Gabriela Alcalde | Executive Director

Contact for: Tribal Communities
Galcalde@sewallfoundation.org

Gabriela is a public health leader with 20+ years of experience and commitment to equity and social justice. Gabriela joined the team of the Sewall Foundation as Executive Director in the summer of 2019 and in this capacity leads the integration of environmental, human and animal health and welfare as the foundation works to center equity and community voices in all of their work and strategies.

Prior to joining the Sewall Foundation, Gabriela served as the first Managing Director for Equity and Health at Richmond Memorial Health Foundation (RMHF) and as Vice-President for Policy and Program at the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. Gabriela has worked in the philanthropic, academic, government, nonprofit and grassroots sectors throughout her career and served in various volunteer capacities to promote equity.

She earned a DrPH in health administration at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an MPH in maternal and child health at Boston University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Louisville. A native of Lima, Peru, she currently lives in Maine with her husband, children and pets.

Tom Boutureira | Community Partner

Contact for: KATAHDIN REGION, WASHINGTON COUNTY, NATURE-BASED EDUCATION
tboutureira@sewallfoundation.org

Tom joined the Sewall Foundation in January 2016 and brings with him a collection of experiences in community outreach, natural resource conservation, program development, and nonprofit management. From the clam flats of Downeast Maine to the Andean valleys of Bolivia, he has developed a quiet style of leadership that supports and promotes the work of partners and seeks ways to remove barriers that impede the health and resiliency of our human and ecological communities.

For the past decade, he has led efforts in Maine through his work with the Downeast Coastal Conservancy and The Conservation Fund and his focus on blending conservation and recreation with other community priorities such as health, education, economic development, and agriculture. Prior to returning to Maine, Tom worked with the Peace Corps and USAID in Bolivia where he partnered with rural communities to increase irrigation for farming and reduce waterborne illness through watershed protection and water quality improvements.

Tom is a graduate of the University of Maine at Machias and received their Young Alumni Award in 2014 for “his dedicated service to protect the natural environment and resources for future generations and his commitment to civic engagement”. Tom lives in Freeport with his wife (Chloe), two boys (Arlo and Darwin), and dog (Myrtle).

Laura Dover | Information and Design Manager

ldover@sewallfoundation.org

Laura has been with the Sewall Foundation since February 2013 and brings to her position a background in information management, grant management, nonprofit operations, communications, and design. Prior to joining the Foundation, Laura worked as a footwear developer, grant writer, office manager, art teacher, and program coordinator for children and teens with disabilities.

Laura is an artist and has had numerous shows in Southern Maine of her prints, paintings, and photographs, in addition to musical performances. Originally from various places “out west,” she attended the University of Maine earning degrees in Art History and Art Education, and studied art history and painting in Aix-en-Provence, France. She is an avid reader, backyard gardener, and aspiring ballerina. She works remotely and lives in Nashville, TN, with her husband, Keith, and their cat, Buster.

Nikki Evans | Human Resources and Operations Manager

nevans@sewallfoundation.org

Nikki joined the Sewall Foundation in November 2017. Nikki brings to the foundation a strong background in customer service and administrative support. She previously was the Administrative Manager at Gawron Turgeon Architects, Director of Customer Service for Sebago Footwear and Sales Operation Manager for DeLorme Mapping.

She and her husband Lester were able to fulfill one of the items on their “bucket list” when they purchased and operated the Brewster House Bed and Breakfast in Freeport Maine for 5 fun-filled years. Nikki volunteers for a number of organizations in the greater Portland area and serves on the Vestry of Trinity Episcopal church. She enjoys traveling and long weekends in New York City. Supporting local theater, walking, knitting, baking and following her dream of dreams of one day playing the piano successfully fill her leisure time.

Kristina Kalolo | Community Partner

Contact for: Food Systems
Kkalolo@sewallfoundation.org

Kristina (she/her) joined the Sewall Foundation in October 2023. She is passionate about building community, social justice, and equitable food systems. Most recently, she was the Program Manager for the MaineHealth Food Pantry at Maine Medical Center. She also worked as the Markets Manager for the Somali Bantu Community Association and oversaw the Cumberland County Food Security Council’s child nutrition programming.

