Stephanie Thomas is Connecticut’s 75th Secretary of the State
Stephanie Thomas was sworn in as Connecticut’s Secretary of the State on January 4, 2023. With a distinguished 30-year career advising and problem-solving for nonprofit organizations, running her own business, and serving as a State Representative of the 143rd District (Norwalk, Wilton, Westport), Secretary Thomas brings a unique blend of business expertise and a passion for civics to public service.
Since taking office, Secretary Thomas has led the implementation of significant election reforms in the state, including the roll-out of early voting and a new centralized voter registration system. In September 2023, she secured a historic investment of $25 million to replace the state’s aging tabulators, marking Connecticut’s first voting machine upgrade since 2006. During her term, Secretary Thomas will also institute the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act of Connecticut and automatic voter registration at several Connecticut agencies.
A former small business owner, Secretary Thomas has worked to pass business-friendly legislation, and she has created a monthly e-newsletter that aggregates funding and training resources in one place to save business owners’ time.
Secretary Thomas believes that a healthy representative democracy relies on regular and active participation in civic life by all. To promote robust civic engagement, she has met Connecticut’s communities in their own spaces, thereby cultivating a nonpartisan dialogue between the people and their government. She has travelled to barbershops and salons around the state as part of her Connect & Cut series, held civic trivia events at local libraries, encouraged businesses and nonprofits to be civic ambassadors through her innovative CEO (Civically Engaged Organization) program, and put the power of civics into the hands of the public by providing plain-language, civics resources at Civics101.ct.gov.
Secretary Thomas made history as the first Black person to be elected Secretary of the State of Connecticut. She has dedicated time to serving on many boards and strategic planning committees, and she has been an active volunteer in her community. She holds a B.A. from New York University and an M.S. in Nonprofit Management from New School University. She and her husband are proud residents of Norwalk, Connecticut.
Kara DeLeonardis Kraus moved to Milford 3 years ago from Burlington, Vermont, where she raised three awesome daughters. Kara has been deeply involved with non-profits such as the Pride Center of Vermont. Shortly after moving to Milford, she took on leadership of the dormant volunteer group, Milford Pride, which has grown and reached thousands of community members. Under Kara’s volunteer leadership, Milford Pride has organized our town’s first annual Pride on the Green celebration for two years in a row, has an active social media following, and hosts many events throughout the year. Kara has been a Licensed Clinical Social Worker since 2010 and has a private practice that focuses on LGBTQIA+ youth, adults, and families.
Reverend Sara D. Smith, Esq. currently serves as President/CEO of “nOURish BRIDGEPORT, Inc.” a volunteer-powered, food-centered, and community-anchored not-for-profit, she founded in 2010, providing direct service programs to the people of Bridgeport. These programs include a SUPER FOOD PANTRY serving 3,000 individuals each week, a BABY CENTER providing diapers and formula to 400 babies each month, a HOT MEAL Program feeding 300 hot healthy meals each week, weekly ESL classes for 100 immigrants weekly, and the first non-profit INDOOR HYDROPONIC FARM in the state with the exclusive purpose of distributing fresh healthy produce to the food insecure. In its first two years of production, nOURish distributed 14 tons of fresh produce from its Farm all over our City.
Reverend Sara also serves as currently serves as the Senior Minister of United Congregational Church of Bridgeport, the oldest institution in the city, gathered in 1695. Reverend Sara is the first woman and first openly gay clergy called to serve this 329 year old congregation of the United Church of Christ.
She also serves as the Protestant Chaplain and Adjunct Professor at Sacred Heart University, a private Catholic institution of higher education, where she works with students, faculty and staff on issues of diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging, teaches Community and Public Health academic classes, and participates in the campus ministry activities as a member of the Interfaith Chaplains team. She also cheers regularly for the SHU Women’s Basketball Team!
A leader in the Bridgeport community for 15 years, Reverend Sara is the past Board Chairperson of the Council of Churches of Greater Bridgeport, and the Convenor of the Tent of Abraham Interfaith dialogue group. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Center for Family Justice, KEYS Music Empowerment Program, and the YMCA-Bridgeport. She has been awarded the “PT Barnum Leadership” Award by the Barnum Festival, “American Dream” Award by the Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants, the “Partner of the Year” Award by the Center for Family Justice, and the “Spirit” Award by the SHU Athletic Department. She has been recognized for her visionary leadership and inspirational preaching throughout her career; including the “Outstanding Women Leadership” Award by Al-Aziz Islamic Center.
Prior to receiving her Masters of Divinity from TCU’s Brite Divinity School in 1995, Reverend Sara practiced law as a Trial Attorney for the U.S. Department of Labor in Dallas, Texas, after receiving her Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Houston Law Center in 1988, and her Bachelor of Science from Texas Christian University in 1985. Originally raised on a 1000 acre farm in Kentucky, she has been an ordained United Church of Christ minister since 1996. She lives in a handsome Craftsman home on a quiet street in Bridgeport with her spouse, and their three rescue dogs.