Elisabelle, Belle, (she/ her) is a native Mainer, a boomerang, and has transitioned from a career in market research and philanthropy to education and healthcare. Growing up a first-generation Vietnamese American and being the first to go away to a four-year college, Belle is deeply grateful for the path her education set her on and remains diligent that she can pay it forward at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels through her work, community involvement, and policy efforts.

With over 10 years of experience working in the nonprofit sector, Belle is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in human development at Lesley Univesity and professionally working as a clinical social worker in Women’s Health for MaineHealth. Current community service includes Board of Trustees’ role with the Portland Public Library in addition to her involvement with Maine Women’s Lobby.

In her spare time, Belle enjoys cultivating eclectic Spotify playlists, dog-eared paperback books, and roaming around southern Maine with trusty, rescue lab mix Casco.

York, Maine

Selecca is the Director of the Maine Small Business Coalition, advocating for policies that help small businesses thrive and promote community investment. She has ten years of public policy experience and is ​​passionate about advocacy work that helps level the playing field for everyday people. Selecca originally hails from Massachusetts and spent several years at a Boston-based government relations firm, where she worked on energy, healthcare, and food security issues. Prior to moving to Maine, she was a Policy Fellow with the IJ Clinic on Entrepreneurship at the University of Chicago Law School, where she engaged in pro bono policy advocacy on behalf of lower-income entrepreneurs. Selecca holds an M.A. in Political Science and a B.A. in Political Science and Sociology, both from Northeastern University. In her spare time, Selecca enjoys skiing, visiting local restaurants, and spending time at the beach. She lives in York with her wife and their cat.

Portland, Maine

Marina is a multilingual international professional committed to providing meaningful services to populations of diverse backgrounds and cultures. She was born in a town in Russia which is 22 miles from Arkhangelsk. Arkhangelsk and Portland have been sister cities since 1988. She first came to Maine in 2003 to study at Maine Law as an international student. Marina was a human rights lawyer in St. Petersburg, Russia, working on the issues of domestic violence, human trafficking, and women’s rights. She also holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy and Management from the Muskie School at the University of Southern Maine and in April’22 will graduate from the Institute for Civic Leadership program at Maine Development Foundation.

Currently, she is a Global Talent Navigator at the Office of Equity, Inclusion, and Social Impact at the University of Southern Maine. While serving as a board member, Marina hopes to promote the interests of New Mainers.

Marina lives in Yarmouth with her husband and two daughters. Her daughters now also volunteer at the Portland-Arkhangelsk Sister Cities Committee.

Portland, Maine

Ann is a Policy Advocate at Maine Equal Justice, where she works to increase economic security, opportunity, and equity for people in Maine. Prior to returning home to Maine, she worked in New York, most recently as Senior State Advocacy Manager with Community Catalyst’s Women’s Health Program, and before that as Advocacy and Policy Coordinator for the ACLU’s Advocacy and Policy Department. Ann is a graduate of the Columbia University School of Social Work and served as an Advocacy and Social Work Fellow for the National Organization for Women (NOW) NYC chapter. Ann grew up in Lewiston and now lives in Portland with her partner and her dog.

Orono, Maine

Meghan Gardner holds a Ph.D. in Creative Writing and Literature from the University of Denver, an M.A. in English from the University of Maine, and a B.A. in American Studies from Brandeis University. She has previously taught writing and literature at Husson University and the University of Maine, and is currently the Assistant Dean of Business at the Maine Business School and Graduate School of Business. She lives in Orono with her husband, daughter, and menagerie of pets.

Portland, Maine

René Goddess shares “I am a queer, black, South African, three-time award-winning, indigenous, woman. An Arts & Community Organizer, Choreographer, Coordinator of Multicultural Affairs, Education and Events. A Designer, Director, Embodied Equity Consultant, Innovator, Non-Profit Founder, Performance Artist, Activist, and Producer.  I have been navigating assimilation, white terrorism, and a temporary loss of self-pride since arriving in Maine in 1991. My areas of interest include the intersection of the arts in movements for social justice and racial equity. As an embodied equity consultant, I work closely with the public, with artists of many genres, with minority communities, youth, and nonprofit organizations throughout the state of Maine, to develop creative opportunities focused on inter-organizational collaboration using the arts. These moments of coming together and creating art are the common denominator that connects all my work. When I am not working, I can be found singing and dancing down the streets of Portland wearing my crown, touring g e e l, or eating at my favorite restaurant, Empire. I am pretty much always eating.”

