As a child, Maureen Drouin loved playing outside—swimming, hiking, fishing, and camping. Now she works to protect Maine’s natural heritage for future generations. As executive director of Maine Conservation Voters, Drouin and her colleagues have quadrupled the political advocacy group’s budget and grown its staff, as well as its partnerships. At Maine Conservation Alliance, an affiliated organization at which she also serves as executive director, Drouin has helped to create the Maine Environmental Priorities Coalition, a partnership of 34 conservation and public health organizations that represent 100,000 collective members. “We are building Maine’s environmental movement into a powerful political force,” says Drouin, referencing the campaign strategies, policy agenda, and accountability measures that she has helped to implement. In the 1990s and 2000s, Drouin drove across Maine’s North Woods from Grand Lake Stream to Greenville as an organizer for the Northern Forest Alliance, identifying the places that were important to local communities and mobilizing community members. She understands that Maine jobs depend on the health of our environment, from fishing and farming to forestry and tourism. At a time when many of the state’s natural resources are at risk due to warming waters, ocean acidification, and downwind pollution, Drouin sees her role as empowering communities and individuals against environmental degradation, protecting the local economy, along with Maine principles. “The values of clean air, water, and land unite us as Mainers,” she says, “regardless of political party.”