In-person Conversation with Bo Bigelow

January 26th, 2024

On January 26th, 2024, students Ikram Aman '25, Salma Mohamed '25, and Caileigh Hopkins '25 hosted the long-awaited second event of the school year. It was an in-person event, and discussion-oriented, with students sitting in one large circle.

Bo Bigelow is an attorney who specializes in employment law and special education. After graduating from Georgetown University, Bo attended the NYU School of Law. Bo is the co-founder and chairman of the USP7 foundation and hosts a blog and weekly podcast called Stronger Every Day. He is also a co-founder of Disorder: The Rare Disease Film Festival, an event showcasing films from around the world that address the challenges of life with a rare disease to spread awareness and start conversations. Bo currently works for Murray Plumb & Murray, a law firm in Portland.

Dinner Conversation with Dr. David Reidmiller and Dr. Deborah Bronk

January 31, 2023

A virtual conversation with local climate scientists

On January 17, 2023, Aelia Russel ’24 and Bessy Dushime ’23 hosted a virtual conversation with Dr. David Reidmiller and Dr. Deborah Bronk.

As the inaugural director of the Climate Center at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute Dr. David Reidmiller focuses on raising awareness of the effects of climate change on people’s lives throughout the Gulf of Maine region–and the actions that can be taken. 

Dr. David Reidmiller previously worked for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. He also was the acting director of NE+SE Climate Adaptation Science Centers and the director of National Climate Assessment. He also took the position of chief climate scientist/ climate science & Technology Team Lead and AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow in the U.S. Department of State/Office of Global Change. 

Dr. Deborah Bronk, CEO and president of Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, an independent, nonprofit research institute located in East Boothbay, Maine. From the Arctic to the Antarctic, Bigelow Laboratory scientists use innovative approaches to study the foundation of global ocean health and unlock its potential to improve the future for all life on our planet.   

In the past, Dr. Deborah Bronk has served as President of the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) which is known to be one of the largest international organizations devoted to aquatic sciences. She’s also been the Director of the Division of Ocean Sciences at the National Science Foundation (NSF). Moreover, she’s been elected as chair of Scientific Society Presidents. Dr. Bronk was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). She has conducted more than 50 research field and cruise studies in both marine environments and freshwater. 

In-Person Conversation with Anna Siegel and Madison Sheppard

January 17, 2023

In-person panel with local youth environmental activists

On January 17, 2023, Charlie Hornor ’23 and Liam Anderson ’23 hosted the second in-person Perspective Project event. 

Anna Siegel (Waynflete ’24) and Madison Sheppard are core members of Maine Youth for Climate Justice, a youth-led coalition of Mainers advocating for climate justice. Other work of theirs includes mentoring other climate justice groups, leading climate strikes, and organizing climate campaigns for new state legislature. 

Anna and Madison responded thoughtfully to a wide array of questions from both the student moderators and the audience. After opening remarks and introductions, Anna and Madison both shared how their passion for climate justice began. Madison spoke about her first-ever climate strike at school and how her passion for art and the environment sparked an interest in drawing endangered species. Anna spoke about how she tackled the marketing behind each piece of proposed legislation differently and how there is not one strategy that is most effective when fighting climate change. Both Anna and Madison spoke about the role that youth play in climate justice, and how older generations should not be blamed for climate change but rather encouraged to support climate initiatives. The conversation ended looking into the future. Anna and Madison hoped that in ten years, climate activism would not be needed and that younger generations would not have to worry about their future. It was an honor to host Anna and Madison, and we are confident that they will be at the forefront of our next generation of leaders.

In-Person Conversation with Pious Ali 

November 15, 2022

In-person conversation with Portland City Council 

On November 15, 2022, Naimo Mohamed ’23 and Yenenesh Wilson ’23 hosted the first in-person Perspective Project event. 

