Advancing equity in philanthropy

Gabriela is a public health leader with 20+ years of experience and commitment to equity and social justice. Gabriela joined the team of the Sewall Foundation as Executive Director in the summer of 2019 and in this capacity leads the integration of environmental, human and animal health and welfare as the foundation works to center equity and community voices in all of their work and strategies. Prior to joining the Sewall Foundation, Gabriela served as the first Managing Director for Equity and Health at Richmond Memorial Health Foundation (RMHF) and as Vice-President for Policy and Program at the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. Gabriela has worked in the philanthropic, academic, government, nonprofit and grassroots sectors throughout her career and served in various volunteer capacities to promote equity. She earned a DrPH in health administration at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an MPH in maternal and child health at Boston University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Louisville. A native of Lima, Peru, she currently lives in Maine with her husband, children and pets.

Nico's passion is helping teams discover new ways to work together at the intersection of power, strategy and team development. As the Founder of Up With Community she helps teams reshape behaviors, learning techniques and mindsets to maximize the impact of their work in the world. From Chicago, she discovered community organizing as the writer, director and producer of a one-woman skit about Saul Alinksy in high school. As she explored the foundations of social justice, especially in the histories of the Polish and Indian communities from which she hails, she developed a commitment to community organizing. Between 2007 and 2010 she served as regional field director for the Fair Immigration Reform Movement, a project of Community Change, and in 2009 she co-founded the country’s second largest cell phone action network, authoring a definitive guide to online and offline organizing. She continued to deepen her understanding of community transformation as the State Director of the Maine League of Young Voters and as the Director of Strategy for the Institute for Local Self Reliance. In 2013, her love of learning and coaching around social growth led her to found Up With Community. She lives in Lewiston, Maine–her heart’s home–with her husband, Ben, and children. She is the Founder of CoLab Create, a collaborative community space in Lewiston. And, she is the Builder, Gatherer of the Sea Free Science Team.

Since July 2016, Jennifer Hutchins has been the Executive Director of the Maine Association of Nonprofits, the state’s leading organization for Maine’s charitable nonprofit sector with more than 1,100 members from all 16 counties. She serves on the boards of the National Council of Nonprofits and the Maine Philanthropy Center and the advisory boards of the USM Muskie School of Public Service and the Foundation for Portland (ME) Public Schools.

Prior to joining MANP, she was Executive Director of Creative Portland, where she led the City of Portland’s efforts to strengthen the creative economy. Jennifer also served as Director of Communications and External Affairs at the USM Muskie School of Public Service for nine years and Marketing Director at Portland Stage Company from 1995-2000. After graduating from college, she worked for nonprofit and public institutions in Washington D.C. and France.

In May 2020, Jennifer was selected to serve on Governor Mills’ Economic Recovery Committee, tasked with putting forth recommendations to alleviate the impacts of the COVID 19 pandemic on the state’s economy. Jennifer holds a master’s in public policy and management and lives in Portland with her husband and two daughters.

Before joining Mainehousing, Erik represented Portland for four terms in the Maine House of Representatives. He has a deep interest in Maine’s cultural sector, having worked at the Maine Humanities Council for twelve years, including six as its executive director. At both the Humanities Council and in his role as a director of the Morton-Kelly Charitable Trust in Portland, he has participated in Maine grantmaking for more than 25 years. Erik is a graduate of Bowdoin College and holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Harvard University. He lives in Portland, where he and his family enjoy sailing, working on their old house, and fiddling around with their three beehives.

Marpheen Chann is an award-winning author, writer, thinker, advocate, and speaker on intersectionality, inclusion, and belonging. His memoir, Moon in Full, won the bronze IPPY Award for LGBTQ Nonfiction and was a finalist for the Maine Literary Awards and The Eric Hoffer Book Award. He became the first Cambodian American-elected official in Maine in 2021 when he was elected as an At-Large Charter Commissioner for the City of Portland, Maine.

Marpheen Chann lives in Portland, Maine. He works in the nonprofit and advocacy sector as Executive Director and Founder of Khmer Maine and a consultant. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Southern Maine, a law degree from the University of Maine School of Law, and a certificate from the Harvard Kennedy School.

Patrick is a Senior Tax Specialist in BerryDunn’s Not-for-Profit Practice Group. Patrick works primarily in the not-for-profit and healthcare sectors and specializes in not-for-profit tax compliance. Patrick graduated from the University of Maine with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and from the University of Massachusetts-Lowell with a Master of Science in Accounting. Patrick lives in Turner with his wife Krystal and their son, Emmett. Outside of work, Patrick enjoys playing golf and spending time with family.

Deborah Ellwood has been the president and CEO of the Maine Community Foundation (MaineCF) since July 2022. With extensive knowledge of community foundations through her leadership of CFLeads, a national network of community foundations, Ellwood is deeply committed to using the tools of philanthropy to reduce disparities and improve outcomes for all people in Maine. She focuses on collaboration across sectors, engagement with residents and local leaders, public policy and the leveraging financial resources for communities across the state. She has a B.A from Bowdoin College and Master’s of Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School. She also is a graduate of the first class of the Racial Healing Program of the Clinton School of Public Service and the University of Arkansas. She is based in MaineCF’s Ellsworth headquarters.

