Eliah Thanhauser
Co-founder | CEO
North Spore
Co-founder | CEO
North Spore
Eliah is a co-founder and the CEO of North Spore. An entrepreneur and true Mainer through and through, he is an expert in greenhouse and organic farm management and ran a small organic farm in Downeast Maine before founding North Spore. These days he oversees operations and business development. He's an avid sailor and musician and always enjoys a good business pitch competition.
Darren Ranco
Professor
University of Maine
Darren J. Ranco, PhD, a citizen of the Penobscot Nation, is a professor of anthropology, chair of Native American programs, and faculty fellow at the Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions at the University of Maine. He has a masters of studies in environmental law from Vermont Law School and a PhD in social anthropology from Harvard University. His research focuses on the ways in which Indigenous Nations resist environmental destruction by using Indigenous science and diplomacies to protect their natural and cultural resources. He teaches classes on Indigenous intellectual property rights, research ethics, environmental justice and tribal governance. As a citizen of the Penobscot Nation, he is particularly interested in how better research relationships can be made between universities, museums, native and non-native researchers, and Indigenous communities.
Professor
University of Maine
Darren J. Ranco, PhD, a citizen of the Penobscot Nation, is a professor of anthropology, chair of Native American programs, and faculty fellow at the Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions at the University of Maine. He has a masters of studies in environmental law from Vermont Law School and a PhD in social anthropology from Harvard University. His research focuses on the ways in which Indigenous Nations resist environmental destruction by using Indigenous science and diplomacies to protect their natural and cultural resources. He teaches classes on Indigenous intellectual property rights, research ethics, environmental justice and tribal governance. As a citizen of the Penobscot Nation, he is particularly interested in how better research relationships can be made between universities, museums, native and non-native researchers, and Indigenous communities.
Morgan Lavoie
COO and editor in chief
Money News Network
COO and editor in chief
Money News Network
Morgan Lavoie is the COO and editor in chief of The Money News Network where she is responsible for producing the network’s slate of content. Before MNN, she was at iHeartMedia, working on some of the company’s most popular podcasts including Minnie Questions with Minnie Driver, Why Am I Telling You This? with Bill Clinton, Just B with Bethenny Frankel, ReWives with Bethenny Frankel, Math and Magic with Bob Pittman, and Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin. Her shows have been critically acclaimed in the New York Times, Deadline, Entrepreneur, Newsweek, Insider, Variety, People, Podcast Magazine and more. She is a Webby honoree.
Zoe Weil
Co-founder | President
Institute for Humane Education
Zoe Weil is the co-founder and president of the Institute for Humane Education (IHE), where she created the first graduate programs (M.Ed., M.A., Ed.D., Graduate Certificate) in comprehensive Humane Education linking human rights, environmental sustainability, and animal protection, offered online through an affiliation with Antioch University. IHE also offers a Solutionary Micro-credential Program for teachers and award-winning teacher resources to help educators and changemakers bring solutionary practices to students and communities so that together we can effectively solve local and global challenges. Zoe is a frequent keynote speaker at education and other conferences and has given six TEDx talks including her acclaimed TEDx, The World Becomes What You Teach. She is the author of seven books including The Solutionary Way; #1 Amazon best seller in the Philosophy and Social Aspects of Education, The World Becomes What We Teach: Educating a Generation of Solutionaries; Nautilus silver medal winner Most Good, Least Harm; Moonbeam gold medal winner Claude and Medea; and Above All, Be Kind: Raising a Humane Child in Challenging Times. Zoe is the 2023 recipient of the Spirit of America award, which honors people who follow their conscience and act against current thinking in order to stand up for equity, freedom, and the American spirit of justice. She was named one of Maine Magazine’s 50 independent leaders transforming their communities and the state and is the recipient of the Unity College Women in Environmental Leadership award. She was also a subject of the Americans Who Tell the Truth portrait series. She holds master’s degrees from Harvard Divinity School and the University of Pennsylvania and was awarded an honorary doctorate from Valparaiso University.