Dedicated public servant, an assertive and pragmatic leader with a compassionate diversified skill set in community organizing, activism, and civic engagement, Pious Ali is a Youth and Community Engagement Specialist at the University of Southern Maine’s Muskie School of Public Service's Portland Empowered and has spent the better part of his career focused on community engagement. He has created a meaningful and ongoing dialogue across cultural, ethnic, socioeconomic, and faith-based barriers. Mr. Ali is the first African-born Muslim American to be elected to a public office in Maine, becoming a member of the city’s elected Board of Public Education in 2013. He has also founded the erstwhile Maine Interfaith Youth Alliance and co-founded the King Fellows, a Portland-based youth group dedicated to creating meaningful opportunities for youth through leadership and civic engagement based on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dinner Conversation with Farah Pandith 

April 28, 2022

A virtual conversation with the former U.S. Special Representative to Muslim Communities 

On April 28, juniors Bessy Dushime and Naimo Mohamed hosted a virtual conversation with Farah Pandith. 

In June of 2009, Farah Pandith was appointed the first-ever Special Representative to Muslim Communities by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, a position which took her to nearly 100 countries and led to the establishment of numerous youth-oriented initiatives. Pandith currently serves as the Head of Strategy for the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a senior fellow with the Future Diplomacy Project at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, and as an adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. 

Pandith fielded a variety of questions, ranging from the mechanisms by which extremist ideologies are propagated online to her experiences with gender bias as a woman working within the diplomatic sector. It was a true honor to learn from Pandith's candor and expertise, and we look forward to employing her advice for youth mobilization and engagement in our academic practices. 

Dinner Conversation with Bill Nemitz 

March 22, 2022

A virtual conversation with the Portland Press Herald columnist and award-winning journalist. 

On March 22, juniors Yenenesh Wilson and Bryan Stark-Chessa hosted a virtual conversation with Bill Nemitz. 

Mr. Nemitz’s storied career as a Maine journalist began in 1977 when he first worked as a freelance journalist for the Rockland Courier-Gazette. The recipient of the Maine Press Association’s Journalist of the Year Award, the New England Newspaper and Press Association Distinguished Service Award, and the Shalom House Hope Award, Mr. Nemitz now serves as a columnist for the Portland Press Herald and Maine Sunday Telegram, covering local and national stories alike. In addition to his work as a journalist, Mr. Nemitz formerly served as the board president for the Maine Press Association and is currently an adjunct faculty member at St. Joseph’s College of Maine. 

Whether the question pertained to his own journalistic experiences or his meditations on the threats posed to today's truth-telling, Mr. Nemitz offered thoughtful and insightful remarks that supplied audience members with a deeper understanding of journalism and its role in the continuation of our democratic principles.  When asked for the best piece of journalistic advice he'd ever received, Mr. Nemitz recounted a brief story about an editor at another New England newspaper whose skepticism about the true identity of a formerly long–lost dog was validated after an X-ray revealed no signs of the supposed pet's former surgery. "In this age of misinformation," Nemitz remarked, "X-ray the dog." 

It was a true privilege to engage in such an insightful conversation, and we are confident that Nemitz's wisdom—whether or not it pertains to X-raying dogs—will serve as an important point of reference for our future discussions. 

Read Mr. Nemitz's recap here

Dinner Conversation with John C. Yang 

February 16, 2022

A virtual conversation with the President and Executive Director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC

On February 16, senior Cece Marshall and sophomore Ana Burroughs hosted a virtual conversation with John C. Yang. 

Mr. Yang’s longstanding involvement and leadership in the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities began in 1997 when he co-founded the Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center: a nonprofit organization that sees to the direct service legal needs of Asian Pacific Americans in the D.C. metropolitan area. Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC fights for civil rights and empowers Asian Americans to create a more just America for all through public policy advocacy, education, and litigation. 

In responding to questions from the student moderators and audience members—which ranged from his experiences as an undocumented immigrant and their influence on his civil rights work to his recommendations for adopting anti-racist curricula in the classroom—Mr. Yang's candor and passion were immediately, and continually, evident. As part of his closing remarks, Mr. Yang shared a question which, profound in its simplicity, is one of the driving forces behind his work: "What can we do to make our community a little bit better?" 

It was an honor to welcome Mr. Yang to the Waynflete community, and we are confident that his insights will have a lasting impact on our own approaches to social justice. 

