The Abbe Museum Welcomes New Trustees

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The Abbe Museum has added nine new Trustees to its Board of Directors, bringing the total number of Trustees to 21. The new appointees assumed their roles on September 30, 2021. Please join us in welcoming this impressive group to our team!

We invite you to learn more about each appointee by clicking the “+” icon next to thier name below.

 

  • Dr. Jane Anderson is Associate Professor of Anthropology and Museum Studies and a Global Fellow in the Engelberg Center for Innovation Law and Policy in the Law School at New York University. Her work is focused on the philosophical and practical problems for intellectual property law and the protection of Indigenous/traditional knowledge resources and cultural heritage in support of Indigenous knowledge and data sovereignty. Jane is the co-founder (with Professor Kim Christen, Washington State University)  of Local Contexts.  Local Contexts (www.localcontexts.org)  is an initiative to support Native, First Nations, Aboriginal, Metis, Inuit and Indigenous communities in the management of intellectual property and cultural heritage specifically within the digital environment. Local Contexts provides legal, extra-legal, and educational strategies (including the TK Labels system) for navigating copyright law and creating new options for Indigenous control over vital cultural heritage.

 
 

  • As Chief Executive Officer of International Partners in Mission (IPM), Joe provides the strategic vision, leadership, and supervision of all activities, programs and staff of this multi-faith, international, non-governmental organization with offices in El Salvador, India, Kenya, and the USA. Joe was appointed a Lecturer in Ethics at Yale Divinity School in 2015 and since 2016 has served as the Pastor of Seaside UCC in Northeast Harbor, ME. A resident of Mt. Desert, Maine, Joe is married to Alyne Kemunto Cistone, a Kenyan human rights attorney, and is the proud father of Francesca, JJ, and Kemy.

 
 

  • Lee Ann Francis has taught at Indian island school for 19 years, where she teaches primarily Native American studies and Wabanaki languages, she also serves on the school’s Executive leadership team. She is a published author; her most recent is the children’s book Kunu’s Basket. Lee Ann is also a Penobscot Nation council member. She and her Passamaquoddy husband, Zou Francis, have three Wabanaki children.

 
 

  • Julia Gray is a museum professional and archaeologist who lives in Orland, Maine. She is the executive director at the Wilson Museum in Castine (starting on Sept. 11, 2021). Prior to taking on this new adventure, Julia was part of the Abbe team for more than 17 years, working in collections, exhibits, education, and facilities. For the last few years, she had her own consulting business, Riverside Museum Solutions. She makes her home on the banks of the Narramissic River in the Penobscot homeland, with her husband John and her two dogs, Marley and Maisie.

 
 

  • Mrs. Natalie Dana-Lolar is Passamaquoddy/Penobscot by heritage and ancestral lines. She grew up on Motahkomikuhk - Indian Township, Maine. She is a Ph.D. degree graduate student - at the University of Maine in Anthropology and Environmental Policy. She draws on ancestral inspiration and passion; that passion is for the Wabanaki people, their history, and their future understanding of archeological importance around Indigenous voice and presence and the understanding of past Indigenous lifeways both within and outside of contemporary Wabanaki communities. She is the wife of Penobscot Tribal Member - Kyle Lolar and mother of 3 exceptional children, their names are Susep, Aseli and Neyanna.

 
 

  • Brenda Dana Lozada works at Indian Township School at Motahkomikuk. She grew up at Peter Dana Point, studied at Lee Academy and at Washington County Community College, and now lives in Princeton, ME.

 
 

  • Matthew A. Polstein, of Millinocket, is a Maine native and the owner and founder of New England Outdoor Center. A registered Maine guide, he is considered a pioneer of Maine whitewater rafting and is a passionate supporter of natural and economic sustainability. He served on the Governor’s Nature-based Tourism Initiative Task Force, the Governor’s Task Force on Natural Resource-based Industries, America Outdoors, and Millinocket Town Council. He currently is developing Ktaadn Resorts, where guests will be able to meet and see the work of local artisans, bakers, potters, weavers, farmers, and others. He serves on the board of Maine Community Foundation, and is vice-chair of MCF’s Penobscot County Committee.

 
 

  • From Houlton, Maine, and a member of the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians (Wolastoqiyik), I attended Bates College in Lewiston, ME and received a Bachelor’s in Anthropology/Archaeology. From there, I worked with the National Museum of the American Indian as a resident curator for a year and a half. After that, I did CRM work down in the DC area, around historical sites. In August/September 2020, I became the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (THPO) for my tribe. Around the same time, I started a Master’s program in Archaeology at the University of New Brunswick at Fredericton.

 
 

  • Andy is Executive Director of Stanley-Whitman House, a historic house, museum and living history center in the land of the Tunxis or what is now known as Farmington, Connecticut. Prior to this he was Interim Executive Director and Curator of the Ogunquit Museum of American Art, and Director of Aucocisco Galleries in Portland, Maine. Andy currently serves on the boards of the Maine Historical Society and the Rotary of Farmington. He previously served on the boards of the Tides Institute & Museum of Art, Ogunquit Museum of American Art, Maine College of Art, the Quimby Family Foundation, Portland Arts and Cultural Alliance, and was a founder of Portland's First Friday Art Walk. Andy studied art history and studio art at the University of Maine and holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Maine College of Art. he is married to David G. Whaples. They reside in New Britain, CT and have a summer home in Perry, ME.