Leaders Shaping the Future of Star of Hope Foundation
Paul Bird – Co-Chair & Treasurer
Paul Bird is a Maine native who spends part of each summer on Vinalhaven. He serves as a senior Mergers & Acquisitions partner at the New York law firm of Debevoise & Plimpton, where he is a member of the firm’s Management Committee and previously was co-chair of the firm’s Corporate Department and led the Mergers & Acquisitions Group.
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Earlier in his career, Paul was resident in the firm’s Paris office, where he became a member of the Paris bar and worked extensively on international mergers and acquisitions and other cross-border transactions, which continue to represent a significant portion of his practice.
Paul’s practice today focuses on advising private equity firms, public companies, boards of directors and special committees, in connection with mergers and acquisitions and other significant corporate matters, including cross-border transactions, leveraged buyouts, spin-offs and takeover defense. He also regularly counsels corporations and their directors on corporate governance and fiduciary duty matters.
He is a frequent author and speaker on legal developments affecting mergers and acquisitions and a former member of the Committee on Mergers, Acquisitions & Corporate Control Contests of the New York City Bar Association. He is a co-author of the fourth edition of Takeovers: A Strategic Guide to Mergers & Acquisitions (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business, 2020) and a regular contributor to the Debevoise & Plimpton Private Equity Report.
Paul received his B.A. from Yale University and his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he was senior editor of the Yale Law Journal. Following law school, he served as clerk to the Hon. Robert W. Sweet, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Paul is treasurer and a member of the board of trustees and the Executive, Finance, and Human Resources and Compensation committees at Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts in Katonah, New York.
Emily Lane – Co-Chair Maine Seafood Promotional Council
Emily Lane has lived on Vinalhaven since 1971. She is president of Blue Lobster Consulting, LLC., and has an extensive background in all aspects of the Maine seafood industry, including aquaculture. She has been involved in the processing and export marketing of Maine seafood for over thirty years.
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Emily’s career spans four seafood companies, where she has been involved in managing processing facilities, developing new seafood products, expanding export markets, coordinating all company international logistics and documentation, and developing generic programs and workshops for foreign buyers.
Her areas of expertise include project management, writing and communication, collaboration across sector nonprofits, business and government entities, and international market cultivation and promotion. She has successfully executed networking, partnering, and consensus-building across segments of the marine industry in Maine and at the federal level, and has managed complex initiatives with multiple stakeholders.
She is currently a contractor with the Maine Center for Entrepreneurs as a seafood and aquaculture specialist, helping companies to grow their businesses and expand distribution regionally and nationally. She also develops educational webinars, seminars, and seafood marketing literature for Food Export USA Northeast.
Emily received a Bachelor of Arts English Literature from University of New Hampshire.
She has held positions of leadership on many municipal, state and federal boards and councils, including the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative, Maine Lobster Dealers Association, Gulf of Maine Research Institute’s seafood sustainability project, and the Maine Aquaculture Focus Group. She currently chairs the board of trustees for the Island Institute.
Kristine Davidson – Secretary
Kristine Davidson of Vinalhaven grew up on the island and remains committed to preserving and promoting Maine island living. She is the designated broker and owner of Davidson Realty, a real estate company serving Vinalhaven and North Haven, and the owner of Skål, a small music venue and “speakeasy” off Vinalhaven’s Main St.
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Kristine started in real estate as an independent agent for another island real estate company after serving as the K-12 music teacher on Vinalhaven and North Haven for seven years. She was responsible all music education at the two Fox Islands schools. She also was musical director for community musicals and instructed students at her private piano studio.
Kristine attended Vinalhaven schools and has a B.A. in Music from Colby College.
Active in the community, she is president of Partners in Island Education and a member of the Downstreet Revitalization Committee, Historic Downstreet, and the Vinalhaven Chamber of Commerce, which she also served as president. She is an advisor to the Hurricane Island Foundation and trustee of Fox Islands Concerts.
Mark Bessire – Director
Mark Bessire of Portland is the Judy and Leonard Lauder Director of the Portland Museum of Art (PMA), a position he has held since 2009. During his tenure he has led several multi-million-dollar initiatives to strengthen the PMA’s endowment, digitize and increase access to the museum’s collection, and restore the Winslow Homer Studio at Prout’s Neck in Scarborough.
