We’re so pleased to feature Dr. Leigh Alley , the winner of our Educator Award at the 2025 Champions for Children Giraffe Awards Luncheon.
✨ Dr. Alley will be recognized at the 2025 Giraffe Awards Luncheon. Join us for a morning of celebration, community, and joy!
📅 Tuesday, November 18 | 11:00 AM
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Maple Hill Farm Inn & Conference Center, Hallowell
🎟 Tickets and sponsorships are available now—tap the link below to snag 'em!
2025 Champions for Children- Sponsorship & Ticket Sales by Maine Children's Alliance
From Dr. Alley's nomination form: “Growing up in poverty in Downeast Maine, in the poorest county of America’s most rural state, taught Leigh the transformative power of education, her life’s calling. Leigh is a career educator of more than two decades, advancing the mission of Whole Child Education in Maine and around the globe, championing children in every sense of the word across all domains of their development, whether academic, social, emotional, or physical. Leigh is the designer of the first dedicated MAT degree in Whole Child Education, the co-founder of xSELeratED, and an award-winning author of a social-emotional learning series for middle-grade readers.”
From MCA:
Dr. Leigh Alley credits her Downeast roots as the foundation of her career in education . Raised in the Moosabec fishing village of Beals Island, she began her teaching journey at the University of Maine at Machias (UMM) and later returned to her own high school—this time as an English teacher. Over seven years in the classroom, she earned her master’s degree, collaborated with the Brown University Literacy Lab, and led adolescent literacy initiatives. In 2009, Dr. Alley joined UMM’s Consortium for School Improvement, serving first as literacy strategist and eventually as executive director.
Dr. Alley always knew she wanted to pursue her doctoral degree. She was accepted to programs at Harvard and other programs far from home, but her heart was in Downeast—close to family, community, and the sense of belonging that shaped her. She instead chose a remote doctoral program through the University of New England and has never looked back. Today, as she always has, Leigh lives by the belief that “you can live a big life in a small place” and bloom wherever you’re planted.
As an Assistant Professor at the University of Maine at Augusta (UMA), Dr. Alley wears many hats: Coordinator of Teacher Education, curriculum developer, textbook author, and passionate advocate for Social-Emotional Learning (SEL). She’s especially known for her “whole child” approach to education. This year, she is enjoying teaching The Trauma-Sensitive Classroom to her Master's cohort . Supporting this year’s student teaching cohort is another of her favorite parts of the job—watching her students grow into talented educators themselves.
Dr. Alley envisions an education system—here in Maine and beyond—where both children and educators are celebrated for their whole selves. She dreams of schools where teachers have the time and support to personalize learning, where communities nurture belonging, and where emotional intelligence and authentic relationships are at the center. She believes that a child’s sense of belonging is as essential as food and shelter—and that when kids feel they belong, everything else flourishes.
She also honors the value of Maine’s heritage industries—like fishing, lumber, and agriculture —that continue to shape our state’s identity. Dr. Alley views these roles as the keepers of deep wisdom: conservationists, storytellers, and pillars of community. She often reflects on how growing up resourceful in Downeast Maine is part of her DNA—an experience that grounds and guides her every day.
In her free time, Dr. Alley enjoys time with her husband and children, as well as writing, reading, and joining her family aboard their lobster boat, F/V Underdog.
Thank you, Dr. Alley, for all you do for kids in Maine and beyond.