Executive Committee Meeting

 

August 5, 2025

 

PRESENT: Luke Shorty, Celeste Branham, Pam Proulx-Curry, Diane Lebson, Bill Guindon, Jenni Tilton-Flood, Kelsey Preecs, Brittany Gleixner-Hayat

 

Committee members convened at 3:30 pm using virtual meeting platform. Executive Director, Brittany Gleixner-Hayat was present.

 

1. Commissioner Quorum and Attendance:

 

  • Present: Luke Shorty, Celeste Branham, Diane Lebson, Pam Proulx-Curry, Jenni Tilton-Flood, Bill Guindon, Jenni Tilton-Flood, Kelsey Preecs.
  • Absent: Tade Sullivan.

 

2. Urgent and Timely Issues from Volunteer Maine Staff:

 

  • PIO Resignation
    • Effective August 1st, PIO Tilan Copson resigned and has moved on to a new opportunity in project management. We are grateful for Tilan’s service to the Commission and wish her the best in her new position.

 

  • AmeriCorps Litigation Update
    • The lawsuit has been amended to add the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as a defendant given the hold on FY25 funding. Executive Director Gleixner-Hayat submitted a declaration to the court outlining the impact of the OMB hold on Maine on behalf of Volunteer Maine.

 

  • OMB Hold
    • The OMB hold is affecting the Commission Investment Fund (CIF) grant, a grant to the Maine Conservation Corps in the amount of $1.2M, and a grant to a Senior Companion program implemented by Southern Maine Agency on Aging. The first two of these are directly managed by Volunteer Maine. The CIF grant is of concern given it represents a large portion of the Commission’s operational budget. The MCC grant is the state’s largest grant.

 

  • AmeriCorps Senior Program – Roundtable with Congressional Staffers
    • Volunteer Maine will host a roundtable with staff members from each of the four members of Maine’s congressional delegation to hear from AmeriCorps Senior program leaders about the impact of their work, the risks associated with AmeriCorps funding gaps, and what programs would do if AmeriCorps funding was to be eliminated. The roundtable will take place in Bangor. Chair Proulx-Curry, Immediate Past Chair Shorty, and Commissioner Scott Adams will attend.

 

  • Service Year Alliance (SYA) Grant Opportunity
    • SYA has a new funding opportunity to support the expansion of state-led service opportunities. Executive Director Gleixner-Hayat engaged with SYA to discuss how Volunteer Maine might be a suitable candidate, in particular in order to advance progress in the Maine Service Fellows program. Further details on the program will be shared by SYA in the coming weeks/months.

4. General updates and planning:

 

  • Annual Retreat Planning
    • Maria Millard has been selected as the facilitator for the annual retreat. Location will be Augusta. Maria will survey Commissioners and engage in interviews with staff and a sub-set of commissioners to identify key topics for discussion and design approaches for the retreat.

 

  • Update on New Commissioner Recruitment and Timeline for Submission of Package
    • Two commissioner candidates will be sent to the Governor’s office this month. The Governor’s office confirmed it is likely the appointments can be reviewed by early September in time for the annual retreat. John Portela has agreed to act as the Dedimus Justice to swear in the new commissioner.

 

  • Maine Volunteer Foundation (MVF) Strategy Session – September 2
    • To advance more fulsome planning for the MVF, there will be a session on September 2nd in Augusta from 5-7PM to review MVF progress, identify strengths and areas for improvement, and to enhance collaboration between MVF board members and commissioners. Commissioner Lebson has generously offered to design and facilitate the session.