New Executive Director at the Delaware Law Related Education Center
As educators and students prepare to return to the classroom this fall, the Delaware Law Related
Education Center announced this month that Betsy Renzo has been appointed as the organization’s new
executive director. The Center, or DELREC as it is known, is a private nonprofit that was founded in 1995 and provides services to Delaware schools on law-related education initiatives and is perhaps best known for running the annual Delaware High School Mock Trial Competition, Project Citizen, and the “We the People” competition.
Additional Information from State of Delaware Administrative Office of the Courts
DELREC Board of Trustees President Daniel Attaway made the announcement of Renzo’s appointment
and thanked outgoing executive Director Pat Quann for her many years of dedicated service. “Pat is
irreplaceable but I feel we are incredibly lucky to have gotten someone with Betsy’s breadth of
experience and passion for the organization and its mission to take the reins,” he said.
Renzo, a graduate of Temple’s Beasley School of Law and Stanford University’s Graduate School of
Education, was a federal law clerk, practiced family law, and worked with Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath,
LLP and with the Defender Association of Philadelphia. She also has 7 years’ experience as a classroom
teacher and extensive experience in both public and private schools in the area. Lastly, she brings with
her a background in the non-profit community as Director of Advancement and Program Director at the
Community Education Building in Wilmington. “I don’t think we could have designed a person with a
better background to meet and fulfill DELREC’s mission,” Attaway said.
Renzo takes over as the organization is embarking on a new mission to assist the Delaware Judiciary in
its efforts to improve the overall diversity of the Delaware Bar and Bench, by focusing in part on better
outreach to area schools about the law and the opportunities a career in the law can offer. “We need to
do more to engage more of our youth and make it clear that anyone and everyone can and should have
access to a career in law,” she said.
“It’s not just about creating more diverse lawyers – though that is critically important. It’s bigger than
that. We need all of our citizens to feel that they are a part of our democracy, because they already are,
and DELREC has a role to play in that. We need every student to know that their voice matters, that they
are included in the conversations, and that they have the tools and knowledge to advocate for what
they want and need,” she said.
The hiring of Renzo is part of a larger effort to re-focus and re-energize the organization that included
the recruitment of new members of the organization’s Board of Trustees over the past year so that the
Board reflects the Center’s commitment to diversity and representing the community beyond the legal
world. New board members include the Delaware Judiciary’s first Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer,
members of the Department of Education, Center for Civic Education, Social Studies Coalition, Delaware
State University’s General Counsel, teachers, lawyers, and police officers.
If you are interested in learning more about what DELREC is doing or if you want to contact DELREC to
find out about what they can offer your school, please visit our website www.delrec.org.