Dinner Conversation with Dr. Nirav Shah

January 20, 2022

A virtual conversation with the Director of the Maine CDC

On January 20, students Blythe Thompson '22 and Maren Cooper '23 welcomed Dr. Nirav Shah to Waynflete via virtual interview. 

Formerly the Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, Dr. Shah was appointed as the Director of the Maine CDC in June of 2019. Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March of 2020, Shah’s expertise and leadership, particularly in the form of his daily briefings, news appearances, and other types of public engagement, contributed significantly to Maine’s high vaccination rate. 

Audience members had the opportunity to learn from Dr. Shah's valuable insights on mitigating the spread of the omicron variant, his willingness to learn from perspectives with which he may not necessarily agree, and his reflections on misinformation as it pertains to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

It was a privilege to welcome Dr. Shah to the Waynflete community for such an inspiring and thought-provoking conversation. 

Dinner Conversation with Maulian Dana 

November 22, 2021

A virtual conversation with the Tribal Ambassador for Maine's Penobscot Nation

On November 22, students Blythe Thompson '22 and Bessy Dushime '23 welcomed Tribal Ambassador Maulian Dana to Waynflete for a virtual conversation. 

Appointed in September of 2017 by Penobscot Chief Kirk Francis, Ambassador Dana is the first individual to hold this position. She holds a BA in political science from The University of Maine, where she was awarded the prestigious Margaret Chase Smith Public Affairs Scholarship, and, prior to becoming Penobscot Tribal Ambassador, she was a member of the Penobscot Nation Tribal Council, held the position of Human Resources Director for the Penobscot Indian Nation Enterprises (PINE), and worked for the Penobscot Nation Cultural and Historic Preservation Department. 

As a high school student, she led an effort to remove high school mascots that depicted Indigenous people in a derogatory manner, eventually resulting in her introduction of LD9944, An Act to Ban Native American Mascots in All Public Schools, which was passed by the Maine Senate in 2019.  Her advocacy work also significantly contributed to the Maine Legislature’s 2019 passage of LD 179, which changed Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day in Maine. 

Her work as Penobscot Tribal Ambassador involves advocating on behalf of Maine’s Indigenous population and working to highlight issues of land use, water use, tribal sovereignty, violence against Indigenous women, and factors affecting Indigenous people, both within and beyond Maine. 

Throughout the conversation, Ambassador Dana provided thoughtful, and deeply engaging, responses to a myriad of questions including those related to the origins of her advocacy work, how she goes about teaching her adolescent daughters about the history and culture of the Penobscot people, and her perspective on Thanksgiving. It was truly an honor to host such an illuminating and important conversation with one of Maine's foremost advocates for Indigenous rights. 

Dinner Conversation with Dr. John Ghazvinian

October 12, 2021

A virtual conversation with the Executive Director of the University of Pennsylvania's Middle East Center. 

On October 12, students Naimo Mohamed '23 and Yenenesh Wilson '23 welcomed Dr. John Ghazvinian to Waynflete for a virtual conversation. 

Ghazvinian is an Iranian-American author, historian, and former journalist whose work is centered around the history of US-Iran relations. His publications include Untapped: The Scramble for Africa’s Oil and America and Iran: A History, 1720 to the Present, which was published in 2021 and, based upon archival research in both the United States and Iran, examines the history of US-Iran relations. He also co-authored American and Muslim Worlds before 1900. 

Founded in 1966, the University of Pennsylvania’s Middle East Center is dedicated to supporting the study of Middle Eastern languages, history, and culture. Described as a “hub of regional expertise for both journalistic and academic institutions,” Penn’s Middle East Center provides a wealth of opportunities for the local, and global, community to engage with Middle Eastern history and culture. 

After providing a brief overview of his career and the defining moments in the history of US-Iran relations, Dr. Ghazvinian provided thoughtful answers to questions pertaining to the case for optimism regarding the two nations' tumultuous and strained relationship, the importance of storytelling in developing his written work, which makes a complicated history available for broader audiences, and his recommendations for encouraging students to think beyond our own borders and engage with issues on the international scale.