Annual leadership program for undergraduate women to be held May 31–June 5
The Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center at the University of Maine will host an annual six-day nonpartisan undergraduate student leadership program for women that aims to educate, engage and empower young leaders.
Maine NEW (National Education for Women) Leadership will run Thursday through Tuesday, May 31–June 5 at the Orono campus with trips to Augusta and Skowhegan.
A group of 28 college students with a variety of majors from 17 institutions around the state, including UMaine, will take part in the 10th residential conference that aims to strengthen political skills and build civic engagement.
Michelle Kydd Lee, chief innovation officer at Creative Artists Agency (CAA) and founding member of the Time’s Up movement, is scheduled to deliver the keynote address at the networking reception and dinner June 1 at Wells Conference Center. Kydd Lee was born, raised and educated in the public school system in Maine.
Throughout the program, students will participate in workshops hosted by women leaders from politics, business and education. The students will learn skills including public speaking, networking and how to advocate for a cause and run for public office.
As part of the conference, students develop a political action project surrounding topics presented before the Maine Legislature. Every year, participants are given a bill to research before holding mock opposing press conferences and a legislative committee hearing. This year’s project will focus on LD 1587, “An Act to Provide Economic Security to Maine Families through the Creation of a Paid Family Medical Leave System.”
On June 4, participants will travel to the State House in Augusta. That evening, they will visit the Margaret Chase Smith Library in Skowhegan for a tour of Smith’s home and an informal dinner with higher education leaders from their campuses.
Maine NEW Leadership is offered by the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center, which raises funds to support the program and provide it free of charge to participants. Maine NEW Leadership is a nonpartisan program developed to address the underrepresentation of women in politics and is designed to provide students with skills to help them become the next generation of effective civic and political leaders. It is Maine’s only statewide leadership program for undergraduate women.
More information about Maine NEW Leadership is available online or by contacting Amy Blackstone at amy.blackstone@maine.edu; or Susan D’Angelo at 581.1648, susan.dangelo@maine.edu.