Co-founder | President
Institute for Humane Education
Zoe Weil is the co-founder and president of the Institute for Humane Education (IHE), where she created the first graduate programs (M.Ed., M.A., Ed.D., Graduate Certificate) in comprehensive Humane Education linking human rights, environmental sustainability, and animal protection, offered online through an affiliation with Antioch University. IHE also offers a Solutionary Micro-credential Program for teachers and award-winning teacher resources to help educators and changemakers bring solutionary practices to students and communities so that together we can effectively solve local and global challenges. Zoe is a frequent keynote speaker at education and other conferences and has given six TEDx talks including her acclaimed TEDx, The World Becomes What You Teach. She is the author of seven books including The Solutionary Way; #1 Amazon best seller in the Philosophy and Social Aspects of Education, The World Becomes What We Teach: Educating a Generation of Solutionaries; Nautilus silver medal winner Most Good, Least Harm; Moonbeam gold medal winner Claude and Medea; and Above All, Be Kind: Raising a Humane Child in Challenging Times. Zoe is the 2023 recipient of the Spirit of America award, which honors people who follow their conscience and act against current thinking in order to stand up for equity, freedom, and the American spirit of justice. She was named one of Maine Magazine’s 50 independent leaders transforming their communities and the state and is the recipient of the Unity College Women in Environmental Leadership award. She was also a subject of the Americans Who Tell the Truth portrait series. She holds master’s degrees from Harvard Divinity School and the University of Pennsylvania and was awarded an honorary doctorate from Valparaiso University.
Tracy White
Cartoonist | Teacher
Tracy White is a cartoonist and teacher. Her current book, Unaccompanied: Stories of Brave Teenagers Seeking Asylum tells the true experiences of brave teens fleeing their home countries to seek asylum in the U.S. Based on extensive interviews Tracy helps us understand why some young people would literally risk their lives to seek safety in the US. Each one of them has been backed into a corner where emigration to the US seems like their only hope. Tracy’s first graphic novel, How I Made it to Eighteen: A Mostly True Story was a Bank Street Book of the year, a Yalsa Great Graphic Novel, and a Texas Maverick Graphic Novel. Her webcomics TRACED was nominated twice for an Ignatz and was a TV series for Oxygen TV. When not making comics, she’s a mom, cat wrangler, and daily dark chocolate eater who enjoys nature walks even though she lives in a city
Cartoonist | Teacher
Tracy White is a cartoonist and teacher. Her current book, Unaccompanied: Stories of Brave Teenagers Seeking Asylum tells the true experiences of brave teens fleeing their home countries to seek asylum in the U.S. Based on extensive interviews Tracy helps us understand why some young people would literally risk their lives to seek safety in the US. Each one of them has been backed into a corner where emigration to the US seems like their only hope. Tracy’s first graphic novel, How I Made it to Eighteen: A Mostly True Story was a Bank Street Book of the year, a Yalsa Great Graphic Novel, and a Texas Maverick Graphic Novel. Her webcomics TRACED was nominated twice for an Ignatz and was a TV series for Oxygen TV. When not making comics, she’s a mom, cat wrangler, and daily dark chocolate eater who enjoys nature walks even though she lives in a city
Steve Thomas
Emmy Award-winning TV Host
College of the Atlantic
Steve Thomas is an American author, builder, and emmy award winning television personality. His passion for construction and renovation was ignited by his father, who used to purchase and restore old houses to accommodate their growing family.
He pursued his education at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy. During his college years, Steve supported himself as a licensed painting contractor and carpenter.
Aside from his construction and renovation interests, Steve also has a great passion for the sea. His nautical adventures included sailing a 43-foot wooden sloop from England to San Francisco via the Panama Canal, Galapagos Islands, Marquesas, and Hawaii. His dream of sailing across the Pacific brought him to Satawal, where he learned the ancient technique of star path navigation from Mau Piailug. In 1989, he became the host of PBS series This Old House, remaining in that role until 2003. His expertise extended beyond home renovation, hosting and producing the Save Our History series on The History Channel. Steve Thomas continues to make a significant impact in the world of home improvement, combining his love for construction with his engaging television presence. His legacy includes not only the iconic This Old House but also three books that share his adventures as a sailor and provide valuable insights into designing and renovating houses.
Emmy Award-winning TV Host
College of the Atlantic
Steve Thomas is an American author, builder, and emmy award winning television personality. His passion for construction and renovation was ignited by his father, who used to purchase and restore old houses to accommodate their growing family.
He pursued his education at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy. During his college years, Steve supported himself as a licensed painting contractor and carpenter.
