You will have the opportunity to attend TWO of the following Creativity Sessions. You do not need to choose your workshops before the day of the Philanthropy Partners Conference.
Crushing It in Skowhegan: How One Woman’s Grindmill Shook Things Up, Milled Them Down, and Created Change in a Rural Maine Town
Presenter: Amber Lambke – President, Maine Grains, Inc.
Description: How did a speech pathologist end up launching a company that provides stone-milled grains to fine bakeries and restaurants? Amber Lambke has always considered herself a creative problem solver—and as she learned about artisan baking and the local food movement, she realized that America’s love affair with white flour was leaving a void that she had the power to fill. In this session, Amber will share the story of her work at the intersection of the nonprofit and business sectors, along with insights into how it is helping generate an agricultural and economic renaissance in central Maine.
Presenter Bio: Amber Lambke is president of Maine Grains, Inc., whose products are carried by specialty food stores and used by bakeries and restaurants throughout the Northeast. She is also the founding director of the Maine Grain Alliance. A driving force behind Maine’s sustainable foods movement, Amber has worked with local business leaders and community members to successfully bring the cultivation and processing of grains back to Skowhegan, Maine.
The Eastern Maine Skippers Program: Preparing Students to Contribute to the Vitality of Our Fishing Communities
Presenter: Christina Fifield – Coordinator, Eastern Maine Skippers Program
Description: The world of fisheries and coastal communities in Maine is changing. In response, the Eastern Maine Skippers Program (EMSP) works with high school students to build relationships, knowledge, and skills that help them graduate ready for 21st-century business, science, political and fishing environments. If you are interested in developing and supporting innovative education models that can help build capacity in rural schools and transform communities, this session is for you.
Presenter Bio: Christina Fifield is the coordinator for the Eastern Maine Skippers Program. She is responsible for promoting communication and coordination among all EMSP partners, participating schools, and fishermen in the schools’ communities. She facilitates the planning and operation of a multi-school collaboration and links EMSP students and teachers with appropriate industry representatives and Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries staff. Christina comes from a long line of fishermen and industry leaders and has a B.S. degree from Thomas College, where she majored in communications with an emphasis on public relations and marketing. Her previous positions have served her well as the Eastern Maine Skippers Program Coordinator. Christina lives in Little Deer Isle with her fiancé Richard and daughter Danica.
Fording, Framing, and Fusing: How I Navigate the Nonprofit World
Presenter: Kyle Lolar – Member, Penobscot Nation
Description: Kyle Lolar is a member of the Penobscot Nation and a self-described learning member of Maine’s nonprofit world. And he sure has had plenty of opportunity to learn! Kyle has done everything from developing ecology-based youth programs, to managing community outreach and fundraising initiatives, to serving on the board of a radical, community-based foundation. In this session, he will not only share stories about how he’s stayed afloat and kept moving in the nonprofit world, but also weave a narrative about crossing cultural worlds, drawing on multiple perspectives, and somehow making everything fit together.
From Nothing to Everything in Five Years: How Coffee and Videos Propelled a Kid’s Idea into a Multi-Million Dollar Organization
Presenter: Barrett Takesian – President and Executive Director, Portland Community Squash
Description: Barrett Takesian was building a catapult out of paperclips in his cubicle when he decided to write down an idea. Using two simple tools, Barrett shared the idea with thousands, raising millions for what is now Portland Community Squash. The organization is on pace to become one of the top college-pathway programs in the country. In this breakout session, you’ll gain insight into the process of creating a shared community vision, recognize the power of human capital, and learn how videos can create breakthrough moments for organizations.
Presenter Bio: Barrett Takesian spent his childhood in Southwest Harbor, ME and his teenage years in Boston, MA. When attending Bowdoin College, Barrett studied economics, captained the squash team, and served on the residential life staff. After graduating in 2012, Barrett moved to Portland, where he worked at Unum and volunteered at Big Brothers Big Sisters and the YMCA. Through his volunteer work, Barrett became interested in serving youth in Portland. After learning the squash and education framework in Lawrence, MA, Barrett spearheaded a community squash and education center in Portland, ME. Barrett successfully completed a capital campaign for Portland Community Squash in January 2017, and he currently serves as the organization’s executive director.
It Takes More Than Gatorade®: Combining Empowerment with Outdoor Recreation to Fuel a Community-Based Vision for Northern Maine
Presenter: Andrew Shepard – President/CEO, Outdoor Sport Institute
Description: Maine is a big state that is largely characterized by small, rural communities, which sometimes makes it difficult for nonprofits and funders to achieve sustained, significant outreach. As a result, impact-oriented organizations may feel pressured to develop a focus that is either narrow and deep or broad and shallow. Ultimately, neither approach is optimal. After learning the story of the Outdoor Sport Institute, workshop participants will leave this session better equipped to develop empowerment-based approaches to community engagement and development that can realize meaningful impact.
