The former Lewiston mayor will serve as Refugee and Immigrant Services director.
By Scott Taylor
Staff Writer

Former Lewiston Mayor Kaileigh Tara will lead immigration services for Catholic Charities Maine.

Tara joined the organization on Monday as the Refugee and Immigrant Services program director.

“It just seems like I’ve been going down a path helping people that have been displaced,” Tara said Thursday. “Clearly, I’ve been drawn this way. I have some experience and the unique perspective of having been an elected municipal official.”

Catholic Charities Maine has been the primary refugee resettlement agency in Maine since 1975. The Refugee and Immigrant Services program helps official refugees resettle in Maine communities and helps other recent immigrants find jobs, education and housing.

Tara said she’ll spend most of her time working out of the group’s Portland office, but she said she also plans to work out of the Lewiston office. The organization opened a Lewiston branch of the refugee program last year.

“But I think a lot of my work will be done around the state, helping to educate state leaders and doing community outreach,” Tara said.

Tara was mayor between 1998 and 2002. She was also the director of the Healthier Community Initiative at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center. This summer, Tara moved to Sierra Leone in Africa to work with the International Rescue Committee. She cut that job short and returned to the United States when she and her son became ill. Both are being tested for malaria, she said.

staylor@sunjournal.com

Copy the Story Link