Dr. Emily Cain is an accomplished public policy maker, organizational leader, and political strategist who has led at the state and national levels for more than two decades. She is known for building consensus against impossible odds, managing effectively through crisis, and bringing unwavering joy and relentless hard work to every situation.
Emily is a founding partner at Copper Sky, LLC, a boutique firm offering strategic consulting to organizations and individuals working to put good into the world at scale, with a focus on political power building. She also serves as Senior Strategic Advisor to Third Way and Senior Advisor to The NewDEAL, working primarily with national political and non-profit organizations.
First elected at age 24, Emily served five terms in the Maine House and Senate, chairing the Appropriations Committee and becoming the youngest woman House Minority Leader in state history. In 2012, she led House Democrats back into the majority against tough odds. She ran for U.S. Congress in 2014 and 2016 in two of the most competitive races in the country.
From 2017–2023, Emily was Executive Director of EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, guiding the organization through three historic election cycles. She previously served as Chief Strategy Officer at HistoryIT and spent more than ten years at the University of Maine Honors College.
Emily is a Rodel Fellow and an alum of the NewDEAL Leaders, the American Council of Young Political Leaders, and the American Marshall Memorial Fellowship. Appointed to the University of Maine System Board of Trustees in 2020 by Governor Janet Mills, she chairs its Strategic Planning Committee and Finance, Facilities, and Technology Committee, and also serves on the boards of the Maine Justice Foundation and Americans Who Tell The Truth.
Emily earned her undergraduate degree in vocal music education from the University of Maine, a master’s in higher education from Harvard University, and in 2025 completed her Ph.D. in Higher Education from the University of Maine. She lives in Orono, Maine, with her husband, Danny Williams, and their dog, Sunny.
