Greetings!

Many of you have told me how inspired you were by the Leadership Luncheon. I'm still thinking about our awardees, especially our Samantha Smith Award recipient, Hannah Potter, a Yarmouth High School senior using her remarkable leadership skills and technology to further intercultural understanding between high school students in the United States and the Middle East. If someone is demonstrating that kind of leadership in her teens, just imagine the enormous potential she has as an adult! How proud are her family and our community for fostering that leadership?

It got me thinking about some of the other women whose leadership has made a difference for women and girls. A Maine leader who lost her life last year, Lael Stegall, comes to mind. The founder of Emily's List, Lael's life was truly dedicated to serving those women who, for whatever reason, needed advocacy and a voice to bring about social justice. Among many other accomplishments, she founded the Windom Fund, supporting women's empowerment and voting rights, and also funded Strategies, Training, Advocacy and Resources Network to help women in the Balkans recover from trauma and have access to credit to rebuild their lives. A graduate of Colby College, she retired to Deer Isle in 1990 and died in a place she loved, after more than 20 years of making a difference there, including her leadership in the revitalization of the Stonington Opera House. Lael's exemplary life dedicated to social justice is so very inspiring. When faced with a myriad of issues at the Fund, I seem to be asking myself "What would Lael do?" and it helps me feel stronger and helps my vision be bolder.

Many of you have asked me about my vision for the Maine Women's Fund. In the months and years ahead, I  look forward to sharing more with you. For now, we remain committed to investing in the power of women and the dreams of girls. To achieve that, we will actively engage philanthropic leaders from across the state to identify the needs of women and girls and invest in innovative programs that make the greatest impact on their economic security.

For those of you who couldn't join us at our Leadership Luncheon in May, we're glad to share some images and a grantee video. For those of you who were there, thank you for joining a joyful celebration of the great work of the Fund and its grantees and award recipients, Kate Chappell, Diane Cowan and Hannah Potter. I think that Lael would have approved of our choices too.  

Best to you,

Sarah Ruef-Lindquist

CEO