Jake Grindle (he/him) joined the MeHAF staff in September of 2015. In his time at MeHAF, Jake has served as a Program Associate and Program Officer and became the Foundation's third President and CEO on January 1, 2025. Prior to his time at MeHAF, Jake worked at Western Maine Community Action, where he served as the Project Coordinator for the Maine Community Action Health Navigator Project. In this role, Jake spearheaded community outreach and enrollment efforts for the statewide consortium of CAP agencies engaged in health insurance Marketplace enrollment.

Prior to work at Western Maine Community Action, Jake served as Field Director for the Northeast Archaeology Research Center and the University of Maine at Farmington. He has also worked as a Community Organizer for the Maine’s People Alliance and Maine People’s Resource Center, as a waiter at numerous restaurants, and was a founding member and organizer for Visible Community in Lewiston.

A lifelong Maine resident, Jake is a graduate of the University of Maine at Farmington. He currently lives in Pownal with his partner, whose immense collection of yarn and wool you may see spilling into the frame of your next Zoom meeting with Jake, and their endlessly hilarious kiddo. In the summer, they enjoy spending time at their family camp in Piscataquis County.

Morgan Hynd is the Director of The Bingham Program, a charitable endowment held at Tufts Medical Center, established in 1932 to promote health and advance medicine in Maine. Morgan leads Bingham’s work, focusing on three priority areas: community health, public health policy, and health professions development. To advance this work, she collaborates with key stakeholders across sectors, including colleagues in philanthropy, community-based and statewide nonprofits, government, and the private sector.

Previously, Morgan was with the Maine Health Access Foundation for 10 years where she oversaw a diverse portfolio of programs, including work to advance health reform, improve oral health in Maine, and support the capacity of Maine’s health advocacy organizations. She was the Board Chair of the Maine Philanthropy Center in 2022-2023. Morgan is a graduate of St. Lawrence University and the University of Denver Publishing Institute, and is a member of the HLD VI class of the Daniel Hanley Center's Health Leadership Development program.

Ellen LaPointe is a Managing Director at the Nonprofit Professionals Advisory Group, or NPAG. She is a seasoned nonprofit executive who has held C-suite and other senior leadership roles in organizations focused on philanthropy, health and health care, LGBTQIA+/HIV activism and advocacy, policy, law, social justice, research, and racial equity. Ellen’s national practice at NPAG includes retained executive search, board and executive level strategic advisory services, executive coaching, and outplacement support.

Before joining NPAG, Ellen was Chief Executive Officer of Fenway Health, a $145 million, 600-person nonprofit that advocates for and delivers innovative, equitable, accessible health care, supportive services, and transformative research and education to over 33,000 LGBTQIA+ people and people from other underserved communities annually. Prior to joining Fenway, Ellen was President & CEO of Northern California Grantmakers, a nonprofit that brings together Bay Area philanthropy to advance the common good, and Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at HopeLab, a nonprofit founded by The Omidyar Group that develops technology-based approaches to advance health and well-being in young people. Ellen has served on several nonprofit boards throughout her career, including Maine Health/Maine Medical Center (currently serving), YW Boston (currently serving), Equality California, Lambda Literary, and the California-based legal organization OneJustice.

Ellen is a strategist, a highly relational connector, and a skilled communicator and facilitator, adept at working with boards, senior leadership, staff, and members of the community to identify and achieve shared goals. A hallmark of her impact throughout her career has been her ability to cultivate strong, mission-driven leaders and teams that are united in their capacity to deliver on a vision for a better future. Ellen has successfully led and supported several organizational transformation and change management initiatives in her capacity as an executive and as a board member over the course of her career, including large-scale, organization-wide transformative initiatives to center and advance racial and other intersectional equity in their efforts and outcomes.

Ellen earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brown University and her Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. She is a proud native of Maine and resident of Scarborough, where she lives with her wife just a block from Higgins Beach, which she grew up going to with her mom as a kid.

