History of the Alumni Council
In 2005, nine former recipients of the Mitchell Scholarship came together to form the Alumni Council — a body of Mitchell Scholar Alumni that works to provide resources to Mitchell Institute Alumni and current Mitchell Scholars. The Council also supports the work of the Institute, its programs, and fundraising efforts.The Council is always looking for new members. If you are a Mitchell Scholar Alumni and are interested in the Council, please email Son Nguyen at snguyen925@yahoo.com.
Dakotah Atchinson - (Co-Chair)
Dakotah Atchinson (Woitko) is the 2003 Mitchell Scholar from Fryeburg Academy. She completed a degree in psychology from the University of Southern Maine, with additional coursework in statistics and the sciences. Dakotah is the Development Data Administrator for the Gulf of Maine Research Institute in Portland, where she works to utilize technology to support the development team in both fundraising initiatives and community relations work. She has worked in research and data management for more than 5 years, with prior roles as a toxicology researcher, data analyst and data manager of a nationwide psychiatric research program.
Dakotah has stayed active with the Mitchell Institute and has served on its Alumni Council since 2007. “Senator Mitchell and the Mitchell Institute have played a huge role in shaping who I am as an adult and as a professional. They gave me a chance to grow, and the support and advice I needed to change my career path. They have provided an opportunity to speak and share my experiences, and to become a good role model.” You can contact her at dakotah.atchinson@gmail.com. She is always willing to assist in resume review, career and academic mentoring, or simply to get together and chat!
In her free time Dakotah has spent time volunteering in Honduras, mentoring, doing pro-bono database consulting, and is active in the animal rescue community. She is interested in providing new educational opportunities to Maine students, and in developing sustainable environmental and economic practices. She lives in Windham with her husband Andy and their two precocious pups, Penny and Tucker.
Alex Cornell du Houx - (Co-Chair)
Rep. Alex Cornell du Houx currently serves the people of Brunswick (District 66) in Maine’s House of Representatives. He serves on the Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee, is chair of the Veterans Caucus, and is vice-chair of the National Council of State Legislatures’ Energy and Agriculture Committee and sits on the Criminal Justice Committee. Alex serves on the task force on substance abuse and is a member of the National Council of Environmental Legislatures and Coalition of Legislators for Energy Action Now. He is also a vice-chair of the DNC Veterans Council and member of the DNC Youth Council.
Alex grew up in the small town of Solon and attended Bowdoin College as a George Mitchell Scholar. He joined the Marine Reserves in 2002 and was deployed to Iraq with the Marines’ Alpha Company in 2006 – where he spent a year patrolling the streets in and around Fallujah. After his return, Alex continued his work serving Maine’s communities through community and public service.
Alex led a service trip to Guatemala with the program Safe Passage, to help kids move from working in the city dump to gaining an education. He also worked in Peru to help build playgrounds for children in Lima’s poorest areas. At home in Maine, Alex volunteers and serves on the board of Maine’s Habitat for Humanity and volunteered in local schools for the past six years. He coaches lacrosse and soccer at Brunswick Junior High School and conducted a year of service with AmeriCorps. Alex also chairs the Mitchell Institute's Alumni Council, which works to provide opportunity and access to higher education.
Prior to elected office, Alex worked for the Governors’ Office of Health Policy and Finance. He currently works to promote clean energy and jobs in Brunswick and across Maine and is working to improve veterans’ issues both in Maine and nationwide, including access to higher education and health care. He currently works with the Truman National Security Project on national security and energy issues.
Clinton King - (Secretary)
Clinton King grew up in Jay and attended the University of Maine at Fort Kent as a Mitchell Scholar. After graduating from UMFK in 2004 with a BS degree in Computer Applications Clinton went to work for Northway Bank in Berlin, New Hampshire. He has been working as a PC technical support specialist in the IT Department. Clint's responsibilities include tech support, maintenance, troubleshooting, as well as being the primary point of contact for the company's Intranet site. Clinton has been part of the Mitchell Alumni Council from the beginning, first as Treasurer and now as Secretary. He has helped with the planning of the MILE II event as well as some of the other programs put on by the Mitchell Institute. In 2006 he attended Colorado Technical University Online and received his Masters Degree for Information Security Systems. Clinton also been playing with the local Berlin Jazz group which is a jazz ensemble of 20 members from the area that play in performances throughout the year.
