AUGUSTA - The Council of State Governments (CSG) has announced that Rep. Amy Roeder, D-Bangor, and Rep. Laura Supica, D-Bangor, have been selected to participate in the 2023 CSG Henry Toll Fellowship. Bringing together 47 individuals from 29 states and U.S. territories and from all branches of state government, the Henry Toll Fellowship is the nation's premier leadership development program for state government officials.
"I am honored to have been chosen as a 2023 Toll Fellow, and I am looking forward to connecting with leaders from across the country who are engaged in work to better their communities, especially as it relates to issues of labor and housing," said Roeder. "As House chair of the Labor and Housing Committee, I have worked hard to help strengthen and protect Maines workforce by ensuring wage transparency as well as fair access to severance pay and unemployment benefits. I am excited to learn from other leaders who share the mission to support workers and the community-based businesses that employ them."
"Experiencing the effects of acute housing and substance abuse crises in my community first drew me to this work in 2020," said Supica. "This session, as I've stepped into a leadership role as House chair of the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee, I have been incredibly grateful to the women who have supported me along the way. I am looking forward to continuing to grow as a leader through the 2023 Toll Fellowship program, and I am especially thankful for the opportunity to learn from leaders with diverse backgrounds, passions and experience, which will help me better serve my constituents and the people of Maine."
Since 1986, CSG has annually convened a new class of CSG Henry Toll Fellows at its national headquarters in Lexington, Kentucky, for an intensive leadership boot camp. The program's sessions are designed to stimulate personal assessment and growth, empower leaders to collaborate and communicate more effectively and provide nonpartisan networking and relationship-building opportunities. This year's session will take place in August.
"While the CSG Henry Toll Fellows come from every region of our nation, from both political parties and all three branches of state government, they share one thing in common- they are all people of purpose with a passion for public service," said CSG Executive Director/CEO David Adkins, a former Kansas state senator and 1993 CSG Henry Toll Fellow alumnus. "Toll Fellows are selected based on their demonstrated commitment to solve problems, to work collaboratively to get things done, and their belief that state government can and must be a force for good."
Toll Fellows are nominated by their peers and selected by alumni of the program.
For more information on the CSG Henry Toll Fellowship, visit: csgovts.info/tolls23 or email.
Roeder is serving her second term in the Maine House of Representatives and is House chair of the Legislature's Labor and Housing Committee. She represents House District 23, which includes a portion of Bangor.
Supica is serving her second term in the Maine House and represents District 22, part of Bangor. She serves as House chair of the Legislature's Joint Standing Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs.
Contact:
Brian Lee [Roeder, Supica], 305-965-2744
Blair Hess, bhess@csg.org