UMaine to Host Annual Six-Day Leadership Training Program for Women
The University of Maine will host an annual six-day undergraduate student leadership training program for women that aims to educate and empower young leaders.
Maine NEW (National Education for Women) Leadership runs from Thursday, May 28 through Tuesday, June 2 at the Orono campus with trips to Augusta and Skowhegan.
A diverse group of 28 students with a variety of majors and interests from 15 institutions around the state, including all of the University of Maine System campuses, will take part in the seventh annual residential conference that aims to strengthen political skills and build confidence.
Throughout the free conference, students will participate in workshops hosted by women leaders from politics, business and education. They will learn skills including public speaking, networking and how to advocate for a cause and run for public office.
As part of the program, students will develop political action projects on the debate over vaccine choice in the state with guidance from Carol Kim, vice president for research and dean of the graduate school at UMaine; Jennifer O’Leary, special assistant to the vice president for innovation and economic development and business and government relations liaison; Ginger Taylor from the Maine Coalition for Vaccine Choice; and other experts in public policy and research.
On June 1, participants will tour the State House in Augusta and the Margaret Chase Smith Library in Skowhegan.
While in Augusta, the students will be addressed by Attorney General Janet Mills; Muriel Mosher, president of Maine Manufacturing Extension Partnership in Augusta; and Cary Olson-Cartwright, director of community relations at Unum, a workplace insurance provider in Portland, Maine and a sponsor of this year’s Maine NEW Leadership.
Maine NEW Leadership is offered by the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center at UMaine with support from local sponsors. The program was developed to address the under-representation of women in politics and is designed to provide students skills to become the next generation of effective civic and political leaders.
More information about Maine NEW Leadership is available online or by calling Mary Cathcart at 944.1411.