical
Emergency Casualty Care, Fire Service Instructor I, Fire Service Instructor II, Fire Officer I, Fire
Officer II, Public Fire & Life Safety Educator I and National Incident Management System 100,
200, 700, 800,. He also gained skills such as: cold-water rescue, pump operations, dispatch
operations, report writing, radio communications, mass casualty and emergency medical
services.
During fire department recruitment efforts, he teaches preparation classes for city
residents to prepare them for the written exam, oral exam, physical agility test and extensive
background investigation. He demonstrates a great deal of patience, professionalism, versatility,
effectiveness, confidence, and passion for recruiting and teaching city residents.
Lt. Rankins is very active in his community, spending countless hours volunteering at
community events such as the annual thanksgiving turkey drive, Christmas food drives, back to
school events, feed the homeless events, dressing up as Santa Claus for annual toy drives and
dressing up as the Easter Bunny for Easter events in the community.
He's an active member of
the American Red Cross Disaster Action Team; which provides shelter to families whose
homes are destroyed in fires & Firebirds Society of Greater New Haven; which is a black
fraternal organization of firefighters that serves as vehicle for minority firefighters to fellowship,
network with each other and give back to their community; Sickle Cell Disease Association of
Southern Connecticut; which provides support to persons affected with sickle cell disease ; the International Association of Black Professional Firefighters; which promotes interracial
progress throughout the Fire Service, and assists in the recruitment and professional development
of minority firefighters; Hamden Community Emergency Response Team; which assists the
community after major disasters when first responders who normally provide fire and medical
services, will be unable to meet the increased demand for their services; Jesse Homeless
Outreach Project; which organizes community, volunteers, sponsors and professionals to serve
the Homeless needs in the City of New Haven. He was also a member of Connecticut Urban
Search; Rescue Task Force; which provides a coordinated effort of personnel and resources
to locate, extricate and provide immediate medical treatment to victims trapped within collapsed
structures.
Recognized as a leader in his community, Lt. Rankins received the following awards for his
community involvement: First Responder's Appreciation award, Gary Chambers Community
Service award, Christian Leadership & Community Service award, Outstanding Service to the
Northeast Region I.A.B.P.F.F award, Jesses Homeless Outreach Project Extraordinary Volunteer
Efforts in Serving Others award, New Haven Board of Alders Community Service Official
Citation and Connecticut General Assembly Community Service Official Citation. Lt. Rankins
shows a high level of calm determination, remains calm under stress, takes initiative, and handles
various tasks simultaneously while working efficiently and effectively. His passion for helping
youth is admirable. He's a role model for youth in his community, an upstanding citizen, a
phenomenal family man and is devoted to helping others. Helping his community will always
come first!
Adriane Jefferson - Guest Judge
Adriane Jefferson (She/Her/Hers) is an Arts Administrator and cultural equity leader who has worked professionally in the Arts & Culture sector for over 17 years. She is currently the Director of Cultural Affairs for the City of New Haven and the Executive Director of New Haven Festivals Inc, where she is leading the city on cultural equity and anti-racism initiatives. Adriane and her department have created the Arts for Anti-racism Pledge, The Unapologetically Radical Conference, and the City of New Haven’s and State of CT’s first ever Cultural Equity Plan. Prior to her current role she served as an Arts Program Manager for the State of CT, Department of Economic and Community Development/Office of the Arts where she developed groundbreaking programs for the State of CT such as The Arts Workforce Initiative paid Employment Program and the READI (Relevance, Equity, Access, Diversity and Inclusion) Music conference, which has placed hundreds of young creative workers of color in arts jobs and professional development opportunities across the state.
As part of Adriane’s most recent work with the City of New Haven, Adriane oversees the City’s membership in the Government Alliance of Race & Equity and has formed the Core Race Equity Task Force. The Task force plays an advisory and leadership role to the Mayor and Executive Leadership on internal and external race equity issues in the city of New Haven and practices equitable systems changed. Adriane is also a member of the Closing Gaps Network, Living Cities Initiative, which provides ongoing leadership training on community organizing, anti-racism principles, equity assessments and capacity building. Adriane oversees the Civic space, which is a multipronged Civic engagement platform where community members communicate directly with city officials on the changes they wish to see in their neighborhoods. The Civic space has been used as the community engagement component for the $100,000,000 dollars in ARPA funding that the City of New Haven has received.
Adriane’s professional career began in 2004, where she worked behind the scenes in local television & production and special event planning in the city of Miami, Florida. Simultaneously she was also pursuing her B.A in Popular Music from Florida Memorial University, graduating Cum Laude in 2009. Developing much of her professional career in Miami, Florida from 2004 - 2015, Adriane has worked in arts education as an educator in both music and theater arts. Between 2008 and 2010, she helped to develop the drama program for Alonzo Mourning Charities’ Over Town Youth center and The Gibson Charter School. Adriane returned to The State of CT in 2015 to serve as the Executive Director and Senior Director of programs for the Writers Block Ink in New London, CT. She later served as a member of their Board of directors.
