Janis L. Coates

Dr. Coates is the founding Executive Director of Island Readers and Writers, a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring a passion for reading and learning among children ages K – 8 living on Maine’s coastal islands and in remote and under-resourced communities in Washington County.

Prior to founding Island Readers and Writers in 2006, Dr. Coates was a senior administrator/Dean at Albion College in Michigan and Hamilton College in New York, then owner and manager of Port in a Storm bookstore in Somesville, Maine. She holds a Ph.D. from Michigan State University and currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Mount Desert Land & Garden Preserve. She grew up in Maine and is passionate about creating opportunities for Mainers.