The Team

Emma Wynne Hill, LCSW

Emma’s social work career began as a direct support professional working with adults with I/DD and Autism in group homes and day programs 15 years ago. Through this work they noticed, time and again, that their clients had little to no access to community connections, pastimes that were meaningful to them, romantic relationships, and other facets of a fulfilled life that many of us take for granted due to the systems in which they lived. She received her Bachelors in Social Work from the University of Southern Maine in 2017, and her Masters in Social Work from the University of Maine in 2019. After 3 years of providing outpatient care for this population, as well as LGBTQIA+ youth, she chose to found Constellation Workshops to begin meeting some of the need she recognized all those long years ago.

Emma’s work is lead by a fervent belief in the power of minds of all kinds, self-determination, community interdependence, and safe and affirming spaces in which to grow and learn . They believe that shared resources, tenacious advocacy, and honest conversations are the keys to a safe and robust community for all.

Founder and Educator
(they/she)

Board of Directors

  • Catalina Rodriguez

    (she/her)

    Catalina is a Chicana Artist and part time flower farmer based in Maine. She fervently believes in actualizing dreams, and that everyone should have access to safe and non-judgmental spaces where you can be divinely yourself, and experience radical freedom. She is also passionate about advocacy for the deaf community and is fluent in ASL.

  • Jude Stevens

    (they/them)

    Jude (DNP, APRN, AGPCNP-BC) is a Maine-based doctorally-prepared adult primary care nurse practitioner who is also training to be a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. Jude values health justice, radical listening, and fun. As a care provider, Jude works to center the individual as the expert in their own life and body. Jude has provided inclusive sex education in both clinical and community settings. Outside of work and school, Jude enjoys spending time with elderly animals, weaving, and finding new swimming holes

  • Kristel Thyrring

    (she/her)
    Kristel (LSW) is a New England transplant focused on supporting access to social services for Maine residents. Kristel is passionate about pursuing equitable resources, promoting a culture of help seeking behavior, and establishing meaningful connection for the betterment of Maine’s youth. Kristel values transparency, integrity, and the right to self-determination for those she serves. As an avid introvert you can typically find her reading with her houseplants while taking a break from active discourse on the present state of affairs.

  • Jenn Phaiah

    (they/she)

    Jenn (MSW, LICSW) is first and foremost a very cool dude. Jenn spends their days as a community-based mental health clinician in Boston, MA. Jenn's current work focuses on providing training and supervision to new and emerging social workers. Jenn is also an adjunct faculty member at Endicott College, where they teach Sociology to adult learners. Jenn is passionate about dismantling oppressive systems, prison abolition, and their current hyper-fixation (rotating). Jenn is the proud companion to Bea Arthur (their dog), and makes a mean tomato soup.

  • Stevie DuFresne

    (they/she)

    Stevie has participated in inclusive activities centering individuals with developmental disabilities since a young age. In middle school, Stevie and a friend started a lunch group with peers in the special education class, and started a Girl Scout group for Boston-area teens with special needs. More recently, Stevie worked as a direct support provider for adults in Portland, Oregon. Stevie has a background in small business planning and loves a good spreadsheet. In their spare time, Stevie enjoys researching history, geography, and biology, as well as planting gardens around the neighborhood. Now residing in Michigan, Stevie works as a plant nursery manager and shares a home with one puppy, two cats, and three fish tanks.

  • Jey Maine

    (they/he)

    Jey comes to the board with a passion for supporting sex education for all people. They are a white working class queer trans non-binary human with a background in special education and childcare. Their work now focuses on a somatic practice that involves working with adults in a sensory swing in order to help people access a greater sense of calm and connection to their bodies. They are fiercely committed to bodily autonomy for everyone and are so excited to be part of the board for Constellation Workshops.