Adriane is a thought leader, adviser and educator pertaining to issues of Justice, Diversity, equity, access, and inclusion. She has expertise in program design, event & media production, grant making, external affairs, and new program initiatives. She specializes in professional development programming for young creative professionals, programs that amplify Black, Indigenous, people of color and social change initiatives. She has dedicated her career to fostering a more equitable, vibrant and sustainable arts landscape.
Adriane has an M.A in Arts Administration from Savannah College of Arts and Design. She currently serves as a councilwoman for The State of Connecticut Arts Council, an Advisory Board Member for New England Foundation for the Arts and as an Ex-officio Board Member for the Shubert Theater. Adriane has received the 40 under 40 award from the Urban Professional Network and the 40 Under 40 award from CT magazine. Her arts for anti-racism work has been featured in Americans for the Arts, Art Link publication. She is mother of one and a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated.
As part of Adriane’s most recent work with the City of New Haven, Adriane oversees the City’s membership in the Government Alliance of Race & Equity and has formed the Core Race Equity Task Force. The Task force plays an advisory and leadership role to the Mayor and Executive Leadership on internal and external race equity issues in the city of New Haven and practices equitable systems changed. Adriane is also a member of the Closing Gaps Network, Living Cities Initiative, which provides ongoing leadership training on community organizing, anti-racism principles, equity assessments and capacity building. Adriane oversees the Civic space, which is a multipronged Civic engagement platform where community members communicate directly with city officials on the changes they wish to see in their neighborhoods. The Civic space has been used as the community engagement component for the $100,000,000 dollars in ARPA funding that the City of New Haven has received.
Adriane’s professional career began in 2004, where she worked behind the scenes in local television & production and special event planning in the city of Miami, Florida. Simultaneously she was also pursuing her B.A in Popular Music from Florida Memorial University, graduating Cum Laude in 2009. Developing much of her professional career in Miami, Florida from 2004 - 2015, Adriane has worked in arts education as an educator in both music and theater arts. Between 2008 and 2010, she helped to develop the drama program for Alonzo Mourning Charities’ Over Town Youth center and The Gibson Charter School. Adriane returned to The State of CT in 2015 to serve as the Executive Director and Senior Director of programs for the Writers Block Ink in New London, CT. She later served as a member of their Board of directors.
Adriane is a thought leader, adviser and educator pertaining to issues of Justice, Diversity, equity, access, and inclusion. She has expertise in program design, event & media production, grant making, external affairs, and new program initiatives. She specializes in professional development programming for young creative professionals, programs that amplify Black, Indigenous, people of color and social change initiatives. She has dedicated her career to fostering a more equitable, vibrant and sustainable arts landscape.
Adriane has an M.A in Arts Administration from Savannah College of Arts and Design. She currently serves as a councilwoman for The State of Connecticut Arts Council, an Advisory Board Member for New England Foundation for the Arts and as an Ex-officio Board Member for the Shubert Theater. Adriane has received the 40 under 40 award from the Urban Professional Network and the 40 Under 40 award from CT magazine. Her arts for anti-racism work has been featured in Americans for the Arts, Art Link publication. She is mother of one and a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated.
Lushonda Howard - Guest Judge
The Honorable Lushonda “Shon” Howard is the first black Democratic Registrar of Voters for
the Town of Hamden. Shon is currently the Chair of the Hamden’s Art Commission, and is the
Treasurer of the Hamden Democratic Town Committee. Shon is passionate about community,
and is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, and the National Association of
Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, Inc (NANBWC, Inc). Shon holds a BS in
Criminal Justice from the University of New Haven, and a MS in Public Policy and Administration
from Southern CT State University. Shon is inspired daily by her daughter “Juju”. In her free
time, Shon likes to travel, read, and spend time with her daughter.
the Town of Hamden. Shon is currently the Chair of the Hamden’s Art Commission, and is the
Treasurer of the Hamden Democratic Town Committee. Shon is passionate about community,
and is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, and the National Association of
Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, Inc (NANBWC, Inc). Shon holds a BS in
Criminal Justice from the University of New Haven, and a MS in Public Policy and Administration
from Southern CT State University. Shon is inspired daily by her daughter “Juju”. In her free
time, Shon likes to travel, read, and spend time with her daughter.
DJ Bink B
The legendary Bink B will be the official DJ for the 2023 parade.
MC Majesty
Our veteran MC, Majesty will be the official MC for the 2023 parade.
Kaeli Roselle - Meet & Greet Performer
Carrying the bold, brazen, and beautiful voice of a fearless woman, Kaeli Roselle has independently been making her mark on the music industry. Not only a confident voice behind the microphone, Kaeli's pen game is just as powerful. She is a writer, singer, and experienced performer whose presence leaves a lasting impression. Her latest single "Away" can be heard on airwaves as it's in constant rotation at New York's Hot 97.1 and Connecticut's Hot 93.7. Currently working on a new E.P. Kaeli hopes to continue making an impact through her commanding, but soft approach to music.
Photography Provided By:
Rodney Dabney Photography & PictureReady Photography
Videography Provided By:
LA Films & Photography
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