As the Executive Director of the Maine Council on Aging (MCOA), Jess Maurer leads a multidisciplinary network of more than 140 organizations, businesses, municipalities, and community members working to ensure we can all live healthy, engaged, and secure lives as we age in our homes and communities. She leads a dynamic team and an engaged board to initiate and support data-informed policy change efforts through direct advocacy with federal, state, and municipal leaders. Recent successes include increased pay for direct care workers and increased eligibility for the Medicare Savings Program in Maine. She creates shared-learning opportunities for community, social service, policy, and healthcare leaders across Maine and Northern New England. She collaborates with members and partners to convene processes and events geared toward action on issues related to ageism, equity related to all forms of bias, poverty, housing, transportation, food security, social inclusion, workforce, community development, and care across all settings. The MCOA has committed to ending ageism in Maine by 2032 through conversation, education, and action. Jess co-designed the Leadership Exchange on Ageism, the first-of-its-kind program that is helping Maine’s leaders take action on ageism. A licensed Maine attorney, Jess worked for 17 years in the Maine Office of the Attorney General. As Executive Director for the Maine Association of Area Agencies on Aging, she co-founded the MCOA in 2012, and became its first Executive Director in 2018. She graduated from the University of Maine School of Law and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Gioia directs the Hemenway & Barnes philanthropic advisory practice, and works with individuals, families, advisors, charitable trusts, and foundations to provide a range of philanthropic advisory and family office services. Her clients rely on her to design and implement charitable giving strategies, research particular charities, negotiate gifts of cash or tangible assets, coordinate family meetings, and design legacy giving programs. Gioia’s practice also specializes in engaging multiple generations in family philanthropy. She is a frequent speaker, writer, and panelist, on issues relevant to philanthropy and the nonprofit sector. She is active in her local community and in organizations and philanthropic networks across New England. In addition to serving on the MPC Board, she is President of the Board of the Brookline Community Foundation and Vice Chair of the Board of Positive Tracks, a public charity that helps young people make change through charitable athletic activity. When not working in philanthropy and volunteering, she can be found hiking, biking, or going on various adventures with her young adult children.

Julian Rowand (he/him) identifies as Black/mixed-raced, and resides on unceded land of the Wabanaki Confederacy in a town now called Freedom with his sweetheart, Erika. Julian is a Senior Director at Maine Initiatives, where he leads several programs: Grants for Change, Outdoor Equity Fund, and Giving Project. Julian brings a life-long commitment to collaboration, a passion for creative and embodied practice, and a resolute belief in the need for deep solidarity with those most vulnerable among us. Prior to moving to Maine, and after briefly working with housing cooperatives in Washington, D.C., Julian was an artist / organizer in the Bay Area for many years. Most prominently, Julian was Co-Director for ‘These Walls Speak’, a multi-year, participatory research, documentary project that examines the politics of place, community resistance, and the power of artist expression in the Mission District of San Francisco. Julian feels incredibly nourished by the land and waters of this place now-called Maine, and is thrilled to serve on the Board of the Maine Philanthropy Center.

Julia is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Tree Street Youth Center, whose mission is to work with youth and adults in the Lewiston community to co-create youth-centered programs and partnerships that encourage leadership, learning, exploration, and growth.

Julia began connecting to Lewiston community youth through service-learning opportunities while she was an undergraduate majoring in psychology and education at Bates College. After completing her Master’s in Leadership and Organizational Studies at the University of Southern Maine in 2011, she began the present-day Tree Street Youth. Since then, the organization has grown from a grassroots afterschool program to a statewide thought leader in the field of community-based youth development.

Lisa Sockabasin is a citizen of the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Motahkomikuk. Lisa has expertise in tribal and state governments, non-profits, and philanthropic organizations. In her capacity as the CEO of Wabanaki Public Health and Wellness, Lisa collaborates with tribal leadership, federal agencies, and philanthropic partners to address systemic inequities experienced by indigenous people. Lisa enjoys developing and implementing culturally based programs that respond to the needs of all communities.

Lisa has over 20 years of experience addressing inequities experienced by and providing opportunities to tribal populations. Prior to joining WPHW, Lisa served as the Director of the Office of Health Equity in the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, as an epidemiologist in the Infectious Disease Program for the State of Maine, as a nurse epidemiologist with the North American Indian Center of Boston, Inc., and served for two decades as coordinator of the Four Directions Summer Research Program at Harvard Medical School & the Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Lisa holds a B.S. in Biology from the University of Maine, a B.S. in Nursing from the University of Maine, and an M.S. in Health Policy and Management from the University of Southern Maine. She holds a graduate certificate in Non-Profit Management and serves on several boards including Maine Philanthropy Center, Planned Parenthood of New England, Maine Development Foundation, and the ACLU of Maine.

Alyssa Wright is the Principal and Founder of Wright Collective, a social impact consulting firm focused on helping nonprofit organizations access resources to meet their missions. She has deep experience in global social change, with clients including gender equality, birth justice, and international and refugee organizations. She is a published freelance writer, and sought-after speaker, and has developed the talent of a variety of fundraising professionals around the globe. Alyssa is an active member of her community in Southern Maine and raises three beautiful children while contributing her time and talents to the arts and human service sectors in her community.

Courtney is the first female to hold the position of president and CEO at United Way of Kennebec Valley. She brings an extensive background in communications, fundraising, marketing and community involvement to her role. Prior to starting her career at United Way in 2016, Courtney was the public relations and fundraising manager at a UWKV-funded partner program that addresses mental health and substance use disorders. She also worked in communications at the Maine Department of Education, regularly meeting with educators and students statewide to report on cradle-to-career education strategies. Courtney graduated from Colby College with a bachelor’s degree in English and obtained her master’s degree in policy, planning and nonprofit management at the University of Southern Maine’s Muskie School. Beyond her work life, Courtney is heavily involved in the community and serves on the boards of MaineGeneral Health, 211 Maine, and United Ways of Maine. She enjoys spending free time with her husband and son, traveling, reading a good book, and exploring new cuisine.