About Us

Our Team

Jessica Casey

Fundraising & Communications Consultant

Jess has a proven track record in both the nonprofit and corporate sectors, leading impactful fundraising initiatives for local and global causes. She has served as a consultant for several Maine nonprofits where she holds fundraising records and established annual events. Jess was the co-founder and Community Outreach Director of In This Together and owns Two Hawks Event Planning & Design. She has over a decade of experience in development, community outreach, and fundraising as well as 20+ years in event execution. Jess has a passion for helping non-profits host successful events, increase their fundraising goals, and make new connections.

Jennifer Dumont

Can We? Project Beyond the Cohort Facilitator and School Coach

Jennifer Dumont is the JMG Specialist at Windham High School, where she has supported and empowered students for the past ten years. She holds a degree in Creative Writing and English Literature from Gordon College and a Master’s in Human Services Counseling from Liberty University. With a diverse teaching background that spans from a two-room K–2 schoolhouse to middle school Language Arts and even outdoor adventure courses at Washington County Community College, she brings a dynamic, student-centered approach to everything she does. At WHS she serves as the Can We? Project liaison and the Civil Rights Team advisor. Outside the classroom, she is an avid hiker who has thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail, completed the NE67 4000-footers and the 52 With a View, and is currently working on the Winter 48 and a second round of the NH 48 with her daughter. She’s a lover of poetry and fiction, cold water swims, sunshine, and good coffee. She lives in Gorham with her three daughters, the lights of her life, and their lively dog, KB.

John Holdridge

Can We? Project Director

John has worked in and around schools for the past 30 years for organizations that include the Arts Literacy Project at Brown University, the Maine Arts Commission, the Telling Room, Cape Elizabeth Schools and as an independent consultant across New England. In each of these roles he has focused on building community and elevating student voice in the classroom, across schools, and within the larger community.

Patty Howells

Can We? Project Assistant Director

Patty has advocated for student voice for the past 20 years, most recently as the coordinator for the New England Youth Identity Summit, and previously at The Telling Room. Patty is committed to creating opportunities for young people to step into leadership roles and connect with their peers from across Maine. In past lives, she has been a pastry chef, a civil rights investigator, a bicycle courier, and a Peace Corps volunteer. Every day she enjoys learning from students about what matters to them.

Katherine Johnston

Researcher/Consultant

Katherine has worked in the education field for over 15 years, most often focused on research and policy: asking questions, analyzing data, and synthesizing what she’s heard into recommendations for moving forward. She has worked for K-12 schools, universities, nonprofit organizations, and in different levels of government, deepening her knowledge everywhere she goes. She works to advance student and teacher voice as a critical ingredient for positive change in education systems.

Lowell Libby

Can We? Project Co-Founder, Advisor, School Coach

Lowell’s career in education spanned 42 years and multiple roles, including running an Upward Bound chapter, college teaching and supervising student teachers, and public and private school teaching and administration. In 2018, as the Upper School Director at Waynflete, Lowell co-founded The Can We? Project as an “experiment in revitalizing democracy,” an endeavor he continues to support in retirement. Witnessing adolescents and the educators who guide them in action has taught Lowell that learning is transformational when students are equipped and motivated to lead the way.

Elena Maker Castro

Senior Research Advisor

Elena is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Bates College, where she teaches classes on developmental and educational psychology. Her research focuses on youth civic development, seeking to illuminate why and how young people engage in changemaking. Born and raised in Maine, she is thrilled to work with Can We? to support youth voice and agency in her home state.

Derek Pierce

Can We? Project Beyond the Cohort Facilitator and School Coach

Derek was a teacher and leader in Maine high schools for over 30 years, most recently serving as the founding principal at Casco Bay High School. In addition to coaching school leaders, he is currently the host and producer of Learning from Maine, a new Maine Public show about what’s possible in our public schools. Derek is thrilled to support Can We? schools in the crucial work of fostering the connections and curiosity necessary for students (and adults) to dialogue about hard, vital issues.

Lisa Wells

Can We? Project Retreat Facilitator

Lisa is an Education Liaison for RSU2, a seminary student, and a passionate believer in the healing power of deep listening. She has supported students and families in the private and public sector in K-12, collegiate, and community-based environments for over 25 years and is thrilled to be part of the retreat facilitation team at Can We? after seeing the benefits of the work first hand in Maine high schools.

Our Advisory Network

Coming Soon

Collaborating Organizations

In addition to partnering with high schools across Maine and New Hampshire, we collaborate with a number of organizations committed to preparing young people to enter the world as civically engaged members of our communities.

These organizations include Narrative 4, Bates College Youth Action and Community Transformation (Youth ACT) Lab, Boys and Girls Club of Southern Maine, and others.

Our Funders

Made Possible By

The Can We? Project is powered by the generosity of individual donors, grant funding and corporate sponsors.

We are grateful to be based at Waynflete School, which provides a home for our work and meaningful in-kind support. At the same time, all our programming is funded independently—every workshop, partnership, and student experience is made possible through philanthropic support. Each sponsorship helps bring programming to additional partner schools, train additional educators, refine our programs, and increase our reach and impact year over year.

Donate
  • Rob and Meg Adams
  • Mr. Dwight Allison
  • The Andrew P. Barowsky Foundation
  • Paula Kazon Bentinck-Smith and Peter Bentinck-Smith
  • Mr. Michael Boyson and Mrs. Nancy Grant
  • The Francis Hollis Brain Foundation
  • The Brooks Family Foundation
  • Ms. Laura Burns
  • The Garcia-Canning Family Foundation
  • Chilton Furniture
  • Sam L. Cohen Foundation
  • Dahlia Fund
  • The Edward E. Ford Foundation
  • Taffy Field
  • Robert Gips and Karen Harris
  • Jean Hoffman
  • The Hudson Foundation
  • The Jackson Family
  • Maine Humanities Council
  • Mitchell Newlin
  • John Newlin and Patty Carton
  • Mr. and Mrs. Greg Powell
  • The Rothschild Foundation, Inc.
  • Robert Rowse and Colette Twigg-Rowse
  • Deborah Sampson Shinn
  • Christopher and Anne Smith
  • P.W. Sprague Memorial Foundation
  • Unum
  • Margo Walsh
  • Joe and Carol Wishcamper
  • New Civic K12
  • Nellie Mae Education Foundation
  • Anonymous (2)