Founder, Start Where You Are LLC

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Jamar Williams is a facilitator, teacher, consultant, and upcoming author surrounding the subject of prison re-entry. Throughout his carceral career, his leadership has reached within facilities that span the northeast region of the United States. As a facilitator and consultant, it has spanned the globe. He is often known as a ‘bridge’ that connects incarceration to community, theory to practice, and trauma to humanity. Over two decades of combined personal and career experience provides an unique perspective into the work of Mr. Williams’ focus.

Whether the space is carceral, collegiate, or community, Jamar brings with him passion to facilitate the change that he believes is needed in our society today.

Talks

Re-entry 101

In this interactive space we will explore some of the fundamentals of what it actually means to re-enter society from a place of incarceration.

Lose Well

No matter how much we desire to win, train to win, or develop disciplines to win, sometimes we will fail. The hard truth is that failure is a part of life. But it is also a part of success. Losing well focuses on gleaning the lessons from our losses and how we can capitalize on them.

Author and Illustrator

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Maryann Cocca-Leffler is an award-winning author and illustrator of over 70 books for children. A Kirkus reviewer said of Maryann; “Cocca-Leffler knows children inside and out.” 

Maryann’s passion and advocacy for disability rights began when her daughter, Janine Leffler, was born, and has inspired many books including; We Want to Go to School! The Fight for Disability Rights, co-authored with Janine, and Fighting for Yes! The Story of Disability Rights Activist Judith Heumann, the 2023 Maine Literary Award winner and the 2023 NTCE (National Council for English Teachers) Honor Award for outstanding nonfiction. Both books were awarded Gold Selections by the Junior Library Guild. 

In addition to writing and illustrating children’s books, Maryann speaks on the topic of the History of Disability Rights, many times partnered with Janine, if her schedule allows.

Maryann grew up in the Boston area and has a BFA in illustration from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. She now lives and works in Portland, Maine.

Talks

Disability Awareness and The History of Disability Rights

Disability Rights are Civil Rights. The History of Disability Rights were never taught in the classroom and are still overlooked, even though these rights were fought in the 1960-70s, the same time as the Civil Rights Movement. Maryann’s passion for disability rights resulted from a lived experience as she helped her daughter, Janine Leffler, navigate life and laws as a person with disabilities. Maryann uses her two books on Disability Rights to tell the audience about important laws and the people behind them that ultimately led up to the passing of the ADA, including “Mills vs The Board of Education” which ensured a public-school education for all, and the 1977 504 Sit-in, which was instrumental in the passing of section 504. Janine Leffler will present along side me, if her schedule allows.

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Janine Leffler is a person with disabilities who co-authored the nonfiction children’s book, We Want to Go to School! The Fight for Disability Rights with her mother, Maryann Cocca-Leffler. She works for Vertical Harvest Farms, a company whose award-winning employment model focuses on the individual’s abilities with an inclusive approach. Janine is a passionate reader and reviewer of books. In her spare time Janine loves Broadway plays, writing, and life! She lives in Portland, Maine.

Janine will join Maryann Cocca-Leffler when her schedule allows, in the talk titled: Disability Awareness and The History of Disability Rights

Talks

Disability Awareness and The History of Disability Rights

Janine Leffler will join Maryann Cocca-Leffler for this talk when her schedule allows.

Disability Rights are Civil Rights. The History of Disability Rights were never taught in the classroom and are still overlooked, even though these rights were fought in the 1960-70s, the same time as the Civil Rights Movement. Maryann’s passion for disability rights resulted from a lived experience as she helped her daughter, Janine Leffler, navigate life and laws as a person with disabilities. Maryann uses her two books on Disability Rights to tell the audience about important laws and the people behind them that ultimately led up to the passing of the ADA, including “Mills vs The Board of Education” which ensured a public-school education for all, and the 1977 504 Sit-in, which was instrumental in the passing of section 504.

Executive Coach, Lazarus Coaching and Consulting

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Mark, a native of Clifton, Virginia, is a retired naval aviator with over 3,300 flight hours and 350 arrested landings on 12 aircraft carriers during his 30-year career. His notable leadership roles included command of an aviation squadron and Officer Training Command Newport, where he and his team trained and developed over seven thousand commissioned officers for naval service. After graduating from the Naval War College’s Stockdale Leader program, Mark served as executive officer of the Naval Leadership and Ethics Center, facilitating senior executive courses and coaching members of the U.S. Navy’s leadership teams. After retirement, Mark drew on his passion for leadership and adult development by starting the leadership development firm Lazarus Coaching and Consulting. He is a certified executive coach with the International Coaching Federation and resides with his wife, Joey, in Hampden, Maine.

