OUR
BOARD
Get to know the people on MCAN's board, working to boldly build Maine's climate movement.
MCAN BOARD
Sergio Cahueque
(he/him) Defend Our Health
Sergio has been working as an organizer with Defend Our Health since 2018. As an organizer, Sergio works to raise awareness and advocate on issues related to access to safe drinking water and food, healthy housing, and products that are toxic-free and climate friendly. He was born and raised in Guatemala City and moved to Maine in 2013. He graduated from College of the Atlantic in 2017 where he had the chance to study International Climate Policy and attend UN conferences on Climate Change, including the Paris Agreement negotiations in 2015. In his free time you can find him playing soccer, enjoying time outside, or spinning records around Greater Portland.
Johannah Blackman
(she/her) A Climate to Thrive
A founding member and the Executive Director of A Climate to Thrive, Johannah brings together over a decade of experience in nonprofit management, over fifteen years of experience in climate action, and a background in education, youth mentorship, and counseling psychology. Johannah’s particular passion is supporting anyone and everyone in discovering their unique contribution to climate solutions and building community-driven climate action throughout Maine and beyond. She is an avid writer, explorer, and a mother.
Gary Friedmann
(he/him) Our Power, A Climate to Thrive
For 30 years Gary has run a business that helps nonprofits succeed, helping hundreds of organizations across Maine develop strategic plans, build capacity and raise over $100 million. His wife Glenon founded Bar Harbor Farm, which feeds 150 local families and delivers organic produce to several restaurants and two food pantries. Gary serves on the Bar Harbor Town Council, on the steering committee of Our Power, and is Chair Emeritus of A Climate to Thrive, the grassroots initiative to make Mount Desert Island energy independent by 2030.
Jonathan Fulford
(he/him) Sierra Club Maine, Our Power
Jonathan was a carpenter, builder, and small business owner for 38 years. Hoping to effect climate change he twice ran for state senate and entered the Democratic primary for CD2. Since then he has focused on activism and organizing to create the needed change. He is a co-founder and board member of Waldo County Bounty and Upstream Watch, a volunteer leader on the Sierra Club Maine Chapter Legislative Team as well as having served on: Our Power, Belfast Energy Committee, Waldo County Habitat for Humanity, Commonterra Community Land Trust, and Come Boating. From whitewater kayaking and back country canoe expeditions Jonathan’s love for being on the water grew to rowing and coxing 32’ pilot gigs, sailing the coast of Maine and higher latitudes, including a 2019 trip to the northern tip of Labrador, and sailing around Newfoundland in 2022. Jonathan loves sharing with others the healing and connection he finds on the water and in wilder places.
Elise Hartill
(she/they) Maine Youth for Climate Justice
Elise has been the co-director for Maine Youth for Climate Justice for the past six months, and before that worked as the communication coordinator for MYCJ, supporting Maine's youth climate activists. She also has a masters in science in marine biology from the University of Maine where she studied cold-water coral ecosystems. She received a National Geographic Society Early Career Grant in 2019 to support a science education and communications project in Southeast Alaska, where her graduate research was based. She is motivated by the urgent need to address climate change with every tool we have, including supporting energy justice initiatives, green workforce development, public education, local food systems, and developing adaptive/resilience strategies that meet each unique community's needs.
Scott Vlaun
(he/him) Center for an Ecology-Based Economy
Scott is the founding Executive Director of the Center for an Ecology-Based Economy in Norway, Maine, a climate action organization founded in 2013. CEBE is dedicated to developing resilient local food systems, community-based renewable energy, public, electric, and human-powered transport, and affordable, efficient housing. Scott practices and teaches permaculture design, most recently at the Maharishi University in Iowa. He also writes and photographs for publication, worked for many years as market grower, and as an avid skier, laments the loss of winter in western Maine.
Ania Wright
(she/her) Sierra Club Maine
Ania joined Sierra Club in 2020 as a Grassroots Organizer, and now works as the Legislative and Political Specialist. In her position, Ania supports our Political and Legislative Teams and organizes state lobbying and endorsement work. She also works to engage and support youth in climate justice initiatives, and to further the diversity, equity, and inclusion goals of the chapter. Ania graduated from College of the Atlantic in 2020, where she majored in Human Ecology with a focus in Environmental Policy and Climate Justice. She has been extensively involved in climate justice activism in the State of Maine as a founding member of the youth-led coalition Maine Youth for Climate Justice, which supports young people in their work for climate action. Ania lives in Portland.
MCAN's Director, Amy Eshoo, is also a Board Member. See her profile here.