Legislative Leaders Appoint Office of New Americans Council, AI Task Force Members

Speaker of the House Ryan Fecteau (D-Biddeford) and Senate President Mathea Elizabeth Larson Daughtry (D-Cumberland) will name members of special councils and committees as the Maine Legislature proceeds with its 132nd session this week. The most notable of the council appointments is to the Office of New Americans Advisory Council.

The first appointments to the ONA Advisory Council were made last week in the House by Speaker Fecteau. These included Inza Ouattara of Lewiston, Lisa Parisio of Pittston and Liam LaFountain of Biddeford.

On Tuesday, leadership will name the following Office of New Americans Advisory Council Appointments:

For the House–

Representative Flavia DeBrito of Waterville. Rep. DeBrito serves on the Health and Human Services Committee. According to her campaign website DeBrito, a freshman Democratic legislator, has served on Waterville City Council, Waterville Housing Committee, Educare Central Maine, Kennebec Valley Community Action Program, Maine Children’s Alliance and was on the Board of Directors for the Maine Basic Income Security Committee.  

Representative Amy Arata of New Gloucester. Arata, a Republican, is in her final term in the Maine House. She serves on the Appropriations Committee. Previously, she served as the House Republican Assistant Minority Leader until she was replaced by Rep. Katrina Smith (R-Palermo) at the beginning of the 132nd Legislature. It should be noted that in the 130th Legislature Rep. Arata was a cosponsor of Rep. Fecteau’s controversial LD 2003 that shifted density requirements for housing from local municipalities to the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Fatuma Hussein of Auburn. Hussein is the founder of the Immigrant Resources Center of Maine, formerly the United Somali Women of Maine, where she works as the Executive Director for IRCM. Spanning almost two decades of work between both organizations Hussein received an honorary degree from Bowdoin College in 2017.

For the Senate–

Senator James Libby of Cumberland County was appointed to a seat representing a member of the Maine State Senate. Libby, a Republican, serves on the Education and Taxation Committees. Libby has a Bachelor of Science in Finance, an MBA and a PhD in Public Policy. He has served on the Board of the Maine Community College System and the Waterville Opera House.

Senator Peggy Rotundo of Androscoggin County, was appointed to a seat representing a member of the Maine State Senate. Rotundo, a Democrat, serves as the Senate Chair of the Appropriations Committee. Rotundo has been involved with many community organizations in the Lewiston-Auburn area and helped found the Center for Service-Learning at Bates College.

Barbara Stoddard of Portland, was appointed to the seat representing an adult education provider. Stoddard is on the staff at the New Mainers Resource Center where she works as the Statewide Program Coordinator. The New Mainers Resource Center has locations in Bangor, Lewiston and Portland.

Budagu Makoko of Westbrook, was appointed to the seat representing a small business. Makoko is the Residential Director at Portland’s Serenity Residential Care, an organization that provides support services to adults with disabilities. Previously, he spent 15 years working at Avesta Housing. It should be noted that Speaker Ryan Fecteau currently works at Avesta Housing as its Senior Officer of Planning and Partnerships.

Hermenegildo Paulo of South Portland, was appointed to the seat representing a school administrative unit. Paulo is employed as South Portland School District’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Director.

Mufalo Chitam of Portland, was appointed to the seat representing a member of the immigrant community. Chitam is employed at the Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition where she serves as the organizations Executive Director. In 2023 Mufalo Chitam received Spurwink’s Humanitarian of the Year award.

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The Maine Artificial Intelligence Task Force was created by an Executive Order from Governor Janet Mills. Pursuant to his authority, Speaker Fecteau has appointed Rep. Dan Sayre (D-Kennebunk) and Rep. Nathan Carlow (R-Buxton) to the Task Force. Senate President Daughtry also appointed Sen. Nicole Grohoski (D-Hancock) and Sen. James Libby (R-Cumberland) to the AI Task Force.

Representative Sayre serves on the Taxation Committee and has spent over 30 years in the book publishing world focusing on the scientific and technical disciplines.

Representative Carlow has previously served on the Appropriations Committee and currently serves on the Education Committee. Carlow also serves on the Bonny Eagle School Board.

Senator Grohoski serves on the Taxation and the Energy, Utilities and Technology Committees. Grohoski is a graduate of the Maine School of Science and Mathematics and Middlebury College.

Senator Libby serves on the Education and Taxation Committees. Libby has a Bachelor of Science in Finance, an MBA and a PhD in Public Policy. He has served on the Board of the Maine Community College System and the Waterville Opera House.

The Maine Legislature will convene at 10 am on Tuesday, February 4th for a regular session Day. The House Calendar is 64 pages, and the Senate Calendar is 58 pages. The majority of both are filled with bill referencing to committees, legislative sentiments and receipts for statutory reports required by February 1st.

The Maine Wire will be covering both the House and Senate Sessions tomorrow and will update this article with any newsworthy developments.