Dr. Vilicia Cade returned to Delaware in July 2021 as the Capital School District’s new superintendent in the middle of its most ambitious and visionary project: a $100 million-plus, two-building middle school consolidation. As Delaware’s only Black female superintendent and one of just three female superintendents in the state (along with Charity Phillips in Delmar and Dr. Amelia Hodges at Polytech), Cade had the opportunity to offer a new standard for leadership in the Capital School District. And that is exactly what she has done. 

Through all that, she’s implementing an ambitious agenda. By the end of December 2022, Cade aims to have her “Senators Grow” leadership and community outreach program up and running; her leadership team stabilized; planning for the new interconnected middle schools (the centerpiece of a planned restructuring of the district) finalized; and a strategic planning process launched.

 Cade is finding a delicate balance between the day-to-day responsibilities of the job and sharing her vision for what can be with staff, parents and the community.

“The district needs to galvanize the community to start hearing the voices of what people want to see, including how the new middle schools are going to operate, what it’s going to look like, and who the leaders are going to be when we’re done reconfiguring the district,” she says.

She also hopes to address a problem that emerged in school districts across the country during the pandemic: bus driver shortages.

“I am looking at allowing my custodians, my food nutritional people, and some of the other staff to get their CDL licenses at Del Tech’s Georgetown campus so they can drive buses,” she says. “We could stagger their schedules and, allow some to supplement their income. This would require collective bargaining agreements with those respective unions, and we’ve started to have those discussions.”

Embracing Delaware’s Statewide Lifestyle

This is Cade’s second go-round in Delaware. She’s a self-described New York City transplant who moved here in 2009 to be closer to family and friends living up and down the East Coast. She started her career in 1989 in the New York City Schools as a teacher, curriculum writer and administrator. She also served as director of high school curriculum and standards-based instruction for the Chicago Public Schools and as an elementary-school principal in a Chicago suburb.

“The stars got aligned, so it was very natural for me to come back,” she says, noting that the 6,300-student Capital district was significantly larger than the 3,700-student she was about to lead in Ohio.

She made a smooth transition in developing a statewide lifestyle.

“I found a great restaurant in Milford called Benvenuto’s. You walk in there and you feel like you’re in Italy,” she says with a broad smile. “I like to walk along the waterfront in Wilmington. And I love Rehoboth Beach – the shopping, the beach, the great food. Rehoboth reminds me a lot of Soho Manhattan. I also love coming down North State Street in Dover to that water area by Silver Lake. It’s just so beautiful and calming. And sometimes if I just want to grab some wings and get a good look at the water, I’ll go to McGlynn’s.”

Cade believes the most important thing that districts do in K-12 education is help young people – and their families – secure their post-secondary plans, whether it’s helping them be successful in college or in the workforce, such as with the Dover area’s manufacturing and advanced manufacturing businesses.

“We can help our students understand the intersection of technology and its evolving role in our world and how we do business,” she says. “I want to develop more internships, more work-based experience opportunities for our students. It is a big deal to live in the capital of your state. I see opportunities with workforce development, but I believe our young people also need to learn more about legislation and what legislators do.”

At the heart of her vision are five priorities – care, communications, community, continuous improvement, capacity – and three cornerstones to the district’s adopted 2022 core values. These are “Excellence Through Equity,” “Unity Through Love” and “Leadership Through Inclusiveness.”

The district will have a new look once the new $111 million two-building middle school opens in August 2023 with 1,600 students. The interconnected facilities are being built on the site of the old Dover High School. Officials didn’t want to have a school on one side of the district with one set of programs and another school elsewhere in the district with a different set of programs.

The two schools will share spaces like the auditorium, cafeteria, gyms and Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs. As part of the plan, the district will reconfigure grade levels so it has true middle schools for Grades 6-8.

“In education, how we organize learning is critical to improving student outcomes,” Cade says. “With the reconfiguration, we’ll have more time to work with middle school students at their social-emotional level and their academic level. It’s very hard to impact student achievement when kids are changing schools every two years. The research says middle school models that yield the best academic outcomes include sixth, seventh and eighth grades. Under the current structure, we’re only starting to know them, and then they leave.”

