Maine House Speaker Appoints New DEI Commissioner From Org That Gave $175k Taxpayer-Funded Grant to Her ‘Domestic Partner’

Maine House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross (D-Portland) recently appointed a new commissioner to the state racial equity commission, the Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial & Tribal Populations (PCRITP), from an organization that administered a $175,000 taxpayer-funded grant to her “domestic partner.”

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The new PCRITP Commissioner, Amy Winston, whose appointment was announced at the Commission’s Wednesday meeting, is the Senior Director of State Policy at Coastal Enterprises Inc. (CEI), a progressive thinktank focused on climate change and racial equity initiatives.

Winston’s seat on the Permanent Commission, designated for a person who is “a representative of a community development financial institution,” is appointed by the Maine Speaker of the House.

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Winston will take over on the Commission for Keith Bisson, who is the president of CEI.

In 2022, the Mills administration disbursed about $20 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds to agricultural businesses and infrastructure projects throughout the state, through a program entitled the Agricultural Infrastructure Investment Program (AIIP).

The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry (DACF) partnered with CEI to administer the grants.

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“This funding enabled farms and agricultural businesses to pursue upgrades that will mitigate the adverse effects of COVID-19, increase the supply of Maine-grown food, enhance supply chain resilience, and help grow and sustain one of Maine’s heritage industries,” the program description reads.

AIIP funding was awarded to 64 agricultural businesses, with grant amounts ranging from from $41,669 to $500,000, and averaging $301,217.

Ummah Enterprises, LLC, owned by Dawud Ummah, received a taxpayer-funded grant of $175,152.99 in August of 2022.

Dawud Ummah sits on the board of directors of the Cumberland County Food Security Council — Speaker Talbot Ross, according to her 2023 personal financial disclosure, works as a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) consultant with the same organization.

[RELATED: Maine Speaker’s Racial Equity Board Gave Her Sister’s Nonprofit $12,000 for Black History Month…]

On Speaker Talbot Ross’ most recent financial disclosure, as well as on her disclosure from 2022 — filed just months prior to the AIIP grant — Ummah is listed as her “immediate family member.”

According to PCRITP’s Commissioner Disclosure of Interest Register, the “Owner of Ummah Farms” is listed as Talbot Ross’ “Domestic Partner.”

The Maine Wire has previously reported on how the Permanent Commission granted a nonprofit run by Talbot Ross’ sister $12,000 for a Black History Month event — a report that led to PCRITP overhauling their conflict of interest policy and releasing a document disclosing their commissioners’ financial interests.

Following the close of the 131st State Legislature, Talbot Ross is no longer House Speaker and is looking to win a seat in the State Senate this November, representing District 28, part of Portland.