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He previously served as director of the Bates College Museum of Art in Lewiston and a member of the faculty. He transformed the museum into an innovative academic museum through the expansion of curricular programs, community outreach, collection projects, new scholarship, publications, and challenging exhibitions.
Prior to Bates, Mark was director of the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) and a faculty member at the Maine College of Art in Portland. He founded the ICA Education Department, which coordinated all programs through the college and Portland public schools, Project Safe and Smart, and the SALT Institute.
Mark earned an MBA in Public and Nonprofit Management from Columbia Business School, Columbia University, as well as an M.A. in Art History from Hunter College, City University of New York, and a B.A. in Art History at New York University.
He was a Fulbright Fellow at the Sukuma Museum, Mwanza, Tanzania, and has received numerous other fellowships, grants and awards. He is frequently called on to present papers and participate in panels and symposiums on Maine art and artists, has been featured in a variety of art-related publications.
Long active in the community, Mark currently serves as a corporator of Bath Savings Institution, a director of the Pineland Farms Dairy Company, a member of the Association of Art Museum Directors, an advisory board member of SPACE Gallery, and the founder and treasurer of the Africa Schoolhouse Foundation.
Sharon Corwin – Director
Sharon Corwin of Chicago, Ill., is the president and CEO of the Terra Foundation for American Art, which supports organizations and individuals locally and globally with the aim of fostering intercultural dialogues and encouraging transformative practices that expand narratives of American art through the foundation’s grant program, collection, and initiatives.
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Prior to assuming her current position in 2020, she was for 14 years the Carolyn Muzzy Director and chief curator of the Colby College Museum of Art, where she founded the Lunder Institute for American Art and doubled both the museum’s collection and endowment. She previously served as the Lunder Curator of American Art at the Colby museum.
Sharon earned her Ph.D. and M.A. in History of Art from the University of California, Berkely, where she also served as a faculty fellow. She has a B.A. in Art History from the New College of Florida.
She has appeared in numerous museum and academic publications and has presented papers and lectures and participated in conversations and panels in Maine and around the country. She also has received a number of fellowships and grants from entities that include the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Maine Arts Commission, and the Henry Luce Foundation.
Sharon has served as a trustee of the Association of Art Museum Directors, a mentor with the Center for Curatorial Leadership, and a member of the executive committee of the Maine Arts Commission. Her professional affiliations include the American Alliance of Museums, the Association of American Art Historians, the International Council of Museums, and the New England Museum Association.
Julia Trujillo Luengo – Director
Julia Trujillo Luengo of Portland has enjoyed a long career in public service at the national, state and municipal levels. She is currently the director of strategic planning management for the Maine Community College System.
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Julia previously was director of economic development plan implementation for the State of Maine, guiding implementation of a non-partisan plan aimed to foster collaboration among the public, private, non-profit, and education sectors to grow and diversify Maine’s economy. Earlier in her career, she served the State of Maine as director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs and director of the Migrant Education Program.
She also was director of the Office of Economic Opportunity for the City of Portland, the first office of its kind established to advance the opportunities of Portland’s racial, ethnic and linguistic minorities. She led the office and its advisory team through a strategic planning process resulting in Portland’s first Strategic Action Plan for Inclusion, which became the first quantifiable and results-oriented plan in the country.
Julia holds a M.A. in International Economic Development and Cooperation from the Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, and a B.A. in International Studies from the University of Southern Maine.
Julia was born and raised on the island of Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands, Spain, and also takes pride in a strong cultural influence from Extremadura, Spain, where her mother is from.
Adam Weinberg – Director
Adam Weinberg, who spends summers on Vinalhaven, is the director emeritus of the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, having served as the Alice Pratt Brown Director for two decades before retiring in 2023.
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Under his leadership, the Whitney presented over 300 exhibitions, including nine editions of the Whitney Biennial and large-scale installations of the permanent collection. In 2015, the museum opened a new 220,000-square-foot building in New York’s Meatpacking District, which doubled the size of its exhibition space as well as providing state-of-the-art theater, education and conservation facilities.
After its expansion, the museum increased its annual attendance from 400,000 to 1.2 million, expanded its award-winning educational programs, and dramatically enlarged its performance program. Under Adam’s leadership, the museum also increased its collection endowment more than ten-fold and brought into the permanent collection nearly 4,000 works in all media by a diversity of practitioners.
Adam has authored numerous catalogues and essays on artists, lectured widely, and been a grant panelist for federal, state, city, and private foundations, as well as international governmental and private organizations.