Cade believes the changes will help the district realize its potential and make it more attractive for companies and families that want to live in Central Delaware.

“People buy homes based on the quality of the school district, and higher education institutions are looking for us to send them students who are ready to meet the demands of college,” she says. “If a company is thinking about moving to Delaware – or even moving out of Delaware – the conversations could be different if we have kids able to do internships or parent programs that enable them to get entry-level positions.

“Kent County business leaders like Shelly Cecchett and Linda Parkowski have a vision for Central Delaware, and everybody’s there. I’m very fortunate to have a seat at the table with the other districts. We’re developing a holistic vision for understanding how to fit the puzzle pieces together to yield the best outcomes for the people we serve here in Central Delaware.”

Beyond the attraction of returning to Delaware, Cade says she’s been humbled by the support she’s received from people across Central Delaware, including her fellow Kent County superintendents, who meet every Friday. This support, she says, has solidified her belief that she’s “supposed to be here for this time, for this season, to do this work.”

Cade already is launching initiatives like the Superintendent’s Ladies Network, which is a mentorship program. She has reached out to her female staff and proposed starting with the high school girls and then looking at the middle school and the elementary schools.

“We can talk about women in leadership and lean in on what executive leadership looks like,” she says. “We can help them aspire to that. Because we understand what it’s like to be a 16-year-old girl.”

Cade says being the state’s only female superintendent of color carries great responsibility.

“When the kids see me, their facial expressions change,” she says. “I’ve had two students email through Schoology and say, ‘I’m just so proud to see you as a Black woman. You remind me of my mother, you remind me of my grandmother.’ It does make a difference when the little girls’ eyes light up when they see me.”

If you’re like one in three Americans, your first job was in the restaurant industry, which is the nation’s second-largest private-sector employer, according to the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF).

There are 13 million people employed in restaurants and food service operations, and an ongoing need for more skilled labor in the field – particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. To boost the ranks, the NRAEF launched the Restaurant Youth Registered Apprenticeship (RYRA) Program in 2020. Delaware is one of just four states to pilot the culinary apprenticeship program.

“We want to attract people into this industry and empower them with related training and on-the-job learning,” says Raelynn Grogan, senior director of the Delaware Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, which manages the state’s program. “Then we want to advance them.”

Delaware was selected for the pilot partly due to the Delaware Restaurant Association’s experience. “We had a lot of previous grassroots efforts in the apprenticeship realm about two years ago, so we helped create benchmarks for the NRAEF,” Grogan explains.

Delaware’s size is another reason. “I think the size of our state makes us a little petri dish, if you will,” Grogan adds. “Our size helps with accessibility, promotion, convening and coordination.”

Thanks to the U.S. Department of Labor and the Delaware Department of Labor, a separate fund supports NRAEF’s Hospitality Sector Registered Apprenticeship (HSRA) program. This program targets new and current restaurant and food service workers who want to advance their careers.

“Think of it as two separate pots of funds available for those older than 24 (HRSA) and those between the ages of 17 and 24 (RYRA),” Grogan explains.

Both programs have tracks for restaurant managers and line cooks. Participants receive the following:

• On-the-job paid training in a restaurant setting for front-of-the-house and back-of-the-house
• Job-related education in a classroom or online
• Access to nationally recognized credentials from the restaurant industry and the U.S. Department of Labor

The restaurant management track also includes basic leadership training and financial management and marketing skills. Line cook participants also learn basic culinary skills, food safety and sanitation knowledge, along with inventory and supply management fundamentals.

The apprenticeships launched with SoDel Concepts, a Sussex County, Delaware, hospitality group. The first apprentice enrollees graduated in Fall 2021 with a Line Cook Apprenticeship Journeyperson Certificate.

