Ekhlas Ahmed is a refugee and activist from Sudan, a teacher at Westbrook Middle School and the vice president and co-founder of Darfur Youth of Tomorrow. At Maine Live, Ekhlas told the story of her journey to Maine and asks

Chris Kast is a brand strategist at The Brand Company. After a life-altering stroke at the age of 55, Chris worked for months in rehabilitation at Goodwill Northern New England’s NeuroRehab Center, learned how to ask for help, and most

Artist and writer Kifah Abdulla moved the crowd to its feet during his September Maine Live talk. Abdulla recounts the story of his more than eight years as a prisoner of war in Iran. He describes the heat, the hunger, the torture,

In his Maine Live talk, photographer Trent Bell discusses his childhood in a conservative, religious, cultural bubble, his eventual loss of faith due to overwhelming cognitive dissonance and his journey across the country to search and discern openly and honestly

Mark Curdo currently does creative branding and promotions for Shipyard Brewing Co., but you may know him from his time as a DJ on 94.3 WCYY. In his Maine Live talk he tells of the compassion and kindness he received

Reza Jalali is the coordinator of the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs at the University of Southern Maine. In his Maine Live talk, Jalali talks about growing up in Iran, his journey to Portland as a refugee during the Iran–Iraq

Kate Shaffer is the founder of Black Dinah Chocolatiers, an award-winning artisanal chocolate-making company founded on Isle au Haut. In her Maine Live talk, she tells the enchanting story of how a raffle ticket and an imaginary box of chocolate

Kate Merchant Snyder is the executive director of the Portland Education Foundation. In her Maine Live talk Kate discusses her decision of whether to send her twin daughters to private or public school, the negative perceptions she’s encountered of Portland’s

Dora Anne Mills is the director of the Center for Excellence in Health Innovation at the University of New England. In her Maine Live talk Dr. Mills tells how a medical missionary trip to India inspired her to focus on