Evening for Environment

Evening for Environment

A Celebration to Benefit Maine Conservation Voters and Maine Conservation Alliance

The Evening for the Environment was held on Wednesday, November 29, 2023 at UNE’s Innovation Hall in Portland, ME.

Our community came together for an exciting night to honor the environment that we all love. For 21 years, the Evening for the Environment has brought together community advocates, legislators, business leaders, environmental visionaries, and philanthropists to celebrate the bold work done by MCV, MCA and our allies.

Click below to view a recording of the program: 

Join us as a host, a business sponsor*, or attendee by registering with Maine Conservation Voters today!

Nonprofit sponsors** or hosts who would like to direct your support to Maine Conservation Allianceregister here.

Click here to learn more about being a *business sponsor or a **nonprofit or foundation sponsor.

Featured Discussion

Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson

Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson is a marine biologist, policy expert, writer, and Brooklyn native. She co-founded and leads Urban Ocean Lab, a think tank for the future of coastal cities. Recently, Dr. Johnson co-edited the bestselling climate anthology All We Can Save, co-created the Spotify/Gimlet climate solutions podcast How to Save a Planet, and she co-authored the Blue New Deal, a roadmap for including the ocean in climate policy. She is the author of the forthcoming book What If We Get it Right?

Previously, she was executive director of the Waitt Institute, developed policy at the EPA and NOAA, and taught as an adjunct professor at New York University. She will join the environmental studies faculty at Bowdoin College in fall 2023.

Dr. Johnson earned a BA from Harvard University in environmental science and public policy, and a Ph.D. from Scripps Institution of Oceanography in marine biology. Her writing has been published widely, including in The New York Times, Washington Post, and Scientific American. She serves on the board of directors for GreenWave and Patagonia, on the advisory board of Environmental Voter Project and on the steering committee for the Ocean Justice Forum. Recent recognitions include, the Schneider Award for climate communication, the Time 100 Next List, and appointment to the Secretary of State’s Foreign Affairs Policy Board. She is in love with climate solutions.

Penobscot Nation Tribal Ambassador Maulian Bryant

Maulian Bryant was elected to the Penobscot Nation Tribal Council in 2016 for a four-year term. In September 2017, Chief Kirk Francis appointed her as the first Tribal Ambassador of the Penobscot Nation. She is a regular fixture at the Maine State House in Augusta where she can be found testifying on behalf of her community and helping to create policy.

She has proposed bills such as An Act to Ban Native American Mascots in Maine Schools and provided necessary input for the bill to change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day. Since the fall of 2018 Ambassador Bryant has been a board member of the Maine Center for Economic Policy.

Ambassador Bryant is the Board President of the Wabanaki Alliance. In June of 2020 the tribes in Maine (Mi’kmaq Nation, Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, Passamaquoddy Tribe and Penobscot Nation) formed the Wabanaki Alliance. The Wabanaki Alliance was formed to educate people of Maine about the need for securing sovereignty of the tribes in Maine. 

Penobscot Nation Tribal Ambassador Maulian Bryant

Spoken Word Artist

Signature MiMi

Signature MiMi (she/siya/they) is a poetic being, multidisciplinary artist, celebration specialist and full-body listener. 

She is one half of the eclectic duo Signature Soul who creates with words, sounds, visuals, space, nature, technology, and community to inspire and share stories of strength, survival, and serendipity. A cultural bearer and multi-ethnic descendant of Eurasia and the AAPI diaspora, siya is an intuitive arts practitioner, seasoned grassroots organizer, and is also a trained facilitator with 15+ years of experience designing and offering tools & spaces for people to experiment with creative expression as an avenue for self-actualization, lifelong healing, and collaborative learning. MiMi’s pedagogy revolves around the power of V.O.I.C.E. and you’ll often hear them describe Open Mics as one of their love languages. 

MiMi graduated from Syracuse University, where they studied Information Management and Technology; Global Enterprise Technology; Asian/Asian American Studies; and also where they received a Master’s in Library Information Science focusing on School Media and Collaboration. MiMi is a proud Alum of the Verbal Blend Poetry Program, a Co-Founder of Nu Rho Poetic Society (est. 2011), and a member of the Underground Poetry Spot. 

Often finding herself in unique positions of power and pivotal transformation within organizations and collectives, MiMi is a dedicated and radical embodied voice across multiple spaces. Siya brings genuine love, creative intentionality, intergenerational understanding, cross-cultural wisdom, and a wide repertoire to her offerings, consulting, and advocacy work around creative expression, domestic and sexual violence awareness, and climate justice. Learn more about MiMi at www.signaturesoul.love

Penobscot Nation Tribal Ambassador Maulian Bryant

Information Tables

New this year: During the reception, ten Maine-based social justice and/or youth-focused nonprofits will have information available about the good work that they are doing in the state. Please plan to visit the following organizations.