Enrollment is ongoing. The RYRA Program more recently has enrolled line cook apprentices with the hospitality companies Platinum Dining Group and Big Fish Restaurant Group. Other participating employers include Ashby Hospitality Group, Harrington Raceway & Casino, Harry’s Hospitality Group and Two Stones Pub locations.

“This program is the beginning of what will likely be a lifelong career for most people involved,” says Michael Stiglitz, founder of Two Stones. “Every position within our industry is a career path. The lifelong skills acquired, the friendships made and the journey through a rewarding career all begin with this first chosen step of joining the program.”

Xavier Teixido of Harry’s Hospitality Group agrees. “One of the keys to the program is that it ties youth interested in hospitality careers to employers offering skills training and mentoring,” he says. “It’s a win-win for all participants.”

Apprentices in RYRA’s restaurant management track must be at least 18 and have a high school diploma or GED at the time of entry. Line cook apprentices must be 17.

Many apprentices are affiliated with NRAEF’s ProStart Program in Delaware, a two-year high school curriculum. “Either they’re graduates, or they’re currently in a program,” says Grogan, the local coordinator, noting participants from Paul M. Hodgson Vocational Technical High School and Cape Henlopen High School.

The state apprenticeship program also reaches out to the Wilmington Job Corps Center, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Delaware, The Teen Warehouse in Wilmington, Children’s Beach House in Lewes, and the Food Bank of Delaware’s culinary training program.

“We are excited to deepen our partnership with the Delaware Restaurant Association and provide information about and referrals to the RYRA program to eligible students,” says Anna McDermott, the Food Bank’s strategic initiatives director. “The restaurant apprenticeship program offers the opportunity to continue to learn and grow while earning a wage.”

The grant funds are available until 2024. To become an employer or an apprentice, call the Delaware Restaurant Association at 302-738-2545.

Growing up near Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Eric Steinman benefited from the abundant sunshine and proximity to the beach. But a drive to a town in another state could take a day or more, which is why the University of Delaware grad student enjoys his new state’s central location.

“It’s near New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore or Washington, D.C.,” he says of Delaware. Steinman currently isn’t able to travel as much as he’d like, though, because he’s a Ph.D. candidate in UD’s chemical and biomolecular engineering department. He’s also serving on the board of the Delaware Sustainable Chemistry Alliance (DESCA).

Steinman feels at home on campus in Delaware. “The University of Delaware has a top 10 program,” he explains, noting that the faculty are also impressive. “When you’re applying to grad school, it’s important that there isn’t just one perfect professor for you, but there are multiple professors.”

As he quickly discovered, the acclaimed chemical program is not the only thing the state has going for it.

Science and mathematics were familiar subjects in the Steinman household. His father is a radiologist and his mother, skilled in accounting, helps run their teleradiology practice.

Steinman, the couple’s middle child, realized he was interested in STEM at an early age. While he values medicine as a career, he is more interested in research. In many respects, being a researcher or scientist is the flip side of being a clinician as both are seeking solutions.

Steinman, who earned his undergraduate degree in chemical engineering at the University of Florida, is now researching catalysis for national gas upgrading. Sound complex? The process is about minimizing waste.

“If you have a steak but it’s got a lot of gristle, you end up losing your raw material, right?” he explains. “We’re trying to reduce loss.”

By using consecutive processes, reducing separation needs and improving thermodynamics, he seeks to increase the efficiency of natural gas upgrading. His advisor is Marat Orazov, a former postdoctoral scholar at Stanford University, whose research aligns with Steinman’s interests.

Making Delaware Connections

As a new doctorate student, Steinman began attending DESCA-sponsored events, and when a position on the board became available, he expressed his interest. He says both DESCA and the university do a good job of letting students know about area resources.

For instance, UD students can attend presentations featuring representatives from multiple companies on the same night. That’s easy to do, considering the state is an acknowledged hub for the chemical industry. Plus, it’s near national research labs.

Steinman is particularly interested in events featuring local entrepreneurs.

“Some people went the traditional route through a legacy company and ultimately spun off a technology, or they wanted to do something unrelated using the skills they’d learned,” he says. “Other people went straight into a startup out of their Ph.D., and some people started a company with their advisor.”

