News

In mid-September Kristina Jenkins joined our team as Director of Philanthropy. She is responsible for developing and executing the annual fundraising plan to ensure financial support for the strategic goals of the Institute. The position also manages direct solicitations and stewardship activities for corporate, individual and foundation donors.

Kristina comes to the Institute from the Pine Tree Council, Boy Scouts of America where she managed a $3.5m capital campaign to rebuild their four camp properties in Southern Maine. Her responsibilities included the management of all levels and types of donors. As a former President and active sustaining member of the Junior League of Portland, Kristina has long supported women’s leadership training and believes joining the Olympia Snowe Women’s Leadership Institute is a wonderful opportunity to put her passions to work to support young women in Maine.

Former U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe left the Senate in 2013 after her third six-year term and a lengthy political career, but she hasn’t slipped into seclusion. Instead, Snowe is focusing on raising aspirations and confidence in future generations of Maine women.

Snowe, orphaned at age 9 and widowed at 26, knows from her observations and experiences what the studies show: that between elementary and high school, girls’ self-esteem drops, on average, 3.5 times more than boys’.

“Everywhere I go, I hear these same concerns about girls lacking the confidence to be what they have the ability to be. So I decided to do something about it and founded the Institute,” Snowe said. “By assisting more young women to be grounded in their values, find their voice and create a network of support, we will help them on a path to fulfill their potential.”

The month of June has been one of celebration for the Olympia Snowe Women’s Leadership Institute. Not only did we mark the successful completion of the program’s first year, My Values, but also gathered with, and thanked, our donors—both the Institute’s Individual and Corporate Founders. Their early and significant support allowed us to realize Senator Snowe’s vision of an organization that builds the confidence and elevates the aspirations of young women in Maine.

At each stewardship event we were proud to share the gains made by Olympia’s Leaders over the past 10 months.

The Olympia Snowe Women’s Leadership Institute is incredibly grateful to the amazing women who volunteer as Olympia’s Leaders’ Advisors, or OLAs, to guide the cohorts of participants at each school. Since October 2015 OLAs have played a significant role in the more than 800 hours in which Olympia’s Leaders connected with positive, women role models. One such volunteer is Susan Stacey, Assistant Vice President, and Treasury Services Officer at Androscoggin Bank. Recently Susan was awarded the 2016 HR Volunteer Leader of the Year by the Maine State Council of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Thank you, Susan, for your commitment to the Institute and the other organizations that benefit from your time and talents. Congratulations!

With the start of the 2016/17 school year the Institute will have cohorts of Olympia’s Leaders in each county in Maine. Our plans for growth are on pace with our strategic plan – with an additional school in each country slated to join the program for the 2017/18 school year. Hear about the successes of our inaugural year in this short video.