Maine Citizens for Clean Elections Board of Directors
Ann is currently the treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine. She became a League member in 1998, joined the state board representing League members Downeast in 2001, and was elected president in 2003 and co-president in 2007. Ann retired in 1998 from a career in the private sector. At the time of her retirement, she was a Senior Vice President and product manager at SEI Investments in Oaks, Pennsylvania, with responsibility for a department of more than 200 information systems professionals and a budget of over $50 million annually. Ann is a founder of the Mt. Desert Island Restorative Justice Program and served on its Executive Board.
Alison Smith, Co-chair
Alison worked on the staff of the Maine Citizen Leadership Fund for four years during the implementation of the Maine Clean Election Act. Her involvement began in 1995 when she was recruited to collect signatures to put Clean Elections on the ballot, and the next year she joined the Steering Committee of Maine Voters for Clean Elections representing the League of Women Voters of Maine. She was hired by MCLF in 1998 to run the first check-off campaign, and she stayed on through 2001. Alison coordinated surveys of Clean Election candidates in 2000 while on staff at MCLF and in 2002 as a consultant. She also worked for Common Cause in Connecticut in 2004, helping out with grassroots organizing and strategic planning for the Clean Election effort there.
Jesse Graham
Jesse is Executive Director of the Maine People’s Alliance (MPA) and the Maine People’s Resource Center (MPRC). He graduated from the University of Vermont in 1998 with a degree in Environmental Studies and English. Jesse has worn many hats at MPA/MPRC since he was hired in 1999, serving as Field Director, Community Organizer, Associate Director and liaison to many coalitions, including MCCE and all environmental coalitions.
Pamela Cahill
Pamela Cahill is a seasoned veteran in Maine legislative circles, having served in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, including as Republican floor leader in the Senate. In 2000, Pam was unanimously elected Assistant Secretary/Secretary of the Senate. She contributed to the success of a first-of-its-kind power sharing agreement among Republicans, Democrats, and the Independent in the Maine Senate during the 120th Maine Legislature. Pam currently works for Howe, Cahill & Company, a Maine-based firm that specializes in governmental relations, association management, and project development.
Will Everitt
Will Everitt is the Maine State Director for the League of Young Voters. Since graduating from Rutgers College, Will has been a dedicated community organizer, working with environmental and social justice groups from Alaska to Maine. He moved to Maine in 1999, opening Toxics Action Center's office in the state, helping residents protect their families from pollution and toxic pesticides. Prior to joining the League, he was Friends of Casco Bay's Development Director, raising more than $500,000 a year to improve and protect the environmental health of Casco Bay. Having worked on many public interest issues over the years, he understands the importance of limiting the role of corporate money in the political process.
Ben Grant is a cum laude graduate of the University of Maine School of Law. Ben represents the AFL-CIO on the MCCE Steering Committee, and is an associate in the firm of McTeague Higbee. He was an aide to State Senate Presidents Beth Edmonds and Beverly Daggett, served as the Director of the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee for the 2004 election cycle, and worked on numerous individual campaigns in Maine and New Hampshire.
Jill Ward is a non-profit consultant with clients in both Maine and Washington, DC. From April 2008 to April 2009, she served as the part-time program director for MCCE. Jill returned to her home state of Maine with her family in 2007 after working for more than 15 years in the public sector, including senior policy positions with Girl Scouts of the USA, the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV) and the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) in Washington, DC. She also worked in the U.S. Senate for Senators Paul S. Sarbanes (D-MD) and George J. Mitchell (D-ME). Jill currently serves on the Board of Directors for the League of Women Voters of Maine and the New England Juvenile Defender Center.
