Olympia Snowe Women’s Leadership Institute Celebrates Hiring of Second Alum
PORTLAND, ME –The Olympia Snowe Women’s Leadership Institute has welcomed Tessa Solomon to its staff as Development Specialist. Solomon joins Rizzajem Reboquio, Alum Relations & Data Specialist, as the second Alum hired by the Institute in its first ten years.
The Institute’s mission is to raise the confidence, aspirations, and leadership skills of high school girls across Maine through an accredited three-year program rooted in the themes “My Values” (10th grade), “My Voice” (11th grade), and “My Vision” (12th grade)—reaching 555 Olympia’s Leaders, as participants are called, annually.
The Institute’s team also designs and delivers programming for its more than 1,000 Alums, the majority of whom are currently pursuing post-secondary education or careers in Maine.
Tessa is an Institute Alum who participated in Houlton High School’s Class of 2019 cohort. She also served as Chair of the Institute’s Alum Council, from its 2022 inception through April 2025.
In her new role, Solomon is focused on supporting the Institute’s fundraising efforts—to help ensure the program remains at no cost to participants or their schools. Her work will help sustain and grow the resources needed to empower Maine’s next generation of women leaders.
Solomon holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Maine, where she studied Political Science with Business and Leadership minors. Her prior work experience includes serving as Administrative Assistant for International Development at Babson College, Marketing and Recruitment Consultant for Chi Omega, Assistant Vice President of Student Entertainment in the UMaine Student Government, and as a Legislative Intern in the U.S. Senate.
Solomon’s firsthand experience as an Olympia’s Leader, coupled with her ongoing engagement in the Institute’s programming and Alum network, has already provided the team with valuable insight. Her professional background in development, marketing, and administration will further strengthen her contributions in this new role and help ensure the Institute’s networks remain meaningfully and strategically connected with Olympia’s Leaders and one another.
“Tessa exemplifies the vision of our Institute. As a young woman from rural Maine identified for her leadership potential, she fully engaged in a transformative three-year journey of personal discovery and collaborative leadership development under the guidance of dedicated mentors. She then pursued a quality higher education and built a diverse portfolio of professional experiences. Her decision to return to Maine and contribute her talents to the nonprofit sector—specifically to the very program that helped shape her trajectory—is both profoundly inspiring and deeply meaningful to me. I am honored by her commitment, grateful for her dedication, and proud to now call her a colleague in this vital work to strengthen the future of our state.”
– The Honorable Olympia J. Snowe, Founder of the Institute
“Being part of this program as a high school student changed the way I saw myself and what I believed I could do. It gave me the confidence to lead, the support to dream bigger, and the tools to make those dreams a reality. Coming back as a staff member feels like a full-circle moment—now I get to help create that same experience for the next generation of young women.”
– Tessa Solomon, Development Specialist & Olympia’s Leader ’19