He earned an MFA from the Visual Studies Workshop, SUNY Buffalo, and a B.A. from Brandeis University. He has received honorary doctorates from Colby College, Hamilton College and the Pratt Institute.
Adam is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has received numerous awards, including the Merit Award from The American Institute of Architects, the Rudin Award for Exemplary Service to New York City from New York University, and the Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 2015, he was awarded the Insignia of Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French government
He is a board member of Storm King Art Center, the American Academy in Rome, and the Terra Foundation for American Art, and an advisory board member of Magazzino Italian Art.
Sean Harris – Director
Sean Alonzo Harris of Portland is a professional editorial, commercial and fine art photographer concentrating on narrative and environmental portraiture. His work focuses on the human experience and expressions of cultural identity and has been featured in a range of national publications, advertising campaigns, and exhibitions.
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Sean’s work is published on CBS Watch and in leading publications, including Harvard Ed Magazine, Atlantic Magazine, the Paris Review, Boston Magazine, Down East, Portland Magazine, Maine Home and Design, and USA Today. He is represented by the Gren Group in Boston, Massachusetts, and his clients include Trinity College, Rioux Institute, CEI Maine, Vista Print, Jackson Laboratory, J.P. Morgan Chase, Coastal Enterprises Inc., Norway Savings Bank, Bangor Savings, Bank, L.L. Bean, Maine College of Art, Museum of African Culture, Standard Baking Company, and Colby College.
Sean graduated from the Art Institute of Boston and studied photography in Viterbo, Italy and at the Maine Media Workshops and College in Rockport, Maine.
Sean’s fine artwork has received critical acclaim and grants from the Maine Arts Commission, the Warhol Foundation, and the Maine Humanities Council for a show featuring images of African Americans in Maine. In 2003, the Maine Legislature had presented him with a formal proclamation of recognition for his work as a photographer. He was selected as one of the 60 most collectible artists in Maine and featured in Maine Home and Design magazine.
Sean has participated in several community-based collaborations, artist-in-residencies in Maine schools, and youth programs. He has partnered with VSA Arts of Maine, The EDge Youth Program, Denmark Arts Center, Tim Rollins K.O.S. (Kids of Survival), and Maine College of Art.
He serves on several professional boards and advisory committees in Maine, including Indigo Arts Alliance, Colby College Museum of Art board of governors, and Maine Media Workshops and College, where he was instrumental in creating and shaping Convening: A Critical Dialogue on the History and Future of Media Arts.
Carole Martin – Managing Director
As an independent consultant, Carole Martin mastered the skills needed to analyze work environments through data review, discussion and observation and using the results to create strategies to propel organizations, collaborations, and communities forward. She has time and time again successfully overseen the forming, revitalizing, and ending of complex collaborations and partnerships, including mergers and acquisitions, with special emphasis on strengthening connections while accomplishing important outcomes.
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Carole’s work experience includes serving as director of labor relations and human resources for a large corporation, as well as holding senior leadership positions in a variety of for-profit and nonprofit settings. Her formal education includes a B.S., M.B.A., and advanced studies in the fields of negotiation and contract administration.
Tracy Harding – CPA
Tracy Harding is a Certified Public Accountant from Bangor who served as director of quality of assurance at BerryDunn, a leading national professional services firm providing quality assurance, tax and consulting services to businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies.
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He conducted audits of financial institutions, not-for-profit organizations and employee
benefit plans and assists clients with SEC and other regulatory filings, complex accounting
standards issues (GASB and FASB), and quality assurance matters.
Nationally, Tracy was chair of the Auditing Standards Board of the American Institute of
Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and served on the National Association of the State
Boards of Accountancy’s Regulatory Response Committee.
He served on the committee that drafted the State of Maine’s Uniform Accounting and
Auditing Practices for Community Agencies (MAAP III) regulations and on the Maine
Legislature’s MAAP advisory committee and as the chair of the Maine Board of
Accountancy, which regulates licensing for all CPAs in the state.
Tracy was a contributing author to PPC’s 2013 Guide to Audits of Financial Institutions, and
has presented at a variety of technical and industry seminars for clients, including sessions
for financial institutions, internal auditors, and commercial lenders.
Tracy holds a B.A. in Business Management from the University of Maine. In addition to
his professional affiliations, he is board member and past treasurer of United Way of
Eastern Maine and currently serves as a finance committee member.
