Dear John,

I am thrilled to announce the election of four new members to MCV’s Board of Directors!

We rely on our board to provide strategic direction for the organization, especially as we advance bold climate action and ensure a fair and equitable economic transition for Maine communities. Our new board members bring unique perspectives that will make our collective work stronger.

We collaborated with Youth on Boards, a project of Our Climate Common, on the selection of Laura Bither and Sara Freshley. We also recently elected Marcques Houston and Mike Williams to the MCV Board.

Laura Bither is an intersectional climate justice activist and the Director at JustME for JustUS, where she supports youth climate justice and civic engagement organizing in rural Maine. She sits on the Governing Circle of the Tri-Town Equity and Inclusion Committee and works with several local equity groups where she lives in Freeport, on the ancestral land of the Abenaki Nation. She graduated from Wesleyan University with High Honors in Biology and Environmental Studies and a minor in African Studies.

Sara Freshley is a recent law school graduate focused on building her career in environmental policy and advocacy. After growing up exploring coastal Maine, she earned a degree in marine science at the University of Maine before taking a sharp turn and moving to Bozeman, Montana. After three years of exploring the mountains, she moved back to Maine to pursue law school and now works as Community Organizer and Volunteer Coordinator for Friends of Casco Bay.

Marcques Houston is an Assistant Track and Field Coach for Bowdoin College. He received his undergraduate degree from Colby College in 2018 with a double major in English and American Studies and his Master of Education from Thomas College in 2022. Marcques also worked with the Maine People's Alliance and was co-organizer for the Maine March for Racial Justice while at Colby. He also had an illustrious track career at Colby where he participated in sprints and relays, earning multiple All-Maine, All-NESCAC and All-New England honors.

Marcques has worked on numerous political campaigns with the Maine Democratic Party. In 2021, he was elected to serve on Portland’s Charter Commission, where he served for a year. Marcques lives in the East Deering neighborhood of Portland and also serves on the board of Cultivating Community.

Mike Williams is a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, where his work focuses on the nexus between creating and retaining high-quality, union jobs and fighting the climate crisis. Prior to joining American Progress, Williams helped build and lead the BlueGreen Alliance (BGA), serving in many roles over 12 years, most recently as the deputy director. His primary work was to oversee partnership and coalition engagement and advise on and implement the strategic direction of the organization. Williams also helped oversee BGA’s policy and advocacy operations, with a distinct focus on climate change, energy, manufacturing, and labor policy. He was point for BGA at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change negotiations from Copenhagen through Paris, and he spearheaded innovative programs— such as BGA’s successful Buy Clean effort.

Williams graduated from George Washington University with a master’s in public policy, concentrating in environmental policy. He received his bachelor’s degree from Boston University, where he studied philosophy and music.

MCV is committed to ensuring all Maine people have access to a healthy environment, a strong democracy, and a sustainable economy – and we’re truly lucky and very grateful to have such a strong and committed Board of Directors providing vision and leadership to MCV. You can view the full list of MCV Board Members here.

Onward,

Maureen Drouin | she/her

Executive Director

Maine Conservation Voters

[email protected]

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