Donna M. Loring

Donna M. Loring is an elder and former council member of the Penobscot Indian Nation she held the position of the Nation’s Representative to the Maine State Legislature for over a decade. She recently served as the Senior Advisor of Tribal Affairs to Maine Governor Janet Mills. She was appointed Aide de Camp to former Governor Angus King on February 14th, 1999 and was commissioned with the honorary rank of Colonel by the Governor. She was advisor to former Governor King on women veteran’s affairs.

She served in in Vietnam from November of 1967 to November of 1968. She served during the TET Offensive. She was a Communication Specialist and processed all the casualty reports for South East Asia (including Cambodia).

She hosts a monthly radio show “Wabanaki Windows WERU Community Radio

The University of New England houses her papers and sponsors an annual lecture series in her name.

On May 13th 2017 she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Humane Letters (D.H.L) by the University of Maine Orono.

On October 28th 2018 Donna received the Alumni Career Award. It is the most prestigious recognition given by the University of Maine Alumni Association.