
PORTLAND, Maine — Maine’s premier scholarship organization has announced the election of four new members to its Board of Directors: (left to right) Cary Olson Cartwright, Assistant Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility at Unum; Christina Consigli, Senior Project Manager at Consigli Construction; Malinda Gagnon ’99, CEO of Uprise Partners; and Kevin Hancock, Managing Owner and Chairman of Hancock Lumber.
Each new member has been elected to serve a three-year term on the Mitchell Institute’s Board of Directors, which supports the nonprofit organization’s mission to provide $2 million in scholarships and programming to college-bound Maine high school seniors who will be named Mitchell Scholars in 2025.
“Service on the Mitchell Institute’s Board of Directors continues to be a priority for leaders committed to ensuring that Maine students, regardless of their means, can keep higher education in their sights,” said Board Chair Sara Burns. “On behalf of the entire Board, I thank Cary, Christina, Malinda, and Kevin for joining us, and we look forward to working with them.”
About Cary Olson Cartwright
Cary Olson Cartwright is the Assistant Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility at Unum Group and works with her team to manage charitable giving and employee engagement with community partners.
Olson Cartwright serves on several boards that are focused on supporting Maine’s youth and education. She is the current chair of the board of directors for the Olympia Snowe Women’s Leadership Institute. She also serves on the board of directors for JMG and the Dempsey Center.
She, along with Unum, was recognized by the Education Commission of the States for the Corporate Award in 2017. In 2016, she received the Weston L. Bonney Education Leadership Award by Educate Maine. The Governor Ken Curtis Leadership Award from the Maine Development Foundation was presented to Cary in 2013. The Maine Children’s Alliance recognized her efforts on behalf of children with its Giraffe Award. The State of Maine Department of Human Services presented her with the Commissioner’s Award for her work with children and youth. She was recognized, along with Unum, for a National Education Leadership Award at the Jobs for America’s Graduates annual meeting for her work with Jobs for Maine’s Graduates. She was also honored with a second award from Jobs for America’s Graduates when she was recognized as an honorary ‘Specialist.’
Olson Cartwright joined Unum in May 2004. Prior to joining the company, she worked at Fleet/Bank of America, handling community relations for Maine. A main area of focus was education, and she created statewide partnerships with education partners and nonprofit organizations. She began her career in television at WCSH in 1985, working in the news and promotion areas. When she left WCSH, she was Marketing Director of the station, overseeing the promotion, marketing and public service efforts.
Olson Cartwright graduated from the University of Maine with a B.A. in Journalism. She attended the executive management program at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management.
About Christina Consigli
Christina Consigli is a Senior Project Manager who has been part of the team at Consigli Construction for the past nine years. In her current role, Christina oversees all aspects of construction project management, working closely with subcontractors, clients, and architects. Before serving as Senior Project Manager, she was a Project Manager and Project Engineer at Consigli, which is one of the largest employee-owned construction managers in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. Her expertise in project team leadership has contributed to her success in leading high-profile construction projects for clients in the higher education and academic market, including her current project, The Roux Institute at Northeastern University’s new campus at the site of the former B&M Baked Beans factory in Portland.
Before joining Consigli Construction, Consigli was a project manager at Lehrer, LLC, a New York-based construction advisory firm.
She earned a bachelor’s in business management from Babson College and studied psychology and management at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.
Outside of work, Consigli serves on the board of Hardy Girls Healthy Women, a Maine-based nonprofit that works with more than 1,200 girls and nonbinary youth annually through year-round, statewide programs. She also competes in Maine USA Powerlifting-sponsored events. Most importantly, she enjoys exploring Maine with her partner, Ben, her two daughters, and their family pets.
About Malinda Gagnon
Malinda Gagnon is the 1999 Mitchell Scholar from Telstar Regional High School and CEO of Uprise Partners, a Maine-headquartered technology firm providing small and medium-sized businesses with IT, cybersecurity, and software engineering across the U.S. and the globe.
Gagnon has more than 20 years of experience in business strategy and technology, specializing in business resiliency planning, communications technologies, product management, and technology operations. Before founding Uprise Partners in 2017, she was senior partner and head of product management and technology at GroupM, WPP — the world’s largest media investment and holding company — where she founded and led their consulting organization and their technology and product management group. She also grew Google’s ad technology organization and has advised many Fortune 500 clients such as Procter & Gamble, General Electric, Volkswagen, BlackRock, and Walmart, as well as hundreds of startups.
Gagnon serves on the board of the Maine Venture Fund and is a mentor with Techstars, MassChallenge, and the Maine Center for Entrepreneurs. She is a 2003 graduate of Bates College and earned a master’s in international relations and international communications at Boston University in 2010.
Gagnon, whose financial support of the Mitchell Institute has been made through table sponsorships at the organization’s annual Gala, is a member of The Truc Huynh Alumni Giving Society. The giving society recognizes Mitchell Scholar alumni who have followed the example of the late Truc Huynh, a remarkably gifted and altruistic Mitchell Scholar who passed away at the age of 40 in mid-June 2022. As part of his legacy of paying it forward, Truc made financial contributions to the Mitchell Institute at a level that matched and eventually surpassed the entire amount of the scholarship award that he received in support of his education at Bowdoin College.
About Kevin Hancock
Kevin Hancock is the managing owner and chairman of Hancock Lumber Company, one of America’s oldest family businesses, as well as an award-winning author and nationally recognized public speaker.
Established in 1848, Hancock Lumber Company is led by its 675 employees, operating 11 lumberyards, three white pine sawmills, Mainely Trusses, Tiny Homes of Maine, and timberlands in Maine and New Hampshire. Hancock Lumber is an 11-time recipient of the Best Places to Work in Maine award. The company is also a recipient of the Maine Family Business of the Year Award, the Governor’s Award for Business Excellence, the ProSales National Dealer of the Year Award, and the Maine Retailer of the Year Award.
Hancock is a past chairman of the Northeastern Retail Lumber Association, the National Lumber & Building Material Dealers Association, and the Bridgton Academy Board of Trustees. He also has also served on the Board of Directors for the Hussey Seating Corporation in Maine, the Seneca Sawmill Corporation in Oregon, and the Maine Indian Tribal State Commission.
Among his many honors and awards, Hancock is a recipient of the Edmund S. Muskie Access to Justice Award, the Habitat for Humanity Spirit of Humanity Award, the Maine Development Foundation Ken Curtis Leadership Award, and the Maine Basketball Hall of Fame Directors Award.
He is the author of three books: “Not For Sale: Finding Center in the Land of Crazy Horse,” “The Seventh Power: One CEO’s Journey into the Business of Shared Leadership,” and “48 Whispers from Pine Ridge and the Northern Plains.”
Hancock is a frequent visitor to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota and an advocate of strengthening the voices of all individuals — within a company or a community —through listening, empowering, and shared leadership. He is a graduate of Bowdoin College and lives in Maine with his wife, Alison.
About the Mitchell Institute
Since Senator George J. Mitchell founded the Mitchell Institute in 1995, we have provided nearly $29 million in scholarships and related supports to college-going young people from every community in Maine. This year, thanks to the generosity of loyal donors, Maine’s premier scholarship organization will award 200 Mitchell Scholarships, each worth $10,000. This is the highest number of annual scholarships awarded in the Mitchell Institute’s history and a 50% increase since 2022. This year’s 200 Mitchell Scholarships represent a $2 million investment in Maine’s future. When 200 Mitchell Scholars are named in spring 2025, the Mitchell Institute will reach another milestone: 4,000 Mitchell Scholars supported since 1995.