Name: Lisa Millette
Title: Senior Community Development Officer
Focus: For the past 3+ years, I’ve led Island Institute’s fellowship program. Island Institute Fellows work in and with communities for two years on community-identified projects related to climate resilience, the marine economy, and affordable housing. Since 1999, this flagship program has energized critical projects in small island and coastal Maine communities and helped recent college graduates build skills and networks to continue their careers.
In this photo: Island Institute’s fellowship cohort and I are listening to Will Steinharter of Osprey’s Echo Sea Kayaking as he talks about Stonington’s archipelago and PenBay Farmed Scallops’ growing and processing sites. (I’m in the front row, closest to Steinharter.) Each year, the Fellows participate in a multi-day orientation and two in-person retreats. Part of my job is to plan the logistics of each of these from the location and lodging to workshops and activities. Retreats are held in one of the current fellowship locations to better understand a Fellow’s experience; when Stonington was selected, the Fellow working there, Grace Upham, said that a kayak tour was a must. Being on the water gave us a different perspective and appreciation for Stonington, its surrounding islands, and strong fishing community. Getting to kayak up to a scallop processing site and hear directly from one of the farmers about their operation was the cherry on top.
Fellowship retreats not only help the Fellows and staff learn more about Maine’s coast and economy, but they are important in-person times for us to deepen our relationships to place and each other.