Aside from his construction and renovation interests, Steve also has a great passion for the sea. His nautical adventures included sailing a 43-foot wooden sloop from England to San Francisco via the Panama Canal, Galapagos Islands, Marquesas, and Hawaii. His dream of sailing across the Pacific brought him to Satawal, where he learned the ancient technique of star path navigation from Mau Piailug. In 1989, he became the host of PBS series This Old House, remaining in that role until 2003. His expertise extended beyond home renovation, hosting and producing the Save Our History series on The History Channel. Steve Thomas continues to make a significant impact in the world of home improvement, combining his love for construction with his engaging television presence. His legacy includes not only the iconic This Old House but also three books that share his adventures as a sailor and provide valuable insights into designing and renovating houses.
Peter Breslow
Author | Journalist | Retired NPR Producer
Author | Journalist | Retired NPR Producer
For decades Peter Breslow roamed the planet as a senior producer for NPR’s All Things Considered and Weekend Edition. He has won multiple journalism honors, including two Peabody Awards. For the past two years, he has taught Audio Journalism at COA as a visiting faculty member. Peter grew up in River Edge, New Jersey, worships the music of Muddy Waters and rides his bike whenever he can. He has twin daughters Eden and Danielle, and lives in Washington, DC with his wife Jessica and their dog Sadie.
Anne and Tony Mazlish
Founder | CEO
X-Chair
Mr. Mazlish’s career has been primarily focused on building brands within the retail and direct-to-consumer furniture and healthcare industries. Mr. Mazlish founded and grew a number of brands, including, X-Chair – a direct-to-consumer, wholesale, and b2b office chair company; Healthy Back Store – a chain of specialty stores offering higher-end ergonomic furniture and accessories designed to help relieve back and neck pain; Mavix – a direct-to-consumer ergonomic gaming chair brand, founded in 2020; Svago – a direct-to-consumer and wholesale zero gravity chair brand; Travel-Pal – a self-inflating travel accessory sold through specialty retailers and on Amazon; Sit4Less.com – a direct-to-consumer reseller of Herman Miller products and other office chairs; 1-800-Pillows.com – a retail and direct-to-consumer specialty store concept dedicated to selling sleeping pillows. Mr. Mazlish, through his family company, TAZED Investment Partners, is currently investing in a variety of start-up companies.
Founder | CEO
X-Chair
Mr. Mazlish’s career has been primarily focused on building brands within the retail and direct-to-consumer furniture and healthcare industries. Mr. Mazlish founded and grew a number of brands, including, X-Chair – a direct-to-consumer, wholesale, and b2b office chair company; Healthy Back Store – a chain of specialty stores offering higher-end ergonomic furniture and accessories designed to help relieve back and neck pain; Mavix – a direct-to-consumer ergonomic gaming chair brand, founded in 2020; Svago – a direct-to-consumer and wholesale zero gravity chair brand; Travel-Pal – a self-inflating travel accessory sold through specialty retailers and on Amazon; Sit4Less.com – a direct-to-consumer reseller of Herman Miller products and other office chairs; 1-800-Pillows.com – a retail and direct-to-consumer specialty store concept dedicated to selling sleeping pillows. Mr. Mazlish, through his family company, TAZED Investment Partners, is currently investing in a variety of start-up companies.
Ron Beard
Producer | Host | Professor
University of Maine
Ron Beard is producer and host of Talk of the Towns, which first aired on WERU in 1993 as part of his community building work as an Extension professor with University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Sea Grant. He took all the journalism courses he could fit in while an undergraduate student in wildlife management and served as an intern with Maine Public Television nightly newscast in the early 1970s. Ron is an adjunct faculty member at College of the Atlantic, teaching courses on community development. Ron served on the Bar Harbor Town Council for six years and is currently board chair for the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor, where he has lived since 1975. Look for him on the Allagash River in June, and whenever he can get away, in the highlands of Scotland where he was fortunate to spend two sabbaticals.
Producer | Host | Professor
University of Maine
Ron Beard is producer and host of Talk of the Towns, which first aired on WERU in 1993 as part of his community building work as an Extension professor with University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Sea Grant. He took all the journalism courses he could fit in while an undergraduate student in wildlife management and served as an intern with Maine Public Television nightly newscast in the early 1970s. Ron is an adjunct faculty member at College of the Atlantic, teaching courses on community development. Ron served on the Bar Harbor Town Council for six years and is currently board chair for the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor, where he has lived since 1975. Look for him on the Allagash River in June, and whenever he can get away, in the highlands of Scotland where he was fortunate to spend two sabbaticals.