At some point in his career, he wants to work in a startup lab, whether it’s an expansion lab of a legacy chemical company or a startup proper.

Delaware: The Best of Many Worlds

When Steinman isn’t hitting the books or spending time in the lab, he likes to play or watch basketball. He’s hoping to see the Delaware Blue Coats, an affiliate of the Philadelphia 76ers, play on their Chase Fieldhouse home court in Wilmington.

Steinman has already experienced the many trails that wind through and around Newark. “There are a lot of good activities here — biking and hiking trails, good restaurants. The nearby historical sites are great,” says Steinman, who was fascinated by the American decorative arts collection at Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library.

Overall, he’s found that Delaware has much to offer in a small, accessible package – education, career opportunities, location, and quality of life.

“That,” he says, “has all been good to me in Delaware.”

The PGA TOUR, Western Golf Association and Wilmington Country Club officials announced today the 2022 BMW Championship will be played on the South Course at Wilmington Country Club in Wilmington, Delaware. While official dates have not been announced, the event is scheduled to be held in late August of 2022.

“We’re thrilled to be taking the BMW Championship to Wilmington Country Club, one of the finest clubs anywhere in the United States,” said Vince Pellegrino, WGA Senior Vice President of Tournaments. “The South Course has everything you look for in a traditional championship layout. It will present a strategic test for the world’s best players and a perfect venue for fans and PGA TOUR partners.”

The 2022 event will mark the first time the PGA TOUR has played an event in Delaware, and it will be the third time since 2018 that the BMW Championship has been held on the East Coast. The 2021 BMW Championship was held at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Maryland, a suburb of Baltimore. Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, hosted the 2018 BMW Championship.

“It is a great honor for Wilmington Country Club to be the first club in the state of Delaware to play host to the PGA TOUR, and to the prestigious BMW Championship,” Club President Gary Ferguson said. “The passion that fans in this area have for golf is unmatched, and they will enjoy the opportunity to watch the best players in the world compete on this spectacular and challenging golf course.”

Wilmington Country Club was established in 1901, with its original 18 holes covering 135 acres. The club relocated in the 1950s, bringing in renowned golf course architect Robert Trent Jones Sr. to design the South Course, which opened in 1959. Playing over 7,500 yards from the championship tees, the South Course has been recognized as one of the United States’ best golf courses by Golf Digest.

While this will be Wilmington Country Club’s first professional event, the club has long been a proving ground for the world’s best amateur players. After hosting the 1913 U.S. Women’s Amateur on what is now known as the “Old Course,” Wilmington has hosted five other USGA events, including the 1965 and 1978 U.S. Junior Amateur, the 1971 U.S. Amateur, the 1978 U.S. Girls’ Junior and the 2003 U.S. Mid-Amateur. The club also hosted the 2013 Palmer Cup competition between Europe and a United States team that featured 2019 BMW Championship winner Justin Thomas, Daniel Berger and Patrick Rodgers.

The club and its membership have a deep commitment to the state of Delaware.

“Delaware is excited to host the 2022 BMW Championship,” said Governor John Carney. “The First State has a long and proud golf history and is ideally positioned to support one of golf’s great championships. Not only will the BMW Championship enhance the local economy, it will showcase a wonderful course and dynamic community to a global audience.”

“We are thrilled the Wilmington Country Club in New Castle County has been selected as the site for the 2022 BMW Championship,” said New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer. “New Castle County has a historic relationship with professional golf, including being the home to the LPGA Tour’s McDonald’s Championship for nearly a decade. We’re excited to welcome back professional golf to one of the premier golf locations on the East Coast.”

Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki added: “I join with all members of our community to welcome the BMW Championship to Wilmington Country Club. This event will attract many to our city who will be able to enjoy our terrific restaurants and fine hotels in addition to watching the greatest golfers in the world compete for one of the PGA TOUR’s most coveted titles.”

