About CAM

CAM is the first coordinated, statewide industry alliance advancing the visibility and capacity of our diverse statewide cultural sector via collective learning, research, communications, and advocacy.
CAM serves the entire cultural network in Maine including, but not limited to, libraries, historical societies, arts organizations, creative industries, artists and other cultural workers.
The Cultural Alliance of Maine was launched in the spring of 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for culture to have a voice in recovery funding and policy.
In April 2020, 16 representatives from cultural institutions around the state began weekly conversations on ways to unite, support each other, strengthen the sector’s position, and impact funding, health, and safety policies. Soon thereafter, a Pilot Project was formulated and launched, centered around CAM Convenings (our monthly virtual public programming), field work, focus groups, national research, and outreach. CAM has only been possible through the partnership and support of the Maine Association of Nonprofits, our fiscal sponsor.

CAM’s Three Pillars

Research conducted with cultural organizations and workers throughout the state during CAM’s pilot project year revealed three major areas of need.

Collective Learning & Community Building

CAM gathers culture workers from across Maine for peer-to-peer learning around industry-critical issues and knowledge-building, for example at our monthly CAM Convenings.

Communication & Visibility

CAM is a champion for all parts of the cultural sector in Maine, increasing the visibility of how powerfully arts and humanities shape and support our communities.

Research & Advocacy

CAM advocates publicly on behalf of increasing investments and policies that impact culture in Maine, backed up by quantitative and qualitative data and analysis.

Leadership

Ekhlas Ahmed she/her
Director, Community Engagement

Ekhlas Ahmed holds a master's degree in Education from the University of Southern Maine. She is a former educator, skilled advocate, and community organizer who has dedicated herself to fighting against injustices and promoting equality for the past 15 years. Originally a refugee from Sudan, Ekhlas and her family were resettled in Maine in 2005.

In addition to being the founder and leader of Chance to Advance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to celebrating and promoting diversity in Maine, Ekhlas actively serves as a board member for the Portland Public Library and Palaver Strings, among many other community service and leadership roles she undertakes.

In January 2023, Ekhlas joined the Cultural Alliance of Maine with a focus on community engagement to facilitate conversations and provide spaces to connect and find common and sustainable goals within the cultural sector. She currently lives in Windham, Maine.

Contact Ekhlas

Mollie Cashwell she/her
Director, Policy & Operations

Mollie was born in Calais and raised in the Bangor area. She is a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen with roots in Washington County and St. Stephen, New Brunswick. She holds a masters degree in Arts Administration & Cultural Policy from the Institute for Creative & Cultural Entrepreneurship at Goldsmiths, and spent 10 years working with cultural organizations in New York, Lisbon, London, and Berlin before returning to Maine in 2019. Mollie serves on the boards of the Mount Desert Island Historical Society and the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor. She lives in Lamoine.

Contact Mollie

Governing Body

Atiim Boykin Office of Behavioral Health - Forensic Intensive Case Manager; Artist & Musician

Attim is a community organizer, social worker, family therapist, storyteller, musician, songwriter, and spoken word poet. He has spent more than 20 years working with nonprofits, government agencies, and schools focusing on providing equity, access, and inclusion to stabilization and growth resources via educational and therapeutic supports. In addition to CAM, Atiim serves on the advisory boards of Portland Ovations and Indigo Arts Alliance.

Shoni Currier Director, Bates Dance Festival

Shoni brings CAM nearly twenty years of experience in the contemporary performance field as well as successful municipal cultural policy work from her days as Director of Performing Arts for the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. In her five years with that department she was integral in the development and integration of dance and theater into Chicago’s civic programming. Shoni has taught and lectured around the country, and serves as an Advisor for the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Theater Project.

Shiva Darbandi Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging Specialist, Maine State Government

Shiva joined the State’s Department of Administrative and Financial Services after two decades in academia and nonprofits, where she advocated for intersectionality and worked to affirm the importance of centering marginalized voices. Shiva is working on her PhD, and her research interests include intergenerational knowledge, intangible cultural heritage, and diaspora foodways.

Sarah Hansen Preservation Advocate

Sarah discovered her love of community revitalization as a history major at Connecticut College and received a M.A. in Preservation Studies from Boston University. Sarah most recently served for four years as the Executive Director of Greater Portland Landmarks. Prior to her work with Landmarks Sarah served as Director of Preservation Services at Maine Preservation for two years. Sarah currently serves as vice president of the National Preservation Partners Network, is a member of Maine’s Main Street Advisory Council, and the Maine Alliance for Smart Growth. Locally, Sarah was appointed to the Village Review Overlay Committee for the City of Westbrook and serves on the Economic Vitality Committee for Discover Downtown Westbrook.

Samuel James Journalist, storyteller, musician

Samuel James is a musician, journalist and storyteller. His work with The Moth includes Mainstage storyteller, interviewer, Radio Hour host, and contributor to the books The Moth Presents: All These Wonders and the NYT Bestselling How to Tell a Story: The Essential Guide to Memorable Storytelling from The Moth. As a musician, James has toured internationally for more than fifteen years, performing in the Black American Folk Tradition. He has released seven albums, scored film soundtracks and museum exhibits. James’ monthly column Racisms can be currently found in The Bollard and his weekly newsletter Banned Histories of Race in America can be found on Substack. He’s also the creator and host of the history podcast 99 Years.

