2023 Emily Farley Award Recipient
A smiling Jill Ward (holding the award bowl in the photo) has been the president of the LWVME since 2015 and the driving force behind the immense changes that the LWVME has implemented recently. As if this wasn’t enough to keep her busy, she is also a law professor and Director of the University of Maine School of Law’s Center for Youth Policy and Law. She is a leading advocate for juvenile justice reform in Maine and nationally, and she’s raising two kids.
Jill has been described as a visionary leader with the practical skills and tenacity to move our 100+ year organization into the 21st century — all to make sure that the work we do makes a difference.
As LWVME president, Jill ushered the League through a ground-breaking strategic planning process. She challenged League leaders to think big as we considered our future — not just our goals and activities, but how we look at our work and the difference it makes in the world. How we engage in the world to further our mission. How we can be sure our work is making a difference. She also knew that the processes and norms that made the League successful in the previous century must evolve to meet the challenges of the current century.
The result was a wildly ambitious, extremely aspirational plan that drew a lot of excitement and a lot of skepticism. It called for an enormous increase in capacity, one that could only be achieved by significantly increasing our budget, hiring an Executive Director, and meeting the many organizational challenges that such a big transformation would create. The key to success was collaboration with long-time ally, Maine Citizens for Clean Elections. Together we created something bigger than the sum of its parts. Together we created Democracy Maine. Five years in, it’s clear we are bigger, better, and stronger.
A long-time League leader, Ann Luther, credits Jill with opening a new and dramatically more impactful chapter for our League. Jill has provided steady, unwavering leadership throughout our Democracy Maine transition. She kept her eye on the prize, employing her own experience and organizational expertise to clear every hurdle. She sees the big picture, takes the long view, and empowers all of us to do our part to achieve big results. We are a fully staffed, professionally run statewide organization with a budget, increased membership, and higher profile to match.
The words from fellow Portland League and state board member Melissa Murphy sum it up well: As someone who worked with Emily Farley, I can say that … Jill …perfectly represents the evolution from Emily’s volunteer-driven League to today’s professional organization. Both models were so effective and reflective of their times. Jill’s leadership during the transition was central to its success and I think Emily would be very proud of the continuing impact of the organization she loved.
Thank-you, Jill, for your vision and determination to help us all get there.