On May 29, 2019, MeBIC’s executive director Beth Stickney was honored to receive the 2019 Muskie “Access to Justice” Award.
The award recognized her current work with MeBIC to improve laws and policies to help attract and retain immigrants in Maine and to facilitate their ability to live and work to their fullest potential, and her prior work as the founding executive director of Maine’s Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project.
Beth spoke about the importance of immigrants to our past and future, and the need for everyone to work for systemic change, if our nation is ever to achieve the goal of justice and equity for all. You can read her remarks here.
Attendees at the dinner included Maine’s Governor Janet Mills, Chief Justice Leigh Saufley, and Judge Kermit Lipez of the First Circuit Court of Appeals, among other legal and business leaders. Mary Allen Lindemann, owner of MeBIC partner Coffee By Design and the 2018 honoree, presented Beth with the award.
Funds raised by the event help support the six principal civil legal aid providers in Maine, including the Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic at the University of Maine School of Law, the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, Legal Services for the Elderly, Maine Equal Justice, Pine Tree Legal Assistance, and the Volunteer Lawyers Project.