Sarah Workneh – Co-Executive Director
Sarah Workneh of Sheffield, Mass., joined Sky High Farm in Pine Plains, New York, as co-executive director in 2024. The program works to ensure that everyone has access to the resources they need to sustain themselves, including high-quality, culturally appropriate food, and is committed to ecological farming practices.
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From 2010-2023, Sarah served as co-director of the Skowhegan School of Painting &
Sculpture, an artists’ residency located in Madison, Maine, that each summer hosts a
nine-week program for 65 emerging artists and 11 faculty artists.
Over her fourteen years at the school, Sarah developed a strategic vision for the
organization and its educational program, including staffing, marketing, fundraising,
archiving, safety & equity, hiring practices for faculty and staff, and alumni development.
She guided the institution’s approach to teaching and oversaw and selected all
participants, faculty and on-site staff.
Sarah led the boards of governors and trustees to identify programmatic and physical
plant needs and developed partnerships and initiatives to support the local Maine
community and off-campus programs, symposia, publications, and collaborations. In
anticipation of a $25M+ capital campaign and master plan, she led a year-long strategic
plan and oversaw a long-term buildings and grounds assessment.
Sarah has been a visiting critic at Yale University and Boston University and served as
adjunct faculty in the Department of Art and Art Professions at New York University.
She also is a frequent speaker, visiting faculty member, and guest lecturer at leading
colleges and universities, museums and arts symposia throughout the country
Sarah holds a Bachelors in Linguistics and Russian Language and Literature from the
University of Maryland, College Park, and has completed coursework towards a
master’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from DePaul University.
Sarah has been honored by the Roots & Culture Contemporary Art Center, Foster Pride
and the Colby College Museum of Art, which presented her with the Jetté Award for
Leadership in the Arts in 2024.
While in Maine, Sarah served on the board of the Lake Wesserunsett Association and
its Watershed Conservation Committee and worked directly with Somerset Woods
Trustees, Maine’s longest established land conservancy. She currently serves as a
board member of the Denniston Hill Residency Program, the Buxton School, and
Project EATS, and as vice chair of the board of directors of Recycled Artist in Residency
Program (RAIR).
About Us
The Star of Hope Foundation was established as an artist-endowed foundation by the late American Pop artist, Robert Indiana, who lived in the historic Star of Hope building in Vinalhaven, Maine until his death in 2018. The artist planned for his valuable estate to be managed by the Star of Hope Foundation which he himself set up in 2016.
The Foundation and its Board of Directors follow strict guidelines in order to qualify and maintain its status as a private, artist-endowed Foundation. To this end, the Board has been hard at work since 2019, rescuing and repairing the iconic Star of Hope building, promoting the visual arts in the community of Vinalhaven and creating arts-centered programming. The Board has also built a professional governance structure.
Understanding that Robert Indiana was a complicated and controversial individual, the Board implemented a robust community outreach process in 2019 which continued into 2020. In addition to a series of public meetings where ideas, suggestions and concerns were stated, the Foundation invited everyone who lives in Vinalhaven to participate in a community-wide survey. The data collected during this outreach is part of the information being used by the Board to create a plan that meets the mission and is appropriate for the diverse communities to be served.
Separate from his art collection and in the forefront of the Vinalhaven community, is the artist’s real estate holdings, which the Foundation took ownership of in 2019. This transfer allowed Star of Hope to undertake a major effort to rescue and stabilize the historic and much-loved Star of Hope Lodge building which towers over Main Street.
The building, which was in severe disrepair when the artist died, has been considered one of the most significant historic structures in Maine. Now, two years later, its intricately detailed Mansard style roof, oversized restored street front windows and bold, red wooden doors, offer downtown Vinalhaven a renewed sense of pride
The Star of Hope Foundation is also focused on developing a strategy for protecting the artist’s valuable art. The Foundation’s strategic planning process will help guide decisions about where the collection will reside and meet its mission for years to come.
The Star of Hope Foundation continues its effort to support and promote the visual arts and arts education in the Vinalhaven community. The Foundation sponsored an arts-education trip to Boston for Vinalhaven (pre-COVID). It continues to provide the space to display K-12 artwork in the Star of Hope’s oversized windows on Main Street. This community access allowed for visibility and a sense of pride and accomplishment for those who participate in the student art shows. During Summer 2021, the Vinalhaven Historical Society was invited to exhibit items from its collection.
Stay tuned for future updates on Star of Hope Foundation’s efforts and programs.