AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows named Dr. Lelia De Andrade as deputy secretary of state for equity and inclusion on Thursday.
De Andrade is the first Black woman to serve the role in the department's history, a news release from Bellows' office said Thursday.
"De Andrade, of Portland, has been at Maine Community Foundation since 2008, most recently as Vice President of Community Impact, which included work developing and leading organization-wide efforts focused on racial equity," the release said.
De Andrade holds a Ph.D. from Syracuse University, according to the release. In Portland, she worked as associate director of the Center for the Prevention of Hate Violence, and she also was an assistant professor of sociology and Africana studies at Bowdoin College.
According to Bellows' office, De Andrade also served as co-chair of the City of Portland's Racial Equity Steering Committee in 2020 and 2021.
"Lelia’s deep experience leading racial equity programs will benefit the Department and every Mainer who interacts with it," Bellows said in the release. "I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to work together to advance one of our main goals as a Department—equity and inclusion—for both the Mainers we serve and the state workers in our Department."
"The Department has such a large footprint – employing over 400 Mainers and providing extensive services to thousands of BMV customers, voters, business owners, and archival researchers each year – and I’m excited to get to work," De Andrade said in the release Thursday. "Finding ways we can better serve Mainers of all backgrounds, support our staff, and be inclusive in our hiring practices is a vital undertaking."
Effective March 29, De Andrade will join the secretary of state's nine-person central office staff in the Nash School building on the State House campus, the release stated.
