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Our mission

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Common Threads invites anyone looking to change their life to apply to our program. Our nonprofit school is always tuition-free. Nearly all participants have been refugees, asylum seekers, or new citizens of the United States.

Since the organization’s beginning in 2015, over 180 students have learned to become skilled industrial stitchers. We have helped connect over 85 percent to good paying jobs at the workplaces of local employers. Participants have earned new confidence, workplace skills and improved English and math skills.

Our Story

It all started when…

Our nonprofit school was founded in 2015 by Dory Waxman, owner of Old Port Wool and Textile Company in Portland, Maine.

As a textile entrepreneur, Dory Waxman spotted a rare opportunity: Maine textile manufacturers needed skilled industrial stitchers, and immigrants in Maine needed stable, well paying jobs. She believed she could teach immigrants to become the expert stitchers that Maine’s textile makers needed.

In 2019, Common Threads of Maine was granted 501c3 status. In early 2021, Dory handed the reins of the organization to Apphia Kamanda and Jo Bell, who stepped up from their roles as sewing instructors to become Co-Executive Directors. Dory is now Chair of the Board of Directors for Common Threads.

Who We Are

Board of Directors

Dory-Anna Richards Waxman

Dory serves as Chair of the Board of Directors. She has worked in the textile industry in Maine for over 30 years. A self taught seamstress, she started Casco Bay Wool Works (1992) and Old Port Wool and Textile companies (2013). Through those companies she trained and employed new Americans to work in growing her businesses. She is a founder of American Roots Wear and has spent the past 6 years building Common Threads of Maine. She and her husband Daniel raised their family in Portland Maine where Dory has been active as a community organizer, Portland School Committee and City Council member as well as the co-author of the 10 Year Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness in Portland. Her family, community, and Common Threads of Maine are very dear to her heart.

Jill Duson

Jill serves as a Director and as the Secretary and Treasurer of the Organization. She is a mother of two who grew up impoverished in Chester Pennsylvania and moved after college to raise her family alone. She earned a B.A. from Antioch College, a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and a Certificate in Senior Executive in State & Local Government from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. Jill is the former Director of Bureau of Rehabilitation Services for the Maine Department of Labor, and former compliance director for the Maine Human Rights Commission. She is a leader for Portland minority citizens and advocates for many living in challenging times. Jill is newly retired after 20 years as a Portland City Councilor.

Linda Cohen

Linda serves as a Director on the Organization’s Board of Directors. Linda has served in many public works positions throughout her life including in her former positions as: South Portland Mayor and City Council member, President of Maine Municipal Association, City Clerk of both Portland and South Portland, and President of the South Portland/Cape Elizabeth Community Chamber of Commerce. Linda was raised in Portland, Maine and has contributed to the community all of her life.

Pious Ali

Pious serves as a Director on the Organization’s Board of Directors. Pious works as a Policy analyst with the University of Southern Maine's Muskie School of Public Service's Youth and Community Engagement project. An immigrant from Ghana, Pious is an At-Large city councilor in Portland, Maine where he lives with his two children.

Katie Brown

Katie serves as a Director on the Organization’s Board of Directors. Katie is the founder of The Locker Project, a food security nonprofit in Portland Maine, as well as a freelance photographer. Katie lives in Portland, Maine and has been a community advocate her whole life. She has a wealth of experience in the building of nonprofits and has been an advocate for those living in challenging times today.

Common Threads In the Media

A Made-In-Maine Startup Trains Locals In The Art Of Stitching

Seamlessly working

Dory-Anna Richards Waxman | Founder + Executive Director of Common Threads of Maine + Owner of Old Port Wool + Textile Company 

Made in America: Maine native brings textile manufacturing home

Clothing and textile manufacturing's environmental impact and how to shop more ethically

Gallery

Our Supporters

Our work has been made possible by generous grants from the Alfond Foundation, the City of Westbrook, Cumberland County Community Development Block Grant, the Fisher Charitable Foundation, the Libra Foundation, the Maine Community Foundation JRA Fund, the Maine Community Foundation Start Up Scale Up Fund, MEMIC Insurance, the Sam L. Cohen Foundation, and the Simmons Foundation.

Private contributions make our work possible - consider becoming a supporter today!

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