Auburn, Maine

Quinn Gormley currently serves as the Executive Director of the Maine Transgender Network (MTN). Her work with MTN ranges from community-building initiatives, expanding health equity and access across the state, suicide prevention, policy advocacy, and violence prevention. Before MTN, Quinn worked in a variety of community organizing settings, including at the Health Equity Alliance managing a rural HIV testing program and building rural LGBTQ+ communities, and with the Maine People’s Alliance working on economic and health justice issues. Throughout her work, Quinn believes in centering the wellness of marginalized communities, and that the root of power and liberation can be found in communities that embrace their diversity and interdependence. She lives with her husband Ezra and a small menagerie of pets in Central Maine.

Old Town, Maine

Lauren Jacobs worked in the field of outdoor sport education for seven years prior to joining the Kinesiology and Physical Education faculty at the University of Maine. Her thesis research investigated the way Maine elementary schools decide when students may go outside for recess and physical education classes. Prior to coming to UMaine, Lauren worked in the non-profit sector helping increase outdoor sport opportunities and access for Maine children. She also taught physical education in a PK-8 school. Lauren is a registered Maine Guide and a registered yoga instructor. Lauren is the daughter of MWL founder Linda Smith Dyer and Charlie Jacobs.

Cape Elizabeth

Gretchen Johnson joined the MWLEF Board in 2018- but her feminist activism began at age three when she marched alongside her mom with an ERA sign. Gretchen participates on the Development Committee and was a member of the MWL 40th Anniversary Planning Committee. As the Director of Marketing for Verrill Dana, Gretchen oversees the strategic planning, client development, public relations, branding, and community engagement for the firm. She brings those skills to bear in her work for the MWLEF. As an avid supporter of the Arts, Gretchen participates in committees on behalf of the Portland Museum of Art and Portland Symphony Orchestra and has held season tickets to Portland Stage for nearly 10 years. Gretchen has volunteered at the Center for Grieving Children since 2008 and currently serves on the Board. In her free time, Gretchen competes in road races and triathlons, and encourages her own 5-year old “powerful woman” to find her voice and to help others.

Somerville, Maine

Lisa has recently retired from her job of 20 years as a Senior Program Officer of the Bingham Program, a charitable endowment for Maine based at Tufts Medical Center in Boston. She managed a diverse array of projects addressing access to health care, public health policy, community health, oral health, mental health, and health professions training. Lisa was also an elected Representative in the Maine House of Representatives for six years, serving a district of five small rural towns. She served on the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee as well as the Health and Human Services Committee. She has been an officer on the Boards of Medical Care Development, Inc., the Maine Philanthropy Center, the Maine Health Access Foundation, the Maine Public Health Association, Onpoint Health Data and was the founding Chair of the Maine Center for Economic Policy. Lisa has a master’s degree in Public Health from the University of Michigan and a BA in Human Biology from Stanford University.

Bangor, Maine

Angela Okafor Esq., MBA, is a Nigerian immigrant. She is an immigration lawyer at Okafor Law Practice, owns Gela's hair Braiding and currently, the Director of Community Engagement with the Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial Indigenous and Tribal Populations of Maine. Angela is the first person of color and first immigrant to serve on the Bangor City Council. She is currently, working to set up a nonprofit to empower and support immigrant women in the Penobscot area and on the Board of Maine Multicultural Center. Angela is a mother to three amazing children. Angela served on the State’s Workforce Committee, the Presidents’ 2025 Commission on Excellence and Equity at the University of Maine, the Advisory Committee of Maine Racial Justice Fund, the Bangor School Department’s DEI and the Governor’s Economic Recovery Commission. Angela’s proudest achievements, so far, are mothering her children, leading the way for diversity in Bangor leadership, and spearheading the creation of the Bangor Advisory Committee on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Human Rights. Angela is the recipient of: Marquis Who’s Who in America 2023 enlistee, Girl Scouts of Maine Pearls of Wisdom Honoree 2022, Call to Action 2022 by Maine Womens’ Fund, Community Solidarity Award 2022 by Food and Medicine, PCHC Dental Center Advanced Education in General Dentistry Residency Program, Trailblazer Award 2021, MaineBiz Women to Watch 2020, Haitian Network of Maine recognition as the first Black Woman on Bangor City Council 2020 and Empower the Immigrant Women Award 2018.

Caribou, Maine

Sam Paradis, MSN, MPH, FNP-C, CARN-AP, (they/them), is an established leader who has worked in healthcare and policy for 18 years. They began as a certified nursing assistant at a local nursing home while in high school in Northern Maine. Sam became a family nurse practitioner after many years as a night shift bedside registered nurse. They practiced internal medicine throughout the pandemic. Lately, they have been providing low-barrier harm reduction treatment for opioid use disorder via telehealth. Sam also works part-time at an urgent care center and volunteers on Monhegan Island, Maine, as a summer wilderness medical provider. They know that all policies affect health and, for that reason, ran for local office in 2017. From 2017-2019 they served as the first queer and youngest mayor of Belfast, Maine. Sam is currently enrolled as a DNP student at Frontier Nursing University. In the most meaningful time and space, they enjoy being active outside with their spouse and Goldendoodle. You can find them mountaineering, running, hiking, biking, snowboarding, xc skiing, or canoeing the Maine wilderness.