Johann von Hoffmann – (Treasurer)
Johann von Hoffmann is Director of Assignment Strategy with Admissions at Teach For America in New York City, where he has worked since 2010. Johann develops the strategy for placing Teach For America corps members in schools in forty regions around the country as the organization grows rapidly. Prior to joining TFA, Johann worked for McKinsey and Company, a global management consultancy, where he focused on economic development challenges facing its public- and private-sector clients.
In 2008, Johann spent three months on leave from McKinsey working in field management for the Obama for America campaign. As a Regional Get-Out-The-Vote Director in the key Philadelphia suburbs during the general election and a Regional Field Director in Massachusetts for the Super Tuesday primary election, Johann managed paid staff and volunteers to turn-out the vote for Barack Obama.
A 2002 Mitchell Scholar from Orono High School, Johann graduated magna cum laude from Colby College in 2006 with a degree in government. At Colby, Johann produced a documentary film, Town Hall, utilizing the game of bingo to illustrate community life in Central Maine.
Son Nguyen - (Membership Coordinator)
Son Nguyen moved to the USA from Saigon, Vietnam during his teenage years. He attended Bangor High School, and while English was not his first language, he excelled in math and science. During his junior year, Son was selected to attend the "What's an Engineer?" summer program at the University of Maine. Inspired by this introduction to engineering, Son received scholarships, including a Mitchell Scholarship, and studied chemical engineering at UMaine. After college, he worked a couple years in the paper industry in Maine, and then moved over to Hannaford Brothers Co. in southern Maine. He is currently an analyst for Delhaize America, the parent company of Hannaford. "With the financial support from Mitchell Institute, I was able to further my education beyond high school and realized my career goals. Along the way, I have developed great friendships with many Mitchell scholars and staff. It is now my privilege to be involved with the Mitchell Scholar Alumni Council and helping other young people pursue their dreams. Thank you George Mitchell."
Loren Bowley Dow
Loren Bowley Dow is a 2000 Mitchell Scholar from Bonny Eagle High School. Loren was also a Top Scholar award recipient at the University of Maine where she studied English and Secondary Education. While at the UMaine, Loren participated in a student teacher exchange program where she taught in Australia for two months. After graduating, Loren taught English in Maine for five years at both the middle school and high school level. She has recently moved to New Hampshire to teach Humanities at Windham High School. Windham High School is an innovative school that is the first public school in New Hampshire to have one to one laptops for its entire student body. Loren is also a high school field hockey coach and a women's lacrosse official. She has her Master's in Reading and Language from the University of Massachusetts Lowell, and is a certified reading/writing specialist. You can reach her via email at llbowley@hotmail.com
Zach Boyce
Zach Boyce was a 2003 George Mitchell Scholar from Piscataquis Community High School. He graduated from the University of Maine at Orono with honors, a degree in New Media, and double minors in Studio Art and Film. While in college, Zach discovered that he had a strong passion for the arts, particularly cinematography and graphic design. This motivated him to pursue a career at Unum, voted the best place to work in Maine. Today, he continues his professional development in the areas of filmmaking, photography, and web design. He also moonlights as a videographer for a lifestyle and wedding boutique photography studio. In his free time, Zach can be found pointing a camera at something, running in downtown Portland, or experimenting with a newly-discovered recipe.
Shelly Chasse-Johndro
Shelly Chasse-Johndro of St. Agatha is a 2000 Mitchell Scholar. She graduated with a Bachelors of Science from the University of Maine at Farmington and a Master of Education from the University of Maine. Shelly is the Associate Director of Project Opportunity and teaches the English as a Second Language endorsement courses for in-service and pre-service teachers at the University of Maine. In addition, Shelly serves as a member of the Maine Educational Assessment (MEA) and New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) Bias and Sensitivity Committee through the State of Maine Department of Education. As a member of the University of Maine's Diversity Leadership Institute (UMDLI), Shelly cultivates opportunities to understand, appreciate, support and strengthen the diversity of the University of Maine's community. Also, she volunteers her time as President for the Northern New England Teachers of English for Speakers of Other Languages (NNETESOL) Executive Board. Shelly is the lead individual of the Mathematics for TESOL forum though the Global Education Association of TESOL. The forum is for educators interested in the effects of language acquisition, instructional strategies, and culture in the teaching and learning of mathematics concepts. Shelly can be contacted via email at shelly.chasse@maine.edu.
