What is your name and occupation?
My name is Daphne Donahue, I am a Mom/Pancreas Manager/Lawyer on Pause.
What are you known for (or would like to be known for)?
I’d like to be known as an advocate, first for my children as they navigate life and school while living with T1D, but also for T1D awareness and, I hope, for my clients when I return to my professional life.
What is the first word that comes to mind to describe Maine?
The first word that comes to mind when I think of Maine is Home. I was raised in Maine and I am lucky to raise my own family in Maine, with my husband Ben. I love the ocean and the mountains and everything in between. I tried living in some other states in my early 20s, but the truth is that no where else compares. Mainers are welcoming and resilient and creative and engaging. They’re also wickedly funny.
Who is the Mainer, past or present, who most inspires you?
My children inspire me most. All four of them. They are brave and tenacious and up for anything. But in a broader way, they also represent what inspires me about Mainers in general - they take life’s challenges in stride. Maine is a state full of people who approach life with a can-do attitude that gets us through even the really cold days of winter when even your eyes seem to freeze when you step outside.
What is Maine’s biggest challenge?
Maine’s greatest challenge in the coming years will be pursuing equity in housing and health care, even if there is a national dismantling of the social welfare systems that support so many Mainers - old and new. We need to solve the affordable housing crisis and we need to find ways to bridge deep gaps caused by insufficient physical and mental health services. We also need to continue a push towards criminal justice reform. We can’t achieve equity if we continue to warehouse criminal defendants in unsafe jails with insufficient access to legal representation.
What is Maine’s greatest asset?
Maine’s greatest assets are both our deep sense of community, and the way we relish our independence. We can remain independent and keep our values of kindness, community, and innovation front and center while we navigate the challenges posed by a nation in pretty constant flux.
How would you like to see Maine changed 5 years from now?
I would like to see systemic changes in our healthcare and housing access across the state. We also face a crisis in access to legal representation outside of Southern Maine. I hope that we will see continued initiatives to facilitate access to quality legal representation across both geographic and socioeconomic boundaries.
What is your favorite local restaurant / brewery / store?
Our local restaurant and bar, Owl and Elm, is the kind of pub where you can grab a drink and a great meal and so many laughs. Also Miyake! We started going to Miyake when it was a tiny BYOB spot in the West End and it has been a favorite family gathering place since then.
What is your favorite outdoor spot?
Hard to choose a favorite outdoor spot! Maine is such an amazing place to live and so much of what makes it special is the access to the outdoors. I think for now I’ll choose our own backyard because it provides endless entertainment for our kids.
What are your thoughts on what makes women’s leadership unique / how Maine women can work together to create impact?
Women have a profound ability to synthesize factual information and emotional knowledge to come up with unique solutions to virtually any problem you point to. And because from the time we are very little we are constantly advocating for our rights - from our right to bodily safety to our right to access healthcare - we have advocacy skills that can help us effectively communicate those solutions. Maine women across the state are leaders in social change and financial development. As we move forward into a new political era, we are well positioned here to continue building coalitions that will support each other as we tackle both statewide and nationwide problems and communicate the best ways to put solutions into practice.
How/why did you decide to make Maine home?
You don’t choose Maine, Maine chooses you. I’m kidding, but really I don’t know how I chose to come home after going to school in other states. I just love it here.