Carolyn Fernald is the Head of Marketing at Passerelle, a North American data systems integration firm based in Portland, Maine and Montreal, Quebec. Carolyn’s professional focus is on partner development, content strategy and delivery, field marketing, and brand management. At Maine Community Swimming, Carolyn will help with strategy and communications. A lifelong swimmer, Carolyn swam the 200 Fly and Sprint Freestyle at Rollins College and has completed many triathlons, open water races and the Casco Bay Swim Run with a smile on her face. Carolyn believes every person in Maine should feel comfortable and safe in the water, and that the right to swim is a public health mandate.

Karen Shibles is a long-time educator in Portland Public Schools with a deep passion for teaching and mentoring. As a former collegiate swimmer, Water Safety Instructor (WSI), and lifeguard, she is dedicated to promoting water safety and ensuring children have access to swimming lessons. Through her work with Maine Community Swimming, she hopes to raise awareness about the distinct risks associated with swimming in lakes, rivers, pools, and the ocean. Karen is the mother of two grown children and she resides in Westbrook with her husband Scott and labradoodle Brewster.

Anica Spencer is a student at Portland High School and later plans to major in biology on a pre-med track. Currently, she works as a swim instructor during the year and is an overnight camp counselor in the summer. She has been swimming competitively for seven years and has been teaching for the past three. Anica believes that the ability to swim should be a right not a privilege and hopes that her work with MCS has a large impact on swim education in Maine.

I’m Paige Teller. I was born in Connecticut as the younger sister to Brooke Teller and on the chase ever since. My early career portfolio included roles in lifeguarding, swim instruction, and pool management. My past 15 years have been committed to providing high quality breast care in South Carolina, Massachusetts and Maine. General surgery trained here in Maine, I was drawn back to this community, its mountains and waters 8 years ago as a practicing breast surgical oncologist and medical director of breast surgery.

I recognize my privilege of being so young when introduced to the water I have no recollection of learning how to float or swim. It was a gift of safety, a sport for acquiring a sense of self, team and achievement and a lifelong source of physical fitness and mental health that I still rely on today. My commitment to Maine Community Swimming is to see that everyone is afforded access to the gift, this life skill, and that opportunities are available for exploring its rewards.

Let’s Get ME Swimming!

Kaia West is a senior at Portland high school, and has been involved in swimming for as long as she can remember. She has been swimming competitively for going on ten years, on club teams and her Championship-winning high school team. She has been serving her community as a lifeguard for two years, and as a Water Safety Instructor for over one year. Being involved in and teaching lessons as a part of MCS has been deeply fulfilling for her because advocating for accessible water safety lessons and preventing further drownings in a region where there has been too many is something that Kaia is very passionate about.