The Speakers
Donna Loring
For several decades Donna has been an advocate for others in her multiple roles as a citizen, public servant, and policy maker. She grew up living with her grandmother on Indian Island, Maine. In her late teens in 1966, she joined the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) and served during the Vietnam War. She earned a degree in political science, as well as an honorary doctorate she received from UMaine in 2017.
Loring has worked in law enforcement, was elected to the Maine State Legislature, and served as aide-de-camp to then-Governor Angus King. She is a published author and playwright, a tribal member of the Penobscot Indian Nation, and a well-regarded champion of Maine’s Native populations.
Melissa Skahan
Melissa serves as the Vice President of Mission Integration at Mercy Hospital in Portland, Maine. She is also the Executive Director of the McAuley Residence there. Since she was a child, when her mother served as nurse in the Sisters of Mercy motherhouse, she has desired to serve others within the context of the Mercy mission. She emphasizes outreach as a critical role in the Catholic Healthcare system, especially focusing on the most vulnerable to advance change in a systemic way that creates a more just society.
Under her leadership, the McAuley Residence partnered with Community Housing of Maine for expansion into a new, child-appropriate fifteen-unit residence. She also transformed the addiction and support programs available to women at the McAuley Residence into a holistic evidence-based model to combat substance use disorder. The results are that 80% of the women remain clean and sober, with 95% reunifying with their child/children.
Claudette Ndayininahaze
Claudette arrived in Maine seven years ago from Burundi, where she served as National Sales Manager of Heineken, the largest and soft beverage and brewer in Burundi. Deeply committed to the welfare of women and girls, she also served as the president of Burundi Girl Scouts Association. She has held several community positions since her arrival, and is currently the co-foundress and Executive Director of In Her Presence. In her role she has developed an effective network of resources that provides needed support for the immigrant, asylee, and refugee communities on a grassroots level.
Claudette has served on the boards of different community organizations: Hope Acts, First Parish Unitarian Universalist (FPUU), Youth Family Outreach (YFO), Vice president of Burundi Community Association of Maine (B CAM), Furniture Friends (FF), Welcoming Immigrants Network (WIN) and Financial Stability Expert Panel with United Way.