To get in touch with staff, please email info at mclu dot org. This email account is checked every day.
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Executive Director Shenna Bellows  |
Shenna Bellows has served as the Executive Director of the Maine Civil Liberties Union since March of 2005. She returned home to Maine, where she grew up, after spending two years as a National Field Organizer at the ACLU Legislative Office in Washington, D.C. In Washington, Shenna was a leader in post-9/11 issues, developing a field program around the PatriotAct, as well as working to defeat several constitutional amendments that would have undermined the criminal justice system, freedom of speech, and LGBT rights.
Prior to joining the ACLU family, Shenna served as AmericaCorps VISTA at Community IMPACT! in Nashville, TN, launching neighborhood-based, youth-centered programming in economically and racially diverse neighborhoods. She also served in the Peace Corps in La Arena de Chitre, Panama, where she facilitated the development and execution of a micro-credit lending program for artisan groups. From 1997 – 1999 Bellows worked as a researcher and recruiter for Economists Incorporated, a privately held economic consulting firm specializing in microeconomic analysis in antitrust, regulatory and legal contexts in Washington, DC. She graduated magna cum laude from Middlebury College in Vermont, with a degree in International Politics and Economics. Shenna is active in the Maine Freedom to Marry Campaign, the Maine Immigrants Rights Coalition, and the Maine Choice Coalition. |
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Legal Director Zachary Heiden  |
Zach Heiden joined the MCLU staff as the first-ever staff attorney in February 2004 and was appointed Legal Director in March 2007. A graduate of Bowdoin College, the University of Florida, and the Boston College Law School, Heiden has served as Law Clerk to the Hon. Susan Calkins, Associate Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, and has worked as a Litigation Associate at Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault, LLP in Boston. |
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Field Director Brianna Twofoot  |
Brianna Twofoot is the MCLU Field Director. She is passionately dedicated to racial equity and reproductive freedom. She completed a B.S. in Political Science at Bryn Mawr College, while serving as Vice President of her student government and tutoring in West Philadelphia through Americorps. After graduation, she taught for two years in a rural community in the Mississippi Delta through Teach For America. While teaching in Mississippi, she co-founded the Delta Student Health Initiative to address issues of reproductive rights and comprehensive sexuality education in Mississippi's public schools. She then worked as a charter school administrator in Indianapolis, Indiana for Lighthouse Academies. She is the treasurer of the Maine Choice Coalition, and works with the Maine Immigrant Rights Coalition and the Women's Leadership Action Coalition. She sits on the board of the Maine Women's Policy Center. |
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Public Policy Counsel Alysia Melnick  |
Alysia Melnick is the Public Policy Counsel for the MCLU. Alysia was previously employed at the Center for Prevention of Hate Violence and the Institute for Child and Family Policy at the Muskie School of Public Service where she conducted research on homelessness, domestic violence and sexual assault policies. Additionally, she has worked for the Drug Policy Alliance, the Federal Defender's Office, the United Nations Assisted Khmer Rouge Tribunal, and as a case manager for a Court Appointed Special Advocate program. Melnick is an Honors graduate of Tufts University with a Master's Degree from the Muskie School of Public Service as well as a law degree from Northeastern University. |
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Development Associate Edward Reilly  |
Edward Reilly joined the MCLU as Development Assistant in August of 2007. He earned a B.A. in History from Loyola University in Chicago. After graduation, Edward worked in residential construction focusing on historic home rehabiliation and restoration. A longtime supporter of the ACLU, Edward became involved with the MCLU as a volunteer after moving to Maine from Detroit, Michigan. |
| Assistant to the Directors | TBA |