Alex Gaeth
Alex Gaeth is a Mitchell Scholar Alumnae and Colby College graduate with a major in Education and Human Development and minor in Administrative Science. In 2005, he returned to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Midcoast Maine, where he was a mentor while in high school, as Executive Director. Since that time the team at BBBS of Midcoast Maine has more than tripled the number of children served and nearly tripled revenue. Recently, the agency received approval to expand into Penobscot County, with a 3 year strategic plan which will nearly double agency programming. Alex is also active in his community as a member of the Damariscotta-Newcastle Rotary and a former high school basketball coach. He lives in Nobleboro with his fiancee Alison and puppy Sophie.
Jason Long
Jason Long is in his sixth year teaching at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School. He grew up in South Portland, and attended Bowdoin College as a Mitchell Scholar. While in college Jason remained very active with the Mitchell Institute by attending fundraisers, serving as the Institute's summer intern, and receiving financial and networking support with various government internships. After graduating in 2005, Jason moved to western Maine to begin his career in public education thanks in part to his relationship with Mitchell Institute Board Member Duke Albanese. Active in his district, Jason serves on numerous committees, acts as adviser to the National Honor Society, and regularly volunteers as an announcer or performer for community events. In 2008, Jason served as SAD 17's first exchange teacher, traveling to teach and live in Jinhua, China for a semester. In addition to being a MIAC member, Jason is newly a member of the Mitchell Institute's Board of Directors, and serves on the Oxford County Committee of the Maine Community Foundation as well. When not found whistling in the hallways of his high school, Jason can be found with his bride-to-be Allison, reading non-fiction or enjoying a good baseball game.
Michele Martin (Savage)
Michele Martin was the 1999 Mitchell Scholar from Scarborough High School. She graduated from the University of Maine in 2003 with a major in Journalism. After graduation, Michele worked for a small newspaper, then was hired at TD Bank, where she is currently the Vice President of Corporate Sponsorships. She is also a member of the Mitchell Institute Alumni Council.
"The Mitchell Institute opened many doors for me as a college student and a working professional. By being a Mitchell Scholar, I gained access to internship opportunities, on- and off-campus events, community service initiatives and networking functions. It has also been great to be identified with the Mitchell Institute -- and to make lasting connections with other Scholars who have similar goals.
In my role as a Mitchell Scholar Alumni, I now want to make the Mitchell Institute proud and show them a strong return on their investment in me. The Mitchell Institute has created a solid network of Scholars, and they will be a tremendous asset to the state of Maine."
Carrie McGilvery Logan
Carrie McGilvery Logan grew up in Yarmouth and attended Bowdoin College as a Mitchell Scholar. After graduating from Bowdoin in 2000, Carrie joined the Teach For America ("TFA") program, where she spent the following four years teaching third grade in rural Louisiana and Houston, Texas. Following her tenure with TFA, Carrie attended the University of Maine School of Law, graduating in 2007. During her time at Maine Law, Carrie was co-president of the Maine Association for Public Interest Law, was a member of the Women's Law Assiciation, practiced as a student attorney in the Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic, contributed time to the Volunteer Lawyers Project, and participated in the Bernstein Fellowship where she clerked for several York County District Court judges during the summer of 2005. Carrie is currently a business, real estate, and public finance attorney with the Portland law firm of Preti Flaherty Beliveau & Pachios, LLP. She lives in an old farmhouse in Portland with her husband, Scott (also a Mitchell alum), and her son, Selwyn.
Megan Patey
Megan Patey is a 2004 Mitchell Scholar from Kennebunk High School. She graduated from Bates College in 2008 with a degree in Biochemistry. While at school she was the chief of Bates Emergency Medical Services,
an all volunteer Maine licensed EMS service. She was also an Aesopleader, leading first year students up Mt. Katahdin, and served on the Trustee's advisory committee. Following Bates, Megan worked at the Norris Cotton Cancer Center at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center coordinating phase II-III pharmaceutical, NIH and investigator-initiated clinical trials for hematologic malignancies. Megan is currently a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania pursing an advanced practice nursing degree in women's health. When she's not running around the hospital, she's running in road races and cheering on the Red Sox.