Aigné Goldsby views her position on the Freedom of Information Commission as a bridge between Connecticut’s open government laws and many people in the community who are unfamiliar with their rights under the Freedom of Information Act.
“A big reason I went to law school is to promote fairness and equity for everyone,” Goldsby, a practicing attorney, says. “The only way you can be fair and treated fairly is to have clarity and information about what’s going on in government.”
Goldsby brings a variety of legal experience to the Commission that includes serving as a litigator for various law firms and insurance companies, advocating for special education students, representing children and parents in child protection cases against the Department of Children and Families and serving as a staff attorney for the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority.
In 2021 she founded her own law practice in Middletown, Goldsby Law, PLLC, specializing in education law, juvenile court matters, child protection cases and business consulting. Goldsby has also worked to promote diversity in the legal profession, founding Black Esquire LLC, which provides career coaching, law school application assistance and other services to future lawyers of color.
In addition to her legal work, Goldsby has a variety of community experience, serving as president of the George W. Crawford Black Bar Association, on the board of directors for the ACLU of Connecticut, as chair of the Town of Cromwell’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee and a as a member of the Governor’s Council on Women and Girls. She was a candidate for mayor of Cromwell in 2021.
Goldsby says she hopes to promote the Freedom of Information Commission to people who may be wary of government agencies.
“I find that people are afraid of the legal process in general, they think that anything that has to do with the law or government, it’s not on their side,” she says, adding she wants to work to change that perception.
Goldsby is familiar with the Freedom of Information Act from her work as an attorney but is looking forward to serving as a hearing officer in Commission cases and learning more about the nuts and bolts of the law. “That excites me because I think the hearings, that’s where you really get into the substance,” she says.
A graduate of Bryn Mawr College and the UConn School of Law, Goldsby resides in Simsbury.