Talks

Building Resilience Before You Need It

In December 1997, I faced an unexpected challenge during a carrier training flight. After an emergency reroute, I was in a critical situation with low fuel and task saturation, resulting in a harrowing landing in which my jet veered off the runway and flipped over. Miraculously, I emerged with only minor injuries. This ordeal tested my resilience and decision-making under pressure. It was a defining event that shaped my character. Sharing this experience has allowed me to impart valuable lessons on overcoming adversity, a testament to the importance of reflection, building resilience, and learning from challenges.

Navigating Adult Development: Embracing Challenges for Growth

What is adult development? This talk explores the stages from early adulthood to elderhood, highlighting key characteristics and challenges at each stage. It emphasizes the importance of understanding these stages to foster personal growth. The role of psychological and cognitive challenges, including Robert Kegan’s developmental theory, is discussed. Strategies for building resilience, learning from failures, and enhancing emotional intelligence are presented. Practical advice on adopting a growth mindset, leveraging support systems, and prioritizing self-care is provided. The talk concludes with a recap and an inspirational message encouraging the embrace of challenges as opportunities for growth.

Portland, Maine Poet Laureate

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Maya Williams (ey/they/she) is a religious Black multiracial nonbinary suicide survivor who was selected as Portland, ME’s seventh poet laureate for a July 2021 to July 2024 term. Maya received a MFA in Creative Writing with a Focus in Poetry from Randolph College in June 2022. Eir debut poetry collection Judas & Suicide (Game Over Books, 2023) was selected as a finalist for a New England Book Award. Their second poetry collection, Refused a Second Date (Harbor Editions, 2023), was selected as a finalist for a Maine Literary Award. Their third poetry collection, What’s So Wrong with a Pity Party Anyway?, was selected as one of four winners of Garden Party Collective’s chapbook prize in 2024. Maya was selected as one of Maine Humanities Council’s recipients of the Constance Carlson Public Humanities Prize in 2024. Follow her at @emmdubb16 and mayawilliamspoet.com

Talks

When God Gives Us a Lot We Can’t Handle

Something simultaneously apparent and subtle that plays a role in our mental health is religion, whether we still identify with the religion we were raised in or not. Maya Williams’ poetry collections Judas & Suicide and Refused a Second Date addresses the impacts of religious related trauma. This talk involves a reading of poems and conversation about poetry in relation to religion and mental health.

Maine State Poet Laureate

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Julia Bouwsma lives off-the-grid in the mountains of western Maine where she works as a poet, homesteader, editor, teacher, and small-town librarian. She is Maine’s sixth Poet Laureate, currently serving a term from 2021 to 2026, and is the author of three poetry collections: the forthcoming Death Fluorescence (Sundress Publications, 2025), Midden (Fordham University Press, 2018), and Work by Bloodlight (Cider Press Review, 2017). A 2024 Academy of American Poets’ Poet Laureate Fellow and a two-time recipient of the Maine Literary Award for Poetry Book, Bouwsma has taught in the Creative Writing department at the University of Maine at Farmington, serves on the Community Advisory Board for the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance, and works as the Library Director for Webster Library in Kingfield, ME.

Talks

Our Arms Spread Out around It All: A History of Malaga Island through Poems

In 1912 the State of Maine forcibly evicted an interracial community of roughly forty-seven people from Malaga Island, a small island off the coast of Phippsburg that had been their home for generations. The erasure of the Malaga Island community included the removal of all dwellings and the island’s schoolhouse, the involuntary commitment of nine residents to the Maine School for the Feeble-Minded, and the exhumation and mass reburial of seventeen graves. This atrocity was followed by a century of socially-enforced silence and as a result, many Mainers today still do not fully know the story of Malaga.

This talk will pair a discussion of Malaga Island and its residents with a reading of poems from Julia Bouwsma’s award-winning collection Midden, considering the history of this shameful event, the relevancy of this history to our current moment, and also the process and implications of writing poems based on historic research.

An Introduction to Maine’s Current Poet Laureate

Maine Poet Laureate Julia Bouwsma will introduce her poetry by presenting poems from her two books, Midden and Work by Bloodlight, as well as newer poems from projects in progress. This talk, which incorporates a Q&A, will focus on the arc and progression of her work thus far, provide insight into her poetic process, consider the vital role that Maine plays in her poetry and poetic development, and explore thoughts about the particular necessity and relevance of poetry in times of isolation and division. Bouwsma will also explore her vision for the Poet Laureate position, providing an overview of recent projects designed to help Mainers gain greater comfort with poetry and connect with one another through this powerful medium.

Master Drummer of Sangbarala, Guinea, West Africa

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Namory Keita, Master Drummer, is a sought after teacher and performer with a unique style and a wealth of traditional knowledge very rare to find outside the villages of Guinea. His resources include not only his wonderful ability to engage any audience but also his relationships with dancers and drummers locally and around the world.

Talks

Drums of West Africa

Namory’s presentation builds bridges of understanding and acceptance through engaging audiences in the musical art forms of the Humana region, West Africa.