Tara Kelly Executive Director, Maine Preservation

Prior to leading Maine Preservation – a statewide non-profit dedicated to promoting and preserving historic places, buildings, downtowns and neighborhoods – Tara served as the Vice President of Policy & Programs at The Municipal Art Society of New York, an advocacy organization that promotes historic preservation, urban planning, and public art in New York City. In addition to serving on CAM’s Governing Body, she is Co-chair of the Advisory Council of the Maine Downtown Center, an initiative of the Maine Development Foundation; a Board Member of Preservation Action, a national advocacy organization; and a member of the MEREDA Public Policy Committee. She holds an M.S. in Historic Preservation from Pratt Institute and a B.S. in Linguistics from Georgetown University.

Stuart Kestenbaum Senior Advisor, Monson Arts

Stu is the author of six collections of poems, most recently Things Seemed to Be Breaking (Deerbrook Editions 2021), and a collection of essays The View from Here (Brynmorgen Press). He was the host/curator of the Maine Public Radio program Poems from Here and the podcasts Make/Time and Voices of the Future. He was the director of Haystack Mountain School of Crafts from 1988 until 2015. More recently, working with the Libra Foundation, he designed and implemented the Monson Arts residency and workshop program, where he now serves as senior advisor. He served as Maine’s poet laureate from 2016-2021.

Abbe Levin Cultural Development Consultant

Abbe Levin is a passionate and experienced cultural development consultant dedicated to fostering positive community change. Abbe began her work in the public sector as the Special Projects Coordinator at the Maine Arts Commission where she led the Creative Economy Initiative alongside statewide cultural leaders. Drawing on years of experience, Abbe has successfully collaborated with cultural organizations, government, and community groups to design and implement impactful initiatives. Abbe currently works as the Cultural Heritage Tourism Consultant for the Maine Office of Tourism. In addition to CAM's governing body, Abbe serves on the Abbe Museum Board of Directors and the Maine Downtown Center Advisory Council.

Mike Miclon Executive and Artistic Director, Johnson Hall Performing Arts Center

Mike has been a professional entertainer since 1982. He began his career as an apprentice of Benny and Denise Reehl of the New England New Vaudeville Revue and a student of Theater Master Tony Montanaro at the world-renowned Celebration Barn Theater in South Paris, Maine. Mike has performed around the world from India to South Africa, Europe, and North America, with such highlights as the White House and Kennedy Center in Washington D.C to Victoria Jungfrau Hotel, Interlaken, Switzerland. In 2000 Mike became the executive director of Maine Arts Inc. in Portland Maine and produced the Maine Festival and New Year’s Portland. Mike then created his own theater in Buckfield called the Oddfellow Theater, which he ran for fourteen years before coming to Johnson Hall.

Sarah Pebworth Founder and Steering Committee Member, Word – a Blue Hill Literary Arts Festival

Sarah sits on the Lawrence Family Fitness Center YMCA advisory board and the Colloquy Downeast board. She served in the Maine House of Representatives from 2018-22. Sarah writes “Shared Seas and Common Grounds,” a column published in the Penobscot Bay Press’s Weekly Packet. She and her wife Julie Jo Fehrle live in Blue Hill.

Founding Steering Committee

We are forever grateful for the vision, collaboration, and hard work that created and lead CAM through its inception and pilot project phase (2020 - 2022).

Mark Bessire, Portland Museum of Art

Steve Bromage, Maine Historical Society

Shoni Currier, Bates Dance Festival

Hugh French, Tides Institute

David Greenham, (then) Maine Arts Commission

Sarah Hansen, (then) Greater Portland Landmarks

Sheila Jans, CultureWorth / Maine Arts Commission

Stuart Kestenbaum, Maine State Poet Laureate, Monson Arts

Monica Kelly, Bay Chamber Concerts

Abbe Levin, Maine Office of Tourism - Contractor

Nat May, Onion Foundation

Daniel Minter, Indigo Arts Alliance

Linda Nelson, Writer, Director, Consultant

Chris Newell, (then) Abbe Museum

Emily Peckham, Points North Institute & Camden International Film Festival

Molly O’Connell, Maine Association of Nonprofits – Liaison

James Ritter, (then) Maine State Library

Jen Shepard, Penobscot Theatre Company

Milestones

April 2020: Initial Meetings

Fall 2020: Year 1 Pilot Project support awarded from the Onion Foundation, the Libra Foundation, the Virginia Hodgkins Somers Foundation, the Morton Kelly Charitable Trust, and the Maine Office of Tourism in the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development

March 2021: MOU Maine Association of Nonprofits; Pilot Project Director hired

June 2021: First CAM Convenings, monthly virtual public programming

July-Sept 2021: Field work, focus groups, national research and outreach

November 2021: Launch of monthly CAM Convenings programming

February 2022: Launch of FT Director position search & equitable governance process

June 2022: Hire of first FT Director

September 2022: Mollie Cashwell begins as state’s first FT Director

January 2023: Ekhlas Ahmed joins team

March 2023: CAM’s first Cultural Advocacy Day and Cultural Heritage Week in Maine

May 2023: Inaugural Governing Body convenes; Incorporation