In addition to having an estimated $30 million economic impact on the Wilmington area, the 2022 BMW Championship is expected to play a vital philanthropic role by introducing more golfers and fans on the East Coast to the Evans Scholars Foundation and its mission of awarding full tuition and housing college scholarships to deserving youth caddies.

“We are proud of our collaboration with the Western Golf Association and of the support that we’ve been able to provide to the Evans Scholars Foundation,” said Bernhard Kuhnt, President and CEO, BMW of North America. “As the title sponsor of this tournament for the past 14 years, together we have helped to send over 3,000 young students to college to pursue their dreams.”

All proceeds from the BMW Championship benefit the Evans Scholars Foundation. Since 2007, the event has raised more than $35 million for Evans Scholarships. Two caddies have earned Evans Scholarships from Wilmington Country Club – Owen Griffin graduated from the University of Illinois in 1983, and Dan Walsh currently is a junior at Penn State University.

WGA President and CEO John Kaczkowski noted that “the BMW Championship at Wilmington Country Club will give us an opportunity to show a new market the power of the Evans Scholars Program. This is a critical step in our efforts to expand from coast to coast and reach more deserving young caddies.”

The BMW Championship features the top 70 PGA TOUR players vying to earn one of 30 spots in the season-ending TOUR Championship and the chance to be crowned FedExCup champion. Past BMW Championship winners include Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Keegan Bradley, Dustin Johnson, Jason Day, Rory McIlroy, Zach Johnson, Justin Rose and Tiger Woods.

(LEWES, Del.) – Beebe Healthcare will be hosting multiple healthcare job fairs for clinical and support staff positions in the coming weeks.

Candidates must bring a copy of their resume and wear a mask. Please RSVP online by visiting this webpage and selecting the date: https://tinyurl.com/2p95u932. You may also call 302-645-3336 or email employment@beebehealthcare.org. Walk-ins welcome.

Working at Beebe is not just a job, it’s a lifestyle, a feeling of community, and Beebe is a wonderful place to call home. Beebe’s success is a direct result of our team members. Their care and safety for patients and their community is obvious. Attracting and retaining the best healthcare professionals is a priority. Come, join a team of heroes!

For complete job descriptions and requirements for any of the listed positions, go to www.beebehealthcare.org/career-opportunities.

Beebe Medical Group Clinical Positions Job Fair

Beebe Medical Group will be hosting a job fair on Saturday, April 23, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Sunshine Café on the Margaret H. Rollins Lewes Campus. Beebe is offering a $1,000 sign-on bonus.

 Positions include:

• Physician Office Nurses
• Certified Medical Assistant
• Electronic Health Records Informatics Specialist
• Patient Experience Specialist
• Training Specialist

Nutritional Services and Housekeeping Job Fair

Beebe will host a job fair on Monday, April 25, from 8 a.m. to noon at the Specialty Surgical Hospital on the Rehoboth Health Campus located at 19161 Healthy Way, Rehoboth Beach, DE, 19958.

Beebe will be offering on-site interviews for this hiring event for Nutritional Services and Housekeeping positions. Pay starts at $15 per hour with benefits and paid time off. Shifts may vary depending on department needs. Additionally, Beebe is offering a $1,000 sign-on bonus.

Behavioral Patient Sitters Job Fair

Beebe will host a Behavioral Patient Sitters Job Fair on Tuesday, April 26 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Sunshine Café on the Margaret H. Rollins Lewes Campus.

Beebe is seeking to hire full-time and part-time team members. Pay starts at $15 per hour with benefits and paid time off. Shifts may vary depending on department needs. Additionally, Beebe is offering a $1,000 sign-on bonus.

Beebe Healthcare Clinical Job Fair

Beebe will host a Clinical Job Fair on Wednesday, April 27, from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at the Margaret H. Rollins School of Nursing, which is located on the Lewes Campus and behind the Emergency Department.

