M. JAY BRAATZ 

Jay Braatz worked for 14 years at DePaul University in Chicago where she was Vice President for Planning and the president’s chief of staff. She served on the president’s Cabinet, was responsible for the university’s strategic plan and supervised the Office of Community, Government and International Affairs. She retired from DePaul in 2018 and moved fulltime to Maine in the fall of 2019. Her partner, Eric Buck, is still working full time as an architect in Chicago but given Covid, he does that from their house in Camden. 

Prior to joining DePaul, she served as a senior program officer at the Spencer Foundation, managing fellowships and research grants related to improving education and educational opportunities throughout the world. She also spent 15 years working for the Hurricane Outward Bound School, and was part of the leadership team on Thompson Island that brought Outward Bound to the Boston public schools. She has a B.A. degree in art history, and a M.A. and doctorate in educational administration, planning and social policy. 

She recently served as a trustee to the Hurricane Island Outward Bound School and as an elected director to the Harvard Alumni Association. She is currently on the Advisory Board of the Institute of Global Homelessness, the Chicago-based organization leading a global movement to bring an end to street homelessness worldwide, and serves locally as a trustee on the Knox County Homeless Coalition Board.