“The ideals of America remain unrealized. We are witnessing the consequences of intentional racist policies, practices and beliefs that have been destroying black lives for centuries.”

These words, taken from the Elmina B. Sewall Foundation’s June 2020 statement of solidarity, could not be more relevant today. The violence at the US capitol on January 6th, 2021 was an act of terror against democracy, and a clear and brazen manifestation of the logical outcomes of white supremacy and patriarchy.

Wednesday’s events shook us all personally and professionally, as they did people and governments across the globe. But they should not have come as a surprise. Our country is a victim of its own long history of embracing, enacting, and rejecting responsibility for racist policies, systems, and racialized outcomes. It is time for us to own it so we can change it.

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As we approach the end of 2020, I think back to the plans we were making last December for a year yet-to-be-known. Few years in recent history have shaken all of humanity as much as 2020. The global viral pandemic continues to take lives, weaken economies and test every system in place. As communities in the U.S. and across the world rise-up for racial justice, existing systems continue to disproportionately burden black, indigenous and other communities of color. Closer to home, Maine’s communities suffer from the highest racial disparities in COVID-19 rates.

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The Elmina B. Sewall Foundation is pleased to welcome Thomas Mitchell to the staff team on 11/30/2020. As our Finance and Community Investment Partner, Thomas will provide leadership for Sewall’s evolving impact investing work.

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As we approach the end of the year, many of us are taking stock of all that has happened (and not happened) in 2020. The headlines this year have been about COVID 19 pandemic, police brutality and uprisings against structural racism, the presidential election and natural disasters. The headlines often obscure the stories about the lives affected by these monumental events. Through our work, we have glimpses at communities across Maine. From grantees and partners, we have heard about the challenges they’re facing and how they’ve responded to the demands these headlines have placed on them. In the midst of so much that feels overwhelming, these stories give us reason to be grateful.

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We are pleased to share the final report of the Lewiston-Auburn Co-Design Team with recommendations for how to shape Sewall’s Healthy People Healthy Places program in L-A over the next five years.

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For the past 8 months, the world has been living in varying states of a global pandemic and public health emergency. The stress test brought about by COVID19 has illustrated in heartbreaking scale, the inadequacy of our public health infrastructure, our economy’s vulnerabilities, and the jarring injustice of our constructed social order. Along with the ever-present threat to individuals and communities that the coronavirus has unleashed, eyes are being opened to the centuries-long violence against the lives of Black, indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) individuals and communities in the US. Particularly regarding the violent and unrelenting assault on Black lives, people and organizations across the country seem to finally be acknowledging the cruel reality. Dozens of cities and states have joined their voices in declaring the toxic system of racism a public health crisis.

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The Elmina B. Sewall Foundation (EBSF) is pleased to welcome Jonah Fertig-Burd to the staff team on August 31, 2020. As a Community Partner, Jonah will provide leadership for EBSF’s evolving work in food systems and nature-based education.

Over the past 18 years, Jonah has built deep, collaborative relationships; developed new nonprofits, cooperative businesses, and collaboratives; worked in restaurants, food pantries, and farms; advocated for food and farm policies; and helped to grow racial equity in our food system. He has been a critical thought partner, facilitator, collaborator, consultant, and mentor to people in Lewiston-Auburn, Portland, Washington and Oxford counties, and across the state.

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Even as we grieve the loss of Alain Nahimana, tireless and dedicated champion of immigrant rights and integration in Maine, we at the Sewall Foundation feel immense pain and outrage as we witness the injustice, hurt, and outright assault on African Americans in communities across the United States. George Floyd. Breonna Taylor. Ahmud Aubrey. So many lives taken. There is no Justice. There is no Freedom. The ideals of America remain unrealized. We are witnessing the consequences of intentional racist policies, practices and beliefs that have been destroying black lives for centuries.

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The Elmina B. Sewall Foundation (EBSF) is committed to the safety, health and wellbeing of our Maine communities and as we monitor the evolution of the COVID 19 pandemic, we are remaining flexible and making decisions based on the best information available to us.

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Elmina B. Sewall Foundation is seeking a Community Engagement Consultant to support the next phase of its Healthy People Healthy Places work in Lewiston-Auburn.

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The Sewall Foundation brought 20 people from 12 Animal Welfare grantee organizations together in November for a day of sharing and learning to pilot an alternative to written grant reports. The day consisted of facilitated conversations, networking, and skills building. Participants’ willingness to embrace the invitation to reflect on their work and share challenges openly made for rich conversations. New relationships formed, others were strengthened, and opportunities for peer-to-peer support as well as collaborative action to address shared challenges were abundant. The conversations illuminated challenges and opportunities for the field and provided valuable insight that will inform future Sewall Foundation grantmaking. The event was well received, and we look forward to continuing and learning from such events.

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EBSF has been on an exciting journey of change and growth for several years. Our process of change has been iterative and informed by rich conversations with community and funder partners. While this journey has been exciting, we know that change can be particularly hard for our partners as our new direction gradually takes shape. So in a spirit of transparency, we’d like to share highlights of our transition over the past year, work underway in 2020, and evolving thoughts about how to live into our mission, recognizing that changes continue to unfold – even as we post this update!

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If there was to be a theme to the time from my start on August 1 to today, it would be “so much is happening.”  For those of you who’ve followed the work of the Elmina B. Sewall Foundation (EBSF) over the years, this is no surprise. EBSF is committed to ongoing learning and the hard work that this requires. It is an honor to lead an organization so rooted in values and a unifying vision for improving the wellbeing of people, animals and the environment in Maine.

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The Elmina B. Sewall Foundation (EBSF) is pleased to announce that Gabriela Alcalde has been appointed Executive Director and will join the team on August 1, 2019.  Gabriela brings over 20 years’ experience as a leader, grantmaker, and scholar working at the intersections of public health, community organizing, advocacy, racial equity and systems change.   In her current role as Managing Director for Equity and Health at Richmond Memorial Health Foundation in Virginia, she has developed an equity-driven grantmaking strategy, led policy and advocacy efforts, and worked to center community voice across all Foundation and grantee activities.  Prior to her current position, Gabriela served as Vice President of Policy and Programs at the statewide Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, which focused on access to care, place-based grantmaking, and equity-driven systems change.  A nationally recognized scholar and leader in public health and health philanthropy, Gabriela has published and presented widely on a host of topics related to public health, health disparities, women’s and reproductive health, intimate partner violence, immigrant justice, and equity in philanthropy.  

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Dear Friends of the Elmina B. Sewall Foundation,

As president of the Sewall Foundation for the past thirteen years, I have had the privilege of being part of a team of thoughtful board and staff members supporting the great work of organizations across Maine to improve the well-being of people, animals and the environment. It has been deeply fulfilling for me to see my mother’s philanthropic legacy expand and adapt to address Maine’s needs and the challenges of our time.

I am very pleased to announce a decision that marks the next step for the Sewall Foundation. The Board of Directors has elected Carol Wishcamper and Gail Dana-Sacco as our new board chair and vice-chair, respectively.

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Dear Friends of the Elmina B. Sewall Foundation, 

As a friend and partner of the Elmina B. Sewall Foundation, we wanted you to know that Jay Espy has announced his intention to step down as Executive Director next June after 11 years of service.   Under Jay’s leadership as our first Executive Director, the Sewall Foundation has expanded its philanthropic support for important work across Maine.  In addition, he has helped the Foundation develop a clear mission, a strong set of values centered on equity, a dedicated and diverse Board of Directors and an extraordinarily capable staff

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