Clinical positions include:

• RNs (Hospital In-Patient, Bedside & Procedural)
• CNAs
• Patient Care Assistants
• Respiratory
• Med Tech (ASCP)
• RN’s (Home Care, Cancer Center)

Beebe Healthcare is a not-for-profit community healthcare system with a charitable mission to encourage healthy living, prevent illness, and restore optimal health for the people who live in, work in, and visit the communities we serve. Beebe Healthcare has three campuses: the Margaret H. Rollins Lewes Campus, which houses the medical center; the Rehoboth Health Campus; and the South Coastal Health Campus. Beebe Healthcare offers primary care as well as specialized services in the areas of cardiovascular, oncology, orthopaedics, general surgery, robotic surgery and women’s health. Beebe also offers walk-in care, lab, imaging and physical rehabilitation services at several locations throughout Sussex County, in addition to a home health program and a comprehensive community health program.

For more information about Beebe Healthcare, visit beebehealthcare.org.

The only child of a first-grade teacher, Surinder Sharma found comfort in books at an early age. “Books were my constant companion,” recalls Sharma, who grew up in New Delhi, India. She passed that love on to her first son, who was reading Harry Potter in first grade.

But by the time Sharma had her second son, she noticed that children reached for electronic devices more often than books. “They were playing games,” she says of her children’s peers. “The interest in reading paper books was waning.”

To inspire kids to read and learn, Sharma and her husband, Harjeet Singh, started Smart Kidz Club in 2013. The Bear-based company’s digital library, designed for elementary school children, includes narrated and illustrated ebooks. There are no ads, videos or animation.

The collection caught the eye of the NFL Alumni Association’s Caring for Kids initiative, which seeks to bring books to underserved and underprivileged children. The association’s Read to Lead campaign helps parents support children’s literacy and addresses the learning gaps exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. In July, Smart Kidz Club and the Association partnered to produce the Read to Lead app.

Sharma and Singh are no strangers to the publishing industry. After moving to the United States when Singh was in graduate school, they started Spearhead Global, specializing in academic publishing projects. The company expanded to include CD-ROMs, apps and test-prep engines. “Print publishing was shrinking, and publishers were moving more and more into the digital world,” Sharma says.

Initially, Smart Kidz Club was a passion product. Sharma wanted to instill a love for learning at an early age. “We wanted to develop something so young kids could learn on their own devices,” explains Sharma, the company’s CEO. “We were making software engines for other companies. Why don’t we start something for young kids?”

Singh has technical expertise, and Sharma handles the creative, including the app design, illustration and author contacts. “We make sure the content is of a superior quality. Kids need to know more about this world and reflect the diversity,” she says.

Initially, the content was on both the web and mobile devices. Parents, however, preferred to use mobile devices, perhaps because online connectivity can be unreliable. By 2020, the library shifted to a mobile-only offering.

There are about 500,000 subscribers, who have options. Parents can choose the budget-friendly Read to Me app or the advanced Premium Library app with flashcards, quizzes, math, puzzles and interactive activities.

In response to the pandemic, Smart Kidz Club developed a classroom app to connect teachers, parents and students. However, that app is only available abroad, where distributors have existing relationships with schools. It does not matter that the books are in English. Learning that language is a top priority in other nations, particularly in Asia. Smart Kidz Club will provide translations on an individual case basis.

Since Smart Kidz Club has a global reach, Sharma appreciates the many Delaware services that support business, including Global Delaware, the state’s international economic development initiative. “Delaware, in terms of the ease of doing business and being a small state,” she says, “is a great place to be.”

As for the future, Smart Kidz Club adds new content each week, and the library will continue to feature books with a multicultural view. “There’s so much diversity in everything — animals, plants, culture, people,” Sharma says. “The more children expose themselves to the world, the more likely they will grow up to be tolerant adults.”

Where else but in Delaware could a transplanted attorney make a name for herself collaborating on two innovative restaurants while helping to shape a statewide platform for the advancement of artistic expression?

When entertainment attorney and creative entrepreneur Angela Wagner moved to Delaware to be with the person she loved, her dream was to build upon a career that combines her legal expertise with her passion for creativity. Six years and several unexpected, yet welcome turns later, she’s well on her way to changing the landscape — and the menu — for local artists of every genre thanks to incredible opportunities and the warm welcome she received from Delaware’s business community.

