Victoria Morrill

50 StoriesAIMS HIGH AmeriCorpsLearningWorks AfterSchoolLearningWorks YouthBuildStaff
January 01, 1970

Victoria (Tori) Morrill joined the LearningWorks team in 2014. She currently serves as the Academic Program Coordinator of Youth Building Alternatives (YBA). However, if you ask her or the young adults in the program, Tori is their “Vice Principal.” Tori graduated from UMaine Farmington, where she earned a degree in Elementary Education. Before joining the […]

Will Kilbreth

50 StoriesThe Board
January 01, 1970

By day, Will Kilbreth organizes teams of tech savvy people to create behind the scenes systems that manage data and information using technology. His background as a student of philosophy informs his tech skills, positioning him to lead overall strategy for a large organization. Currently, he is the Chief Information Officer at Maine Community Health Options, responsible for the organization’s overall technical strategy. For the past ten years, he has also served as a LearningWorks board member and for many years, as our board chair. Will’s unique blend of skills – big picture thinking, a strategic mindset, and a capacity for asking the right questions – have served LearningWorks well.

Lesley MacVane

50 StoriesLearningWorks YouthBuildThe Board
January 01, 1970

By seeing our students as they truly are and sharing their stories with the world, Lesley helped amplify our mission and make it visible in the community. It’s not easy to share compelling information about young people struggling in the traditional education system, but Lesley made it possible. She brought in countless friends, family, and supporters to see what she saw – hope, safety, support, and possibility – and created a community of donors, volunteers, and staff at LearningWorks that we will benefit from indefinitely. Thank you, Lesley, for all you have done to make LearningWorks what it is today.

Billie + Dave Kull

50 StoriesEnglish Language + LiteracyHomepage StoriesVolunteer
January 01, 1970

Billie and Dave Kull are a retired couple who are in their second year of teaching in the English Language + Literacy Program (EL+LP) at LearningWorks.  When they moved to Portland from Arizona a few years ago, they began looking for volunteer opportunities. They had a long history of collaborating on projects, so they wanted to do something together and were interested in serving their community utilizing their areas of expertise.  They found LearningWorks.

Lee Urban

50 StoriesLearningWorks AfterSchool
January 01, 1970

Three years ago, Lee Urban – a former lawyer and elementary school teacher – decided that he wanted to spread the joy that he feels when playing the ukulele.  He saw the potential for the instrument to do good in his community.  He formed the non-profit Ukuleles Heal the World and, through a common connection, […]

Julie Stone

50 StoriesLearningWorks YouthBuildStaff
January 01, 1970

“There is something refreshing about working with this group of young adults. Many of the students have overcome some of the greatest challenges and barriers, yet they continue to shine and overcome their obstacles.”

Kelly McConnell

50 StoriesLearningWorks AfterSchool
January 01, 1970

We were fortunate to join forces with Kelly McConnell in 2011 through a collaborative partnership between the Maine College’s of Art’s (MECA) Masters of Arts in Teaching program and our LearningWorks Afterschool program for elementary school students. Kelly is currently the Director of Art Education Outreach and an Associate Professor at MECA. Her work involves […]

Julia Ridge and Francina Jordan

50 StoriesEnglish Language + LiteracyVolunteer
January 01, 1970

Julia Ridge has been tutoring LearningWorks student Francina Jordan through our English Language + Literacy program since 2011. Francina came to LearningWorks after her son encouraged her to find a tutoring program. He said, “You’re never too old to learn.” Francina, who has dyslexia, says, “I worked all my life not knowing how to read, […]

Teyonda Hall

50 StoriesEnglish Language + LiteracyStaff
October 02, 2017

Teyonda was our English Language + Literacy Director from 2011-2017. She was equally at home in the board room presenting, in the classroom teaching adult English Language Learners, and in the elementary school hallways, where students referred to her affectionately as “Miss T.”

Constant Kabuyenge

50 StoriesEnglish Language + LiteracyStaff
September 26, 2017

Constant Kabuyenge, an immigrant from Burundi, began working with other new Mainers by volunteering as an assistant teacher, and then lead teacher, in LearningWorks’ English Language + Literacy program. He was inspired by how courageously students were fighting to learn English without complaining about their similar fates.