Todd Little-Siebold
Professor
College of the Atlantic
Todd Little-Siebold is professor of history and Latin American studies and has been at College of the Atlantic since 1997. His undergraduate work in anthropology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (B.A., 1985) provided his initial exposure to Latin America.Returning to school after a stint as a political organizer and carpenter, Todd pursued graduate work in history at U. Mass. (M.A., 1990) and then Tulane University (Ph.D., 1995) focused on the history of Guatemala in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
His doctoral work under the direction of Ralph Lee Woodward was supported by a Fulbright Doctoral Research Grant and examined the regional dimensions of state formation in Guatemala from 1871 to 1945. Many of Todd’s classes explore how power works in society. By looking at varied forms of power in diverse historical and geographical settings, these courses seek to sensitize students to the processes and mechanisms behind the exercise of power and communities’ responses to power.
Professor
College of the Atlantic
Todd Little-Siebold is professor of history and Latin American studies and has been at College of the Atlantic since 1997. His undergraduate work in anthropology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (B.A., 1985) provided his initial exposure to Latin America.Returning to school after a stint as a political organizer and carpenter, Todd pursued graduate work in history at U. Mass. (M.A., 1990) and then Tulane University (Ph.D., 1995) focused on the history of Guatemala in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
His doctoral work under the direction of Ralph Lee Woodward was supported by a Fulbright Doctoral Research Grant and examined the regional dimensions of state formation in Guatemala from 1871 to 1945. Many of Todd’s classes explore how power works in society. By looking at varied forms of power in diverse historical and geographical settings, these courses seek to sensitize students to the processes and mechanisms behind the exercise of power and communities’ responses to power.
Andrew Revkin
Environmental journalist
The Earth Institute, Columbia University Climate School
Andrew Revkin has spent 40 years reporting on environmental challenges and choices, mostly for The New York Times. He began covering global warming in 1988 and never stopped, filing award-winning stories from the North Pole, Amazon rain forest, White House and beyond. A 2006 Guggenheim Fellowship helped him launch his pioneering and award-winning Dot Earth blog at The Times. From 2010 through 2016, he served on the Anthropocene Working Group, the expert body commissioned to weigh evidence humans had become such a force for planetary change that we were creating a new geological epoch. He’s written five books, including “The Burning Season,” a prize-winning biography of slain rain forest defender Chico Mendes that was the basis for the 1994 HBO film of the same name. Revkin helped build programs or courses fostering communication impact at the National Academy of Sciences, Columbia and Pace University and the National Geographic Society, where he is now on the Committee for Research and Exploration. Revkin runs a webcast, Sustain What, that has reached several million viewers through more than 450 episodes. Subscribe to his related newsletter at revkin.substack.com. In spare moments he is a performing songwriter. He lives on the downeast Maine coast with his wife and sometime co-author Lisa Mechaley.
Environmental journalist
The Earth Institute, Columbia University Climate School
Andrew Revkin has spent 40 years reporting on environmental challenges and choices, mostly for The New York Times. He began covering global warming in 1988 and never stopped, filing award-winning stories from the North Pole, Amazon rain forest, White House and beyond. A 2006 Guggenheim Fellowship helped him launch his pioneering and award-winning Dot Earth blog at The Times. From 2010 through 2016, he served on the Anthropocene Working Group, the expert body commissioned to weigh evidence humans had become such a force for planetary change that we were creating a new geological epoch. He’s written five books, including “The Burning Season,” a prize-winning biography of slain rain forest defender Chico Mendes that was the basis for the 1994 HBO film of the same name. Revkin helped build programs or courses fostering communication impact at the National Academy of Sciences, Columbia and Pace University and the National Geographic Society, where he is now on the Committee for Research and Exploration. Revkin runs a webcast, Sustain What, that has reached several million viewers through more than 450 episodes. Subscribe to his related newsletter at revkin.substack.com. In spare moments he is a performing songwriter. He lives on the downeast Maine coast with his wife and sometime co-author Lisa Mechaley.