Location, Location, Location… and Relationships

In business, it’s all about location, location, location. And Wagner loves Delaware’s location that allows her to quickly reach major cities such as Philadelphia and New York while being able to come home to what she describes as a “beautiful way of living” here.

But Wagner has also discovered another equally important part of the equation for entrepreneurial success: in Delaware, relationships are key.

It didn’t take long for Wagner to experience — and benefit from — the Delaware Way of everyone knowing everyone else (or at least knowing someone who seems to know everyone else). From personal introductions and endorsements alone, doors opened for Wagner, allowing her to put her experience to work and grow her own professional network.

“I took a risk moving to Delaware because my industry (entertainment) wasn’t here — yet. But I am tenacious. I knew I could make it anywhere,” she said. “What was important was being around people I love, doing what I love, so I decided, ‘If I can’t find it here, I will build it here!’”

Her first big break to make a name for herself in Delaware came in the hospitality industry — a field she also knows from soup to nuts from years working every position imaginable since she was a teen. She successfully pitched a concept to the Big Fish Restaurant Group to transform an empty building on Washington Street in the city of Wilmington into the Harvest House, a meeting place featuring fast, healthy, casual food.

“Harvest House was the perfect blank canvas for me to make my mark on Delaware and show off what I do best,” said Wagner.

Opportunities spiral into other opportunities and, through her work on Harvest House, Wagner met Delaware entrepreneurs Jason Aviles and John Naughton, who would become her business partners in her next creative endeavor — Green Box Kitchen. Grant support from the City of Wilmington helped the trio create a vegan restaurant in an unlikely urban setting. The welcoming Market Street space expands on the concept of Wilmington Green Box, a nonprofit project that provides at-risk teens with entrepreneurial jobs while supplying communities with direct access to cold-pressed juices and healthy options.

It was during these restaurant projects that Wagner also got to know a Market Street neighbor, musician and filmmaker Jet Phynx, who would become her first entertainment client here in Delaware. And, through mutual contacts — there’s that Delaware Way of networking again — Wagner was introduced to, and had the opportunity to work for a time with Gayle Dillman, owner and CEO of Gable Music Ventures, a Wilmington firm representing the local entertainment industry.

Wagner’s dream has come full circle.

Today, along with Jet Phynx Films, Wagner proudly represents Delaware’s own Dallas Shaw, illustrator and creative director; visual storyteller Blake Saunders; mixed media artist Rick Hidalgo. She also does work for the innovative nonprofit film company Of Substance. and assists with branding, marketing and operations for The Mill Summit.

Wagner’s path may not have been linear, but she said she made an opportunity for herself through word of mouth here in Delaware that she probably wouldn’t have been able to do in other cities.

“Delaware is pretty much a playground for entrepreneurs,” said Wagner. “There’s relatively low risk to get into the market if you have a solid idea, business acumen and the right people behind you.”

“What I’ve found about Delaware is that if you have an idea, Delawareans will put you in front of the right people and figure it out together. I am so grateful for that.”

Wagner is now a top finalist in the Reinventing Delaware competition sponsored by the Pete du Pont Freedom Foundation, an entrepreneurial incubator providing a platform for individuals to present ideas that will create jobs and improve Delaware.

Her pitch to encourage Delaware to invest in the arts and creative economy, she said, is all about encouraging people to want to live, work and play here in Delaware.

“I want to champion that narrative – to highlight artists and give them a platform to tell the beautiful stories of the work that they do,” she said. “I want to help artists love where they live, to have pride and be proud to say, ‘I’m from Delaware!’”

Wagner is confident that if Delaware invests in the entertainment industry, people will recognize the state’s advantages and want to move here, buy houses, dine and vacation here.

“I would love for this little corner of the country to become a place for creative entrepreneurs to get started and plant roots here,” she said.

And when that happens, Wagner is ready to pay forward the same warm welcome she received to help other creative entrepreneurs find business success in Delaware, as well.

