Leading for the Common Good – At Bowdoin and Beyond
Program Application
Application Deadline: Sunday, February 2, 11:59 p.m.
Program Dates – Tuesdays from 7:00-8:30 p.m., February 11-April 15, 2014
Overview
This spring semester, the McKeen Center will be offering a new opportunity for students to meet
regularly with peers to learn about service and leadership at Bowdoin, as well as the many ways to
stay involved with the common good beyond Bowdoin. A leadership development opportunity and
a space to think about life beyond Bowdoin, this seminar is open to students from any class year.
Led by Sarah Seames, Director of the McKeen Center, this small group will have eight meetings,
which will include visits from alumni and community members involved in different types of work
related to the common good, facilitated reflection, small group discussions, and opportunities to
think about how service, leadership, and the common good intersect.
Speakers will include:
 Mark Swann ’84 – Mark is the executive director of Preble Street, which provides accessible
barrier-free services to empower people experiencing problems with homelessness, housing,
hunger, and poverty and to advocate for solutions to those problems. He was the recipient
of Bowdoin’s Common Good Award in 2001 and was a finalist for the Congressional Medal
of Honor in 2012.
 Ellen Baxter ’75 – Ellen is the founder and executive director of Broadway Housing, which
creates equity in NYC communities by building innovative affordable housing and providing
opportunities for educational and cultural enrichment. She is a 1975 graduate of Bowdoin,
the 1994 Common Good Award winner, and a Bowdoin 2005 Honorary Degree recipient.
(Note: Ellen’s talk will be outside of this group’s normal meeting time and will be in conjunction with
Student Activities’ Leadership Development Series)
 Mike Poor ’64 and Dave Sullivan – Mike is the founder, and Dave the executive director, of
the Forest Foundation which supports community-based non-profit agencies that efficiently
deliver critical services to under-served populations and which promotes leadership
development of college students and their exposure to the nonprofit sector through its
Undergraduate College Fellowship Program.
 Sarah Singer – Sarah is a Brunswick community member and a board member of Seeds of
Independence, which helps at risk youth in Maine reach their full potential as independent,
productive members of society. Sarah is also the founder of Brunswick Community United,
an advocacy group of Brunswick residents who are committed to protecting and preserving
the Brunswick public schools.
 Maina Handmaker ’11 – Maina is a local farmer, an artist with her own letterpress print
shop, and manager of the Brunswick Farmers’ Market Project, an effort to revitalize two
hundred-year-old freight shed barns into a year-round farmers’ market and community
gathering space here in Brunswick.
Learning. Serving. Leading.
Meeting Times and Topics
**Meetings will take place on Tuesday evenings from 7:00-8:30 p.m.
in the McKeen Center common room.**
Schedule
Tuesday, February 11
Tuesday, February 18*
Tuesday, February 25*
Tuesday, March 4
Tuesday, March 25*
Tuesday, April 1*
Tuesday, April 8*
Tuesday, April 15
* indicates an outside speaker will be attending these meetings.
Speakers will cover a variety of topics, including: working in direct service, leading a large non-profit,
connecting politics and the common good, building community, organizing at a grassroots level, and
engaging in service through philanthropy.
The weeks with no outside speakers will be focused on getting to know the other group members,
exploring skills related to community leadership, reflecting on what the group has learned, and
discussing connections and future topics.
In order to ensure that the whole group has the complete learning experience and to create a
cohesive group, attendance is required at all meetings.
Learning. Serving. Leading.
Student Application for the Leading for the Common Good Program
PART A:
Name: __________________________
Year of Graduation: ________
Email: __________________________
SU Box:
Anticipated Major(s): _______________
________________________________
Phone: ___________________
Hometown: ______________________
________
Gender: _________________
(optional)
PART B:
Please attach an updated resume.
PART C:
Please respond to the following in a single page (single spaced) and attach to this cover sheet.
Why are you interested in this program, what do you hope to gain from this experience, and
what would you bring to the group?
PART D:
As a member of the Leading for the Common Good Program, you must be able to participate in all
of the Tuesday night meetings, which will take place from 7-8:30 p.m., beginning Tuesday, February
11 and ending on Tuesday, April 15.
I understand that attendance is mandatory in order to create a cohesive group and I am willing and
able to meet that obligation. (Electronic signatures are accepted)
______________________________________
Signature
_________________
Date
Application
Applications are due by email to Sarah Seames (sseames@bowdoin.edu) by 11:59 pm on
Sunday, February 2. If you have any questions about the program, please contact Sarah
(sseames@bowdoin.edu) or McKeen Fellow Michelle Johnson ’15 (mjohnson@bowdoin.edu).
Learning. Serving. Leading.