Kristina is deeply committed to Maine’s food system and has served on the Steering Committee of Maine Food Strategy, the Leadership Teams for Maine Farm to School Network, Maine Farm to Institution, Food Fuels Learning, and the Ending Hunger by 2030 Cumberland County Core Team. Kristina also participated in Food Solutions New England’s Network Leadership Institute and the National Farm to School Network’s Racial Equity in Evaluation Advisory Group. She received her B.A. in Anthropology, Sociology, and International Studies from Elmira College, her M.A. in International Development and Social Change from Clark University, and is a certified mediator

Kristina lives in Portland with her partner, Kenny. She loves practicing yoga and meditation, walking in the woods, reading, drinking tea, and studying herbalism.

Lauress Wilkins Lawrence | Community and Equity Learning Partner

Contact for: Lewiston-Auburn, Legacy
llawrence@sewallfoundation.org

Lauress joined the Sewall Foundation in January 2015, after two decades as a faculty member in Religious Studies and director of Multicultural Affairs at Regis College in Weston, Mass. Prior to working at Regis, Lauress served on the pastoral staff of a Catholic parish in Roxbury and was a grant maker at Grants Management Associates in Boston, where she developed skills and expertise in community outreach, social justice, and philanthropy. She graduated from Smith College with a degree in Latin American Studies and completed graduate degrees at Boston University in Pastoral Ministry and in Biblical Studies.

Lauress devotes much of her energy to Sewall’s Healthy People Healthy Places program. She is committed to deep equity and community engagement, with special concern for marginalized communities and for the Earth. She serves on the board of Maine Initiatives and on the Grants Committee of the Maine Health Access Foundation. She also serves on the Editorial Board of the Wisdom Commentary Series, a 58-volume reference resource of feminist biblical interpretation; she is writing vol. 36 in that series, on Joel, Obadiah, and Jonah. Lauress lives in Portland with her husband Mark and their Goldendoodle Teddy.

Thomas Mitchell | Finance and Community Investment Partner

Contact for: Impact Investments
TMitchell@sewallfoundation.org

Thomas is a Community Partner focused on guiding and shaping the Sewall Foundation’s impact investments. He joined the Foundation in 2020 and has spent his career working at the intersection of finance, equitable development and community investment. Most recently, Thomas led economic development lending in New York City for LISC, a nationwide organization that connects communities with financial and technical resources. Prior to LISC, he spent 5 years in Chicago working on financing mission-driven real estate projects in partnership with nonprofits, municipalities, and financial institutions across the country. Thomas attended Binghamton University and graduated with a degree in quantitative finance and economics.

In joining the Foundation, Thomas returns to Maine where he lived for several formative years a decade ago and is joined this time by his wife, Stacy. He enjoys coffee, architecture, and reading and aspires to be a proficient woodworker and photographer.

Megan Shore | Policy and Strategy Director

Contact For: Policy and Advocacy, Animal Welfare
mshore@sewallfoundation.org

Megan’s adult life is heavily influenced by her upbringing in the fishing community of Gloucester, MA where she developed a deep love for the ocean, commitment to community, and respect for the role that natural resources play in the overall well-being of people. After four years in the cornfields of Ohio, where she attended the College of Wooster, Megan returned to New England and has been in Maine ever since.

Megan has worked in the nonprofit field for over 20 years, primarily focusing on fisheries, land conservation, and organizational capacity building. Megan joined the Elmina B. Sewall Foundation in 2010 where she currently serves as the Senior Program Officer. Working at the Foundation brings together her diverse interests, skills, and commitment to contributing to the well-being of people, environment, and animals. Megan also serves on the Board of Directors of the Maine Philanthropy Center and the New England Grassroots Environment Fund.

Hiking, paddling, gardening, attempting to play fiddle, and messing about with two kids and two dogs tends to keep Megan busy when she’s not in the office. After intermittent attempts over the past thirty years, Megan now enjoys going for regular runs (or, at least, the feeling after the fact).

Lisa Smith | Grants Management Partner

lsmith@sewallfoundation.org

Lisa joined the Sewall Foundation in April 2022 where she currently serves as the Administrative Coordinator.  Previously, Lisa worked in the nonprofit field for more than 25 years, primarily in fundraising and development roles.  Most recently she spent more than 6 years as a grants manager for three philanthropic organizations in Yarmouth, Maine. Lisa currently serves on the board of a local senior dog rescue organization.

She and her husband Chris returned to Maine after Chris retired from his twenty-year service in the United States Navy, where they had the opportunity to live in and travel to nearly all four corners of the United States.  Now that they have settled in to civilian life, they are happy not to have to relocate again anytime soon.  Lisa and Chris live in North Yarmouth with their cat, Jax, and enjoy hiking, paddle boarding, kayaking, camping, trail running, mountain and road biking, skate- and alpine skiing, snowshoeing, gardening, and cooking.