As the leading fellowship program in Maine, Island Institute Fellows provide critical capacity for community-based projects. Over the past 25 years, we’ve place 148 fellows in 29 different coastal and island communities, providing 500,000 hours of capacity to municipalities, school systems, and community organizations.
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Jes grew up on Isle au Haut, and had a deep connection with the island communities of Maine before joining Island Institute as a fellow. She quickly integrated into the Monhegan community and focused much of her fellowship on surveying juvenile lobsters as part of a collaboration between Island Institute and Bigelow Laboratory. This project required her to spend time aboard each of the Monhegan fishermen’s boats, and she eventually married one of those fishermen.
Jes also worked in the island schoolhouse supporting the teacher with lessons. She has raised a son who attended the Monhegan School and she currently serves as chair of the school board. She is also Deputy Emergency Management Director for Monhegan Plantation and Operations Manager for the Monhegan First Aid Station and responds to 911 emergencies on the island. In the years following her fellowship, she has worked with other Island Institute Fellows on the island on projects ranging from supporting teaching kids about energy efficiency to cataloguing the island’s history in the community cemetery.
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