Ken Hill
Provost
College of the Atlantic
Prior to entering a career in the academic realm, Ken was the program director of an out-patient psychiatric drop-in center that serviced 60-80 clients per day. From there, he went on to join the faculty at Northwest Missouri State University in the Department of Psychology, Sociology, and Counseling. While at Northwest Ken won ten different teaching awards including the universities most prestigious “Tower Service Award” for teaching excellence. While at Northwest, Ken served as a core psychology faculty member, directed the graduate program in school guidance, supervised the Therapeutic Community programs for regional prison systems, and eventually became Chairman of the department. In 1999 Ken came to the College of the Atlantic as the Director of the Educational Studies Program. In 2005 he was named Academic Dean, and in 2019, he was named Provost.
Provost
College of the Atlantic
Prior to entering a career in the academic realm, Ken was the program director of an out-patient psychiatric drop-in center that serviced 60-80 clients per day. From there, he went on to join the faculty at Northwest Missouri State University in the Department of Psychology, Sociology, and Counseling. While at Northwest Ken won ten different teaching awards including the universities most prestigious “Tower Service Award” for teaching excellence. While at Northwest, Ken served as a core psychology faculty member, directed the graduate program in school guidance, supervised the Therapeutic Community programs for regional prison systems, and eventually became Chairman of the department. In 1999 Ken came to the College of the Atlantic as the Director of the Educational Studies Program. In 2005 he was named Academic Dean, and in 2019, he was named Provost.
Palak Taneja
Professor
College of the Atlantic
Palak Taneja is the faculty of literature and writing at the College of the Atlantic. She teaches an array of courses at COA dealing with postcoloniality, identity, belonging, borders, and culture. One of the popular ones, “The World of Ms. Marvel,” is a writing seminar focusing on the Marvel comic book series Ms. Marvel with Pakistan-American teenager Kamala Khan as its superhero. Her research interests include postcolonial literature and theory and digital humanities, with a particular focus on South Asia. She earned her BA and MA from the University of Delhi and her Ph.D. in English Literature with a graduate certificate in Digital Scholarship and Media Studies from Emory University. In her leisure time, she enjoys reading webtoons and watching soccer with her tuxedo lapcat, Syaah.
Professor
College of the Atlantic
Palak Taneja is the faculty of literature and writing at the College of the Atlantic. She teaches an array of courses at COA dealing with postcoloniality, identity, belonging, borders, and culture. One of the popular ones, “The World of Ms. Marvel,” is a writing seminar focusing on the Marvel comic book series Ms. Marvel with Pakistan-American teenager Kamala Khan as its superhero. Her research interests include postcolonial literature and theory and digital humanities, with a particular focus on South Asia. She earned her BA and MA from the University of Delhi and her Ph.D. in English Literature with a graduate certificate in Digital Scholarship and Media Studies from Emory University. In her leisure time, she enjoys reading webtoons and watching soccer with her tuxedo lapcat, Syaah.
Beth Gardiner
Chair of Board of Trustees
College of the Atlantic
Beth Gardiner is an art historian focusing on the trade of Asian export art during the 16th and 17th centuries. Previously, she was the director of a charity for children called the London International Gallery of Children’s Art, where she later served as a trustee. Before leaving New York City for London, she worked at NBC News, where she was a producer for Dateline NBC and won a National Headliner Award. She received her MA from Sotheby’s Institute in London and her AB from Duke University in Art History. At Duke she was awarded the Edward Beneson Prize funding a photo documentary on deaf education in mainland China. Gardiner and her husband, Will, have resided in London for the last 16 years and they happily spend their summers in Bar Harbor, where she serves as chair of COA’s board of trustees.
Chair of Board of Trustees
College of the Atlantic
Beth Gardiner is an art historian focusing on the trade of Asian export art during the 16th and 17th centuries. Previously, she was the director of a charity for children called the London International Gallery of Children’s Art, where she later served as a trustee. Before leaving New York City for London, she worked at NBC News, where she was a producer for Dateline NBC and won a National Headliner Award. She received her MA from Sotheby’s Institute in London and her AB from Duke University in Art History. At Duke she was awarded the Edward Beneson Prize funding a photo documentary on deaf education in mainland China. Gardiner and her husband, Will, have resided in London for the last 16 years and they happily spend their summers in Bar Harbor, where she serves as chair of COA’s board of trustees.
