Connie Danielson

**Concetta Lucia** "**Connie**" **Danielson** (née **Sgro**; born 13 September 1945) is an Atlantican politician and educator, who is the current Minister of Education, serving since 2015. Additionally, she has been a member of the House of Commons since 1997, representing Connecticut. She is a member of the Social Democratic Party.

Danielson was born to a working-class Italian-Atlantican family in New York City, and raised in the borough of Brooklyn. After graduating from high school in 1963, Danielson began attending the University of Atlantica, New York, where she graduated with a degree in history in 1967. She received her teaching credentials and master's degree in adolescent education from UANY in 1969, and began working as a high school history teacher in New Haven County, Connecticut. While a teacher, Danielson taught classes in American history, women's rights, and American government, and additionally served as the head of the history and social sciences department from 1986 to 1992.

Danielson began her political career in 1992, after announcing her candidacy to run for Eric Jefferson's seat on the Waterbury Board of Alders. She went on to win the election, and subsequently left her career as a teacher to take office as an alder. She later won reelection in 1994. Danielson was later included on the Social Democratic ticket for the 1996 Atlantican general election in Connecticut. Following the election, she won a seat in the House of Commons, and subsequently resigned her seat on the Waterbury Board of Alders in order to take office. She has won reelection five times: in 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016. Danielson was appointed Minister of Education in 2015 by Prime Minister Angelina Woll to replace the resigning Paulina Sanders.

## Early life and family

Danielson was born on 13 September 1945 in Brooklyn, New York City to Italian immigrant parents Paolo and Carmella Sgro (née *DiGiovanni*). Paolo came to New York from Naples, Campania with his elder brother as a teenager, while Carmella first came to Pennsylvania from Bucciano, Campania as an infant with her entire family, later settling in New York at age seven. Through her father, Danielson is of partial Algerian and Turkish origin. At home, the family spoke a mixture of Italian and English, and were Roman Catholics. Danielson grew up working-class in the Bensonhurst neighborhood of Brooklyn; her father was a blue-collar worker for the City of New York, union leader, and activist in the worker's rights movement, while her mother worked on-and-off as a seamstress and jeweler, although primarily was a homemaker. Danielson is the eldest of three children; her younger siblings include brothers Paul, born  (1948-02-18) 18 February 1948 (age 75), and Peter, born  (1965-07-22) 22 July 1965 (age 58).

## Education and early career

Danielson began her education in 1952, attending public schooling in Bensonhurst. Following the opening of Bishop Kearney High School, an independent, all-girls, Catholic school, in 1961, she transferred there for 10th grade, later graduating there a year early in 1963. Danielson has gone on to express her aversion towards Catholic education, believing that "they purposefully leave out necessary information in their teaching that impressionable children need to know in order to grow up healthily". After graduating from high school, Danielson began attending the University of Atlantica, New York at its Brooklyn campus. At UANY Brooklyn, Danielson studied history and adolescent education, later receiving a bachelor's degree in history in 1967. During her time at UANY Brooklyn, she became a member of the Alpha Delta Delta (ΑΔΔ) sorority.

After graduating with her undergraduate degree, Danielson returned to UANY to study at the UANY Teacher College in Queens; she later graduated with her teaching credentials and a master's degree in history in 1969. Straight of of graduate school, Danielson received a teaching position teaching American history at her alma mater, Bishop Kearney High School in Brooklyn. However, after a disagreement with the school administration over the establishment of a class in women's rights and history, Danielson left the school after a year. She later moved to New Haven, Connecticut with her husband and found a teaching job at Amity Regional High School in the nearby suburb Woodbridge. Danielson taught at Amity Regional High School for about 20 years, teaching classes in American history, women's rights, and American government. In 1986, she was promoted to head of the history and social sciences department, while also continuing to teach her elective classes. Danielson left her job at Amity Regional High School in 1992 in order to begin her political career.

## Political career

### Early political career

Danielson began her political career in 1992, when she announced her campaign for Eric Jefferson's seat on the Waterbury Board of Alders. She spent the majority of her summer vacation between the 1991–92 and 1992–93 school years working on her campaign, and went on to narrowly win the election. After winning, Danielson left her career as an educator in order to serve on the Board of Alders in a full-time role. On the Board, Danielson focused her legislation on education and civil rights. She was reelected to her position in 1994, but did not run for a third term, as she was running for a seat in the House of Commons.

### House of Commons

In 1995, Danielson was invited by the by the Social Democratic Party of Atlantica to be included on their ticket for the 1996 Atlantican general election in Connecticut. The party ultimately won enough seats for Danielson to be seated, and she became a member of the House of Commons. She was later reelected in the 2000, 2004, 2008, and 2012 elections.

Arguably one of the most recognizable names in Connecticut politics, largely due to her fierce legislation in the realms of education and civil rights, Danielson was widely expected to be appointed Governor of Connecticut by Angelina Woll after the Social Democrats took control of the House of Commons. However, Woll ended up appointing Diana Nguyen instead, a move criticized by many political analysts.

#### Minister of Education

Similarly to the appointment of Governor of Connecticut, Danielson was additionally expected to be named Minister of Education by Angelina Woll, but was shockingly snubbed in favor of Anastasia Minz. Following Sanders' resignation in 2015, Danielson was appointed in her place, taking office on 14 June 2015. She has remained in the position since, serving in both the first and second Woll ministries.

## Personal life

Danielson began dating financial analyst John Danielson in 1966, after meeting at a nightclub in Manhattan. They later became engaged in 1968 after two years of dating, and married in June 1969 in Connecticut. They have three children together, two daughters and a son; their children include Justine, born  (1974-04-01) 1 April 1974 (age 49), Wayne, born  (1977-08-12) 12 August 1977 (age 46), and Shelli, born  (1980-06-10) 10 June 1980 (age 43). After moving to Connecticut in 1970, the Danielson family resided in Waterbury, Connecticut. Since her election to the House of Commons in 1996, the family has owned residences in Washington, D.C., Connecticut, and New York.

Despite being raised Roman Catholic, graduating from a Catholic high school, and formerly teaching at a Catholic high school, Danielson has been hesitant to identify herself with the religion. Regarding religion, she has stated, "I'm as Italian as they come, but there are many aspects of Catholicism that I do not approve of or believe in. I raised my children in the Italian tradition, and Catholicism is heavily engrained in Italian culture. Any Catholic practice I take part in is honoring Italy, and not the Pope".