Dana Eugene Herbert is comfortable wearing many hats. The owner of Desserts by Dana is a savory chef, pastry chef, baker and sugar artist. The veteran entrepreneur is also a champion. In 2010, he scored a win on TLC’s “Cake Boss: The Next Great Baker,” which led to celebrity tours and guest appearances on Food Network and Cooking Channel programs.

Given that celebrities clamor for his cakes, the “Sugar Daddy” could live and work in Hollywood or Manhattan. But Herbert prefers Delaware.

“It’s a good place to raise a family,” says the father of three, who lives in Bear, near Newark. “There are great values here. The higher education is good here. When you see New Jersey residents and New Yorkers sending their kids to the University of Delaware, you know the school has great programs.”

Herbert should know. He graduated from the University of Delaware with a bachelor’s degree in hotel, restaurant and institutional management before receiving a culinary arts degree from Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island.

Clearly, he’s been a man with a plan. Herbert was prepared not only to succeed on “Cake Boss” but also to leverage the fame it brought him for the good of his career, family, and home state.

Love at First Bake

Herbert was born in Washington, D.C. But because his father worked for the DuPont Co., the family frequently moved. They kept returning to Delaware, DuPont’s headquarters. “With every promotion, we were bouncing back to Delaware,” Herbert says. While relocating was hard, it had its benefits. “I’m grateful that I got to see different places and meet different people,” he says.

By the time he was in high school, the family was once again living in Delaware, and they stayed long enough for him to graduate from John Dickinson High School in Wilmington’s Pike Creek Valley.

In his junior year, Herbert started cracking open cookbooks after school. He realized he liked to both cook and bake, and his culinary experiments alternated between the two. “I guess that’s the reason why I can now do both so easily,” says Herbert, author of “Sweet & Savory Union,” which is available on Amazon.

After high school, his father pushed his son to study business. But Herbert knew he loved the culinary world. Going to the University of Delaware for hotel, restaurant and institutional management let the two men “meet in the middle,” he says. “I had food classes and all the management stuff – it was a nice marriage. We had to take accounting, finance.”

But Herbert hungered for more culinary training. He earned a second bachelor’s degree and an associate degree in pastry at Johnson & Wales University. He trained as both a culinary and a pastry chef, but the sweet side of the business proved irresistible. While working as a savory chef, he started Desserts by Dana to “exercise” his baking and pastry skills. The company took off.

Becoming a Boss

Herbert did not look for fame on television, but he was interested in culinary competitions. “I wanted to climb in the ring and go a few rounds,” he recalls. He credits a Delaware Today article that spotlighted Herbert’s ability to make pulled and blown sugar sculptures for catching the eye of the “Cake Boss” casting crew.

In addition to “Cake Boss,” Herbert won “The Next Great Baker” on TLC. He’s been on “Cake Wars” on the Food Network and “Cake Hunters.” If a show had “cake” in the title, he notes with a laugh, then he was on it. Now, with so many under his belt, he’s more interested in being a judge than a contestant.

Herbert also has received recognition from his industry outside television. He’s been profiled in Dessert Professional and was named one of the Top Ten Cake Artists in America in 2013. What’s more, the venerable James Beard Foundation asked him to participate in the James Beard Celebrity Chef Tour. He made French toast with bacon ice cream, bacon-rosemary caramel sauce and an almond-bacon tuile cookie for the first tour. Each one was a hit.

Herbert’s clients have included President Joe and Dr. Jill Biden, Oprah Winfrey, Jesse Jackson and Ice Cube. Not surprisingly, he’s received job offers from New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Atlanta.

But he’s stayed in the First State and, in fact, is opening a Desserts by Dana space in UD’s Perkins Student Center so faculty and students can have access to his award-winning cupcakes and croissants. Meanwhile, he continues to serve New York, Philadelphia, Maryland, and New Jersey clients from his Bear, Delaware location.

For Delaware’s “King of Cakes,” Delaware’s sense of community can’t be beat.