When Olympia Snowe retired from the Senate, stating that she could no longer function amidst such dysfunction, many Americans debated her leavetaking and the loss of her presence.
During storied decades of service, her impressive accomplishments included the E-Rate program that brought the Internet to every library and classroom in the nation; hiking the child tax credit and making it refundable, affecting about 37 million working families; and co-authoring the Genetic Nondiscrimination Act, referred to as “the first major civil rights act of the 21st century.”
What could she possibly do next?
The Women’s Leadership Institute had been her brainchild for some time, born of her background of determination and helping others over a lifetime of service. Over the past five years this nonprofit, Snowe’s vision in action, has helped hundreds of young women achieve their long-term goals.
“Our plan is to serve 540 girls across the state. We have 36 partner schools in Maine,” says Christina McAnuff, executive director of the WLI. “We’re in our fifth year, and at this point, we’ve leveled off. We grew very fast. We’re going to stay at this level for the next few years because we’ve exceeded our expectations.”