Business Sponsors

Primary Sponsor

Premier Sponsor

Champion Sponsor

Patron Sponsors

Guardian Sponsor

Leader Sponsors

Advocate Sponsor

Foundation Sponsors

Organizational Sponsors

Premier Sponsor

Champion Sponsor

Guardian Sponsors

Leader Sponsors

Advocate Sponsors

Committees

Organizing & Advisory Committee

Adam Lee
Laura Bither
Michael Boland
Marpheen Chann
Brad Coffey
Maureen Drouin
Sara Freshley
Bill Ginn
Stacie Haines
Sophie Halpin
Chloe Hoffman
Mohamed Khalid
Safiya Khalid
Brigitte Kingsbury
Rani Sheaffer
Lucas St. Clair

Premier Hosts

Justin and Rachael Alfond
Elizabeth and Brad Coffey
Daniel Crewe
Bill Ginn and June Lacombe
Nancy Grant and Mike Boyson
Adam and Diana Lee
Karen Harris and Rob Gips
Brigitte and Hal Kingsbury
Jennifer Melville and Alex Abbott
Bonnie Porta and Bobby Monks
Jo D. Saffeir and Kristian Carr

Super Hosts

Dan and Joan Amory
Penny and Dirk Asherman
Roger Berle and Lesley MacVane
Anna Brown and Colin Cheney
Kevin Carley and Ellen Grant
Jeff Clements and Nancy Heselton
Phil Coupe
Martha Davis
Peter Garrett and Jean Ann Pollard
Layne Gregory and Daniel Oppenheim
Fiona Gordon and Stuart MacNeil
Karen Herold and Mark Isaacson
Eleanor H Kinney
Suzanne and Cornelius McGinn
Margot and Roger Milliken
Bo Norris and Cathy Houlihan
Tony and Beth Owens
Chuck and Kathy Remmel
Sarah Russell and Joe Reynolds
Katie Mae Simpson and Zachary Bouchard
Kate Williams and Evan Adams
Carol and Joe Wishcamper

Host Committee

Beth Ahearn
Tom and Diana Allen
Jenn Barton and Willard Morgan
Mike Belliveau and Dianne Kopec
Thomas Bull and Andrew Brown
Sandy and Sissy Buck
Wyman and Laura Briggs
Deb Burd
Kim Caldwell and John Lambert
Nik Charov
Ned Claxton
Philip Conkling
Susan Conley and Tony Kieffer
David Costello
Beth De Tine
Evelyn deFrees
Pete Didisheim and Leslie Hunt
Tom Duffus
Elizabeth Ehrenfeld
Lynne and Jay Espy
Will Everitt
Sally Farrand
Ivan Fernandez
Anna Fincke and Bryan Wentzell
Charles Gauvin and Gina Sawin
Tim Glidden and Kathy Lyon
Jenn Burns Gray
Brad and Patty Hager
Christopher Hamilton
Nancy Hasenfus
Ruth Hennig
Alicia and Henry Heyburn
Daniel Hildreth
Kathleen and Herb Janick

Jerry King and Grace DeGennaro
Tom Kittredge
Buzz Lamb
Bobbie Lamont
Drs. Juliet Lamont and Phil Price
Catherine Lee
John Manganello
Jeannie Mattson
Molly and Toby McGrath
John Murphy and Anne Moulton
Hilary Neckles and George Lapointe
Peter Neill
Kenneth and Mary Pennell Nelson
John Newlin and Patty Carton
Melissa Paly
Jeff Pidot
Caroline Pryor and David MacDonald
Molly and Peter Ross
Maryann and Jeff Sedlack
Didi Stockly
Eileen Sylvan Johnson
Ben Tettlebaum
Nathaniel Thompson
Anna Marie Thron
Wolfe Tone and Lani Toscano
Eliza Townsend
Barbara Trafton
David Vail
Cameron Wake and Celina Adams
Ted Walworth
Linzee Weld and Peter Milliken
David Wennberg
Mike Williams
Susan and Doug Williams

Host Committee

Beth Ahearn
Tom and Diana Allen
Mike Belliveau and Dr. Dianne Kopec
Laura and Wyman Briggs
Sandy and Sissy Buck
Holly Burbank and Ken Languedoc
Jenn Burns Gray
Kim Caldwell and John Lambert
Ned Claxton
Philip Conkling
David Costello
Phil Coupe and Alexia Pappas
Martha Davis
Beth DeTine
Evelyn deFrees
Grace DeGennaro and Jerry King
Maureen Drouin and Matt Scease
Tom Duffus
Elizabeth E. Ehrenfeld
Maye Emlein and William Sedlack
Lynne and Jay Espy
Sally Farrand
Anna Fincke and Bryan Wentzell
Peter and Jean Ann Garrett
Tim Glidden and Kathy Lyon
Stacie Haines
Ruth Hennig
Alicia Heyburn
Daniel Hildreth
Kathleen and Herb Janick
Tom Kittredge
Buzz Lamb
Juliet Lamont and Phil Price
David Littell and Monique Bouffard
Chris and Sue Livesay
Diane Lukac
Eric Marshall and Deb Claflin
Kathleen and Ari Meil
Roger and Margot Milliken
Bob Moore
Willard Morgan and Jenn Barton
Mary P. Nelson
Daniel Oppenheim and Layne Gregory
Jeff Pidot
Susanna Place and Scott Stoll
Caroline Pryor and David MacDonald
Molly and Peter Ross
Frank and Susan Ruch
Jon Ruterbories and Anne Sedlack
Peggy Schuler
Maryann and Jeff Sedlack
Rani and Jeremy Sheaffer
Katie Mae Simpson
Kate Sinding Daly
Kenneth Spirer and Joan Leitzer
Jym St. Pierre
Gary Stern and Demetrios Karabetsos
Didi Stockly
Nat Thompson
Anna Marie Thron
Wolfe Tone and Lani Toscano
Eliza Townsend
Barbara Trafton
David Vail
Desi Van Til and Sean Mewshaw
Ted Walworth
David Wennberg
Susan and Doug Williams
Lisa C. Wilson