Our Team
Staff
Dana Leeper - Statewide Organizer - Dana was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia. While in college at Hollins University
she chaired the Environmental Club, was a Head Resident Assistant and was President of the Service Learning House. After receiving aBachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies and minor in Social Work she worked as a campus organizer in Connecticut. While working on two college campuses Dana organized and trained students around social justice and environmental issues. Most recently she was an AmeriCorps VISTA in Concord, New Hampshire where she worked with refugees and immigrants then later with homeless and migrant youth. The desire to make a positive impact on the world while teaching others the skills to make a difference on issues they care about is what lead Dana to the League of Young Voters.
Mary Alice Scott – Portland Organizer – Mary Alice is originally from Fairfax, Virginia. She began to learn about politics at a young 
age, and chose to major in Government in college to learn more about how to affect change from inside the political system. She worked as an organizer during college, at a non-partisan voter education organization called F&M Votes. She also lived in her campus’ Sustainability House, where she cultivated a passion for the environment and sustainable agriculture. Following college, she moved to Portland, and worked at Creative Trails. Mary Alice has worked with different communities and cultures, but her desire to help other young people learn more about how to impact change in their communities is what led her to working at the League.
Steering Committee
Kaiulani Anderson-Andrei is originally from Columbus, Indiana. After a slew of visits, and finally her husband coming to work in Portland, Kaiulani graduated from Indiana State University with a BS in English, and moved to Maine in December of 2011. She originally (begrudgingly) started into Politics after her husband convinced her to join Indiana State’s College Democrats and has been going since. Kaiulani then interned with the Indiana Democratic Party out of Terre Haute, Indiana; working to win local elections in that city. From marriage equality, to her favorite topic social advocacy she has been trying to help the world become a little better (and peaceful). Kaiulani currently works as a Preschool Teacher in Scarborough. Her likes include; traveling, knitting, reading, cuddling, singing, and of course her ultimate love; Theater.
Patrick Banks has a degree in journalism from the University of Wyoming and has been involved with theLeague for about five years. Perhaps best known as the original “Dump Hunter” (aka founding author of The Bollard’s popular “That’s My Dump!” column), Patrick is also a passionate advocate of sustainable urbanism, mass transit, and affordable housing. Patrick sometimes spends his free time on craft projects such as odd little sculptures made out of bobby pins, Mod-Podge, and tissue paper.
Teddy Burrage is a Maine native who, after attending Southern Maine Community College for Behavior Health and Human Services, went on to work with elderly and disabled populations. A regular volunteer for local organizations, and political campaigns, Teddy spent this summer working on the League of Young Voters’ Leadership Team to win marriage equality in Maine, as well as elect a progressive majority to the statehouse. Teddy enjoys everything to do with Maine, and Portland, and hopes to make them better places to live. He tries to live by the fundamental idea that if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. He also enjoys being in the kitchen, spending time outdoors, writing, and being cheeky with friends.
Delia Gorham has been rabble rousing across Maine her entire life, starting as a toddler marching on picket lines with her union family. Organizing activists came naturally as she lobbied fellow students in elementary school mock-elections, campaigned against George W. Bush before she was eligible to vote and started a political activism club in high school. Delia earned a double major from Smith College in Government and American Studies and for the past 5 years has been working in the progressive, non-profit sector on numerous electoral and issue campaigns. There’s always an underrepresented right to fight for but in her free time Delia is a fan of New England’s music scene and spending time with family, friends and adorable puppies.
Wells Lyons, Chair, has been an activist for most of his life. At Middlebury College he organized anti-war demonstrations up and down the East Coast with Middlebury United for Peace and Justice. At Loyola University Chicago School of Law he helped to establish the school’s chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, succeeded in getting the administration to offer a Critical Legal Studies course and worked on issues surrounding long-term solitary confinement in Illinois prisons. He was also Editor-in-Chief of the Loyola International Law Review. While in law school, Wells worked for Ralph Nader’s Citizen Works on issues of payday loan reform, as well as for the Citizen Advocacy Center, where he advocated for the free speech rights of high school journalism students.
Ryan Mack grew up in Houlton, Maine, and recently graduated with honors from the University of Southern Maine where he earned a B.A. in Sociology. Ryan attended USM as a Mitchell Scholar and then interned at the Senator George J. Mitchell Scholarship Research Institute. During his time at USM, he founded USM’s Sustainable Food Student Group and volunteered for the No on 1-Marriage Equality campaign in 2009. Ryan enjoys dancing, eating and singing in the choir at the Cathedral Church of St. Luke on State Street.
Jenny McEdward is a stylist and education coordinator at Akari in Portland, Maine. Before she cut hair, Jenny focused on urban planning and green space preservation while getting her degree in Parks and Recreation. Joining the league allows Jenny to bring her passions to action. She loves hiking, running, cooking, and spending time with her family and friends.
Ashley Phaneuf fell in love with Portland, Maine in 2008 on a short vacation that never ended. After the lazy beach days and fun summer nights were over, she jumped into activism to meet people. Meeting people is what she did! From campaigns for local legislators to collecting signatures for hot button issues, you can usually find her posting signs, marching down the street, or registering voters. Formerly known as the Student Body President of the University of Southern Maine, Ashley has kept her passion for getting students active and engaged after she received her degree in communication on issues such as Same Day Voter Registration, Higher Education funding, and other progressive issues. Ashley got involved with the league when she was a co-coordinator for Portland 101, an introductory 9 session course on local government in Portland, Maine. Ashley’s long term goals include working towards a world where a higher number of women and LGBTQ identifying individuals are elected into positions of leadership. Ashley currently works for Opportunity Maine as a Regional Volunteer Organizer for a clean energy initiative, and in her free time enjoys watching documentaries and always keeping food for the squirrels that live in her back yard.
Election Committee
The League of Young Voters Elections Committee is an 11 member group comprised of 10 young voters from Portland and a League organizer.
Every election cycle the “EC” (as the cool kids call it) researches, vets and recommends candidates for endorsement. Their results are published in the Portland Voters Guide, set to hit the streets one month before Election Day.
This year’s committee includes:
Zack Anchors- Chair
Patrick Banks
Christian Muhitira
Nisha Swinton
Kaiulani Anderson-Andre
Emma Halas-O’Connor
Erica Alt
