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Legislative Education Staff Network

2006 LESN Recognition Award Winner

The Legislative Education Staff Network (LESN) is pleased to recognize Dr. Phillip D. McCarthy for excellence in service to the Maine Legislature and to the Legislative Education Staff Network.  LESN is honored to present Dr. McCarthy with the 2006 LESN Recognition Award.

Dr. McCarthy has served the Maine Legislature for 10 years.  As a legislative analyst with the Maine Office of Policy and Legal Analysis since 1996, he has served as principal policy staff for the Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs. Throughout his tenure, he has demonstrated the highest level of professionalism, competence and integrity in his service to the Maine Legislature and the public.  Dr. McCarthy has developed a high level of expertise in education policy and is recognized by legislators, his fellow colleagues in the legislature and executive branch agencies, as well as the broader educational community in Maine and nationally.

Dr. McCarthy is actively involved in NCSL and the Education Commission of the States (ECS) having served as an LESN steering committee member for two consecutive terms from 1999-2001.  In this capacity, he planned, attended and presented at several LESN workshops and contributed to the LESN newsletter.  He continues to share his knowledge and expertise with education staff throughout the country via the LESN listserv by responding to inquiries and posting useful information.  His involvement in NCSL has been widespread. In 1999-2001, he was appointed to serve as Staff Vice Chair of the NCSL Education Standing Committee.  In 2003, he presented an analysis of the cooperative agreement between the Maine Legislature and the Maine Education Policy Research Institute as an example of a collaborative research effort between a state legislature and university faculty at the Senior Professional Development Seminar sponsored by the Research and Committee Staff Section of NCSL.  In 2004, he served as a technical reviewer for an NCSL publication titled "College Affordability: A Primer for Legislators and Legislative Staff."  Most recently, in March 2006, he presented an analysis and perspectives on Maine's youth civic engagement initiative as part of a web-based audio conference sponsored by NCSL.

In addition to his work on education policy and his active participation in LESN and NCSL, Dr. McCarthy has distinguished himself over the past year in his work as a nonpartisan legislative staff for the Maine Legislative Youth Advisory Council (LYAC).  LYAC was created by the Education Committee of the Maine Legislature in 2002 to provide a meaningful forum for youth to advise the Legislature on policy issues affecting secondary and post-secondary youth.  Since its creation, LYAC has become widely viewed as a successful model for empowering youth involvement in policy issues and, by virtue of being the first of its kind in the nation, has served as a model for other states seeking to involve youth in the legislative process. Dr. McCarthy has played a key role in the success of LYAC.

Thank you, Dr. McCarthy, for your years of service to the Maine Legislature and to the Legislative Education Staff Network!