Presenter Bio: Andy Shepard spent 16 years of his career at L.L.Bean, working on strategies, products, and services to inspire people to spend time outdoors. While there, he developed a strategy to create a new economic and cultural model for Northern Maine that resulted in the founding of the Maine Winter Sports Center in 1999. By 2016, this initial effort to get people in Northern Maine on skis had evolved into the Outdoor Sport Institute, where Andy currently serves as president and CEO. Andy was named the Outstanding Non-Profit Business Executive for Maine in 2010 and was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Maine in 2005. He is co-founder, vice chairman, and trustee of the United States Biathlon Foundation and a past trustee of Carrabassett Valley Academy and Pineland Farms.
Nonprofit Management and Mission Control: Confessions of an Anti-Authoritarian, Impulsive, Procrastinating, Improvising (i.e., Creative) Executive Director
Presenter: Katie Brown – Co-Founder and Executive Director, The Locker Project
Description: Katie Brown isn’t afraid to talk about how many times she has bounced—and been bounced—from one passion to the next professionally, and she’s not hesitant to explain why. (Just take a look at this workshop’s title.) In this session, Katie will share how she turned job-related lemons into lemonade by founding a successful nonprofit startup. She’ll also explore the elements of her success, which include: taking mission and the creative response seriously; having courage and faith; and building really good teams. Whether you’re thinking of starting something new, deep in start-up mode, or seeking some inspiration as the leader of an existing organization, Katie’s presentation has something for you.
Organization Information: Katie Brown is the executive director and co-founder of the Locker Project, an organization that manages food pantries in schools and fresh produce distributions for students in Greater Portland who are food-insecure. Katie has many years’ experience working for and developing nonprofit organizations and serving on several boards over time. An avid community volunteer. Katie is passionate about connecting people with each other and with resources, fiber arts, and photography.
Together, We Create Justice: Radically Participatory Grantmaking for Social Change
Presenters: Andrea Berry – Director of Communications and Engagement, Maine Initiatives; Phil Walsh – Executive Director, Maine Initiatives
Description: Since 2016, Maine Initiatives has been experimenting with a radically participatory, community-based grantmaking model addressing issues of racial justice in Maine. This session will explore why the organization decided to undertake this process, what it did, what worked, and what didn’t. Join Phil Walsh and Andrea Berry for a discussion about philanthropy, equity, power dynamics, and justice.
Presenter Bios: A specialist in fundraising, communications, and community engagement strategy, Andrea Berry spent her career helping nonprofits plan and execute effective campaigns to meet organizational and mission goals. Using communications as a platform for convening and conversing, Andrea amplifies the work of Maine Initiatives’ grantees and the values of our community. Prior to joining Maine Initiatives, Andrea specialized in nonprofit technology at Idealware and Firefly Partners, offering consulting services, writing workbooks, and training thousands of nonprofits in fundraising and communications best practices. Earlier in her career, she worked as a middle school math teacher, an archaeology field educator, and a development director for educational organizations. Andrea serves as a Board Member of the Maine Women’s Lobby and chairs the Lobby’s 40th Anniversary Year Celebration.
Phil Walsh joined the Maine Initiatives team in February 2015, bringing a track record of success supporting community philanthropy that engages diverse stakeholders; identifies and mobilizes the community’s human, financial, and social assets; and leverages those assets for social change. He came to Maine with his family in 2011, after working for fifteen years in community organizing and grassroots philanthropy in Latin America. Phil served as a program officer with the Inter‐American Foundation, director of the Mexico Program at The Synergos Institute, and leader of Mercy Corps’ civil society strengthening program in Central America. Phil is also an active supporter of Maine Adaptive and the Spina Bifida Association of Greater New England.
Write. Share. Inspire: How Writing Sparks Social-Emotional Learning and Growth
Presenters: Maryam Abdullah – College Student and Telling Room Alum; Andrew Griswold – Creative Director, The Telling Room; Nick Schuller – Program Director, The Telling Room
Description: When The Telling Room received the National Arts & Humanities Youth Program Award in 2015, Michelle Obama told awardees that “the arts are not a luxury; they are a necessity.” This interactive session will feature one of The Telling Room’s multilingual students and explore connections between creativity, social-emotional learning, and identity. Participants will examine links between creativity and growth—for individuals and organizations alike. Come and learn how writing and storytelling practices have the potential to not only inform your organization’s brand identity, but also evolve its mission.
Presenter Bios: Originally from Iraq, Maryam Abdullah first came to The Telling Room when she was 15. Initially reluctant to share any personal stories, she went on to write and publish an illustrated novel as a Telling Room author. Maryam is currently an undergraduate student at USM, where she double majors in electrical and computer engineering. In her free time, she enjoys watching science videos on YouTube, kayaking, working on and riding her motorcycle, and skydiving.
Since 2008, creative director Andrew Griswold has worked to grow The Telling Room’s reputation as a national arts education leader through strategic branding, public events, and extensive media coverage, including stories in the Washington Post, Huffington Post, New Yorker, Fast Company, Boston Globe, and many others. He recently presented at the 2018 SXSW Edu Conference and the Maine Land Trust Network Conference.
Before coming to The Telling Room in 2013, program director Nick Schuller taught middle school English for four years in Oakland, California. After teaching public school, he was motivated to help start Achieve Learning, a college prep nonprofit dedicated to reducing the college access opportunity gap for low-income students. He oversees and facilitates all program design, development, implementation, and evaluation for The Telling Room.