Oakland, Maine

Rebecca has been leading the leveraging efforts as well as overseeing overall project management, performance monitoring, financial reporting processes and structure that ensures alignment of resources with program activities, management of travel requirements, and being a member of the evaluation team. Rebecca has extensive experience working in Tribal health, health equity, public health nutrition, program evaluation, and systems development. She is currently the Director of Operations for Wabanaki Public Health and oversees the day-to-day operations for all the WPH’s work plans and deliverables. In her previous role, Rebecca has 10 years of experience working in State government, where she worked for the Office of Health Equity, WIC program, Public Health Informatics, and Infectious Disease Epidemiology. She is a graduate of the University of Maine with a B.S. in Biochemistry; holds an MPH in Epidemiology from Emory University and a Ph.D. in Public Health - Community Health from Walden University.

Augusta, Maine

Katrina Ray-Saulis is a writer, creator, and a born and raised Mainer. She has a BFA in Creative Writing from the New Hampshire Institute of Art, and an MFA in Creative Writing from Stonecoast USM. Katrina lives with her spouse, biracial indigenous writer and artist Trysten, in a 200-year old Augusta home that once housed the local undertaker. They share their home with a pack of small dogs and a band of opinionated cats. Katrina is an adjunct instructor at two Maine Community Colleges and is currently serving as the adjunct chapter president of MSEA-SEIU Local 1989. She teaches English, Theater and Women’s Studies. Katrina regularly writes and speaks on topics of feminism and classism. When she isn’t writing or working (and sometimes even when she is) she always has a set of knitting needles in her hands.

Portland, Maine

My work centers on people, and building long-term, trusting relationships. I have worked in and around the Arts since high school and am convinced of their power to transform us individually and collectively, and to bring us together. Past experience includes work in development, retail, arts administration, urban planning, and graphic design. Previous board service includes Portland Buy Local, Women’s March Portland, and the Maine Crafts Association.

Caribou, Maine

Shawna Traugh, DSW, LCSW is a Clinical Consultant to the children’s services programs for Aroostook Mental Health Center. Shawna is passionate about community advocacy and child/youth mental health awareness. She is a member of the Pride Aroostook steering committee and is invested in LGBTQIA2S+ advocacy. Shawna was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and moved to Tobique First Nation (Neqotkuk) as a teen. She has lived in Maine since 2003 where she started working in the social work field. She has been a licensed clinician since 2006. Shawna is passionate about education and inspiring others to learn. She has 2 Bachelor degrees (BA & BS), a Master’s (MSW), a Post-grad certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis (USM) and most recently completed her DSW (Tulane). She enjoys traveling, singing, dancing, and roller skating. Shawna lives in Caribou with her partner and a very high-maintenance cat named Rex.

Bio. forthcoming!

Josie is a policy fellow with Maine Center for Economic Policy, where she researches and advocates for policies that will make Maine's economy stronger and more equitable. She moved to Maine in 2022 from Oklahoma, where she got her Bachelor's in Economics and International & Area Studies from the University of Oklahoma and began her career in public policy. Her professional passions are researching strategies to address the affordable housing crisis and advocating for policies that reduce the barriers experienced by queer Mainers. In their personal life, they enjoy reading, diving down obscure internet rabbit holes, and exploring new restaurants. Their life ambition is to eventually try every type of curry.

Rep. Rachel Talbot Ross is serving her third term in the Maine House, representing the Portland neighborhoods of Parkside, Bayside, East Bayside, Oakdale and the University of Southern Maine campus. Talbot Ross serves the Maine House Democratic caucus as assistant House majority leader. She is the first and only Black woman elected to the Maine Legislature and to legislative leadership. A ninth-generation Mainer and longtime public servant, Talbot Ross has dedicated her career to social justice. Prior to her time in the Legislature, she led the NAACP in Maine and founded several nonprofit organizations, including Maine Black Community Development, Inc., Maine Freedom Trails, and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Fellows. She chaired the Maine State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights for several years as well as the African American Collection of Maine housed at the University of Southern Maine. Talbot Ross is the recipient of numerous awards, including the University of New England’s Deborah Morton Award for exceptional civic leadership. She received the 2020 Gerda Haas Award for Excellence in Holocaust and Human Rights Education and Leadership and was named the 2020 Woman of the Year by Emerge Maine.