Maine Women’s Lobby Staff
Destie Hohman Sprague, executive director (she/her)
Destie has led the Maine Women’s Lobby since 2020, after 11 years at the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault. She has focused her career on the belief that all people’s voices and experiences have a place in shaping our democracy, and that policy can change lives and help create thriving communities. She believes that building more feminist policy begins with building more feminist organizations and partnerships, and is working to create a multi-organization staffing collaborative to ensure that Maine’s feminist nonprofits have the power to build a Maine free from gender-based discrimination and all oppressions.
Destie holds an undergraduate degree from Tulane University, and a Masters Degree in Public Policy. She loves growing, cooking, and eating food, neighborhood potlucks, and running.
Contact me with: Questions about our strategic direction, legislative or campaign strategy, our innovative operations alliance, or hate mail (I don’t prefer it, but I prefer that it comes to me).
Favorite feminist read/watch/listen: Pretty much anything from Roxanne Gay, and recommend her Instagram live feed; Lindy West (read this!); Adrienne Maree Brown (Emergent Strategy!); Stuff You Missed in History Podcast (not explicitly feminist but full of loads of interesting and overlooked women in history!).
Lily James, advocacy coordinator (she/her)
Bio: Lily joined the team in 2024. Lily most recently served as co-Executive Director of The Every Voice Coalition, an advocacy organization training and mobilizing college students and survivors to pass state-level legislation addressing campus sexual violence. Lily previously worked on reproductive rights policy with NARAL Pro Choice CT and voter engagement with Sister District Project, and in the offices of state and federal lawmakers. Lily loves to hike, practice yoga, and sing in her choir.
Contact me with: Questions about bills, advocacy and our work in the state house! (lily [at] mainewomen [dot]org)
Favorite feminist read/watch/listen:
Catie Reed, programs and partnerships coordinator (she/her)
Bio: Catie Reed joined the team in 2022 and comes to this work with over a decade of experience in advocacy, systems change, and program development in the movement to end gender-based violence. She has brought her skills to different initiatives including the development of the Durgin Center in Penobscot County. Catie holds an MSW and a BA in Women's Studies from the University of Maine. It is with this experience that she leads the organization's coalition and member programs.
Contact me if: You would like to learn more about MWL's coalitions, partner on a program or connect in any other way with the Lobby on programming or coalition development - especially realted to Paid Family and Medical leave (catie [at] mainewomen [dot]org)
Favorite feminist read/watch/listen: TikTok influencer Coach Jackie! If you say you support women's sports... check her out!
Emily Burnham, communications coordinator (she/her)
Bio: Emily joined the team in 2025. After more than two decades in Maine media - most of it at the Bangor Daily News - she is thrilled to join the MWL to help create a more feminist Maine through savvy communications strategy, smart data points and good old fashioned storytelling. When we understand each other, we empathize. When we empathize, we are on the path to justice. She is a proud Mainer and a University of Maine graduate, published author and volunteer in her community. She enjoys trying new recipes, digging in her garden, discovering new music and planning her next trip.
Contact me with: Press and media inquiries, shared storytelling and social media opportunities, messaging and graphic design questions and general information on all the things the Lobby does! (emily[at]mainewomen [dot]org)
Favorite feminist read/watch/listen: Anything Kathleen Hanna has ever done; Judith Butler’s “Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity”
Brook Ewing Minner, operations coordinator (she/her)
Bio: Brook joined the team in 2022. Brook’s professional background is in librarianship but also as an activist and community organizer. Brook was a founding member of Main Street Bucksport, a community development organization working to promote vibrancy after the loss of a paper mill in that community. Her passion is in the intersection of social justice and community organizing. Brook has served as the Board President for NextStep, the domestic violence project serving Hancock and Washington Counties, as well as on the Board for the Bagaduce Music Library. She also volunteers as a grant reviewer for Maine Community Foundation, for the Word Literary Festival, and as a DJ at WERU Community Radio. In her free time she enjoys taking long walks, cooking for friends, and reading as many books as possible.
Contact me if: You need an invoice from us, have a general operations question, or don't know who else to contact. (brook[at]mainewomen [dot]org)
Favorite feminist read/watch/listen: “All Fours” by Miranda July; Lyz Lenz’s “Dingus of the Week”
Christina Schechtman, operations associate (she/her)
Bio: Christina joined the team in 2023. She brings a passion for social justice that has been centered most recently in work expanding healthcare access across rural Maine. She has a professional background in prevention, community mental health and public relations. Christina uses her combined training as a project coordinator and engagement specialist to spearhead meaningful projects and develop strategic systems that center around equity. Christina loves all things planned and organized and is focused on fostering relationships that create lasting change. You can find her competing in bar trivia and playing volleyball in her free time.
Contact me if: You want to learn about our awesome feminist alliance and how to join! (christina[at]mainewomen [dot]org)
Favorite feminist read/watch/listen: Too many to list here!