Lillie in the Community

Lillie Lavado founded HardScrabble Solutions as a socially responsible business model hiring horizontally structured team members and bringing Fed-Cap work-based learning students, TechHire interns and traditional on-site and remote interns for tech sector training. Lillie mentored nearly one dozen in HardScrabble Solutions training programs from 2018-2020. HardScrabble Solutions in Downtown Read more…

“The Project>Login podcast features Mainers working in technology jobs across the state. It is meant to be a career-exploration tool and will follow an informational interview format. Folks from across Maine are featured from CIOs to software developers to business analysts and more!” Episode 22 of Project>Login featured Hardscrabble Solutions Read more…

Lillie Lavado was instructor of the Presque Isle Parks and Rec summer Gardening Club for two groups of amazing kids! Each week the children created fun garden-themed projects like “chia pet” caterpillars and succulent terrariums. Located at the Sergeant Family Community Center, Lillie and the Gardening Club kids could enjoy Read more…

“I’m really hoping that after today people are feeling a desire to get together and organize and find other ways to uplift each other and of course and take steps forward as on but also individually so people can feel accomplished and a justice society,” said keynote speaker, Lillie Lavado.

“Given the uncertainty with the Covid-19 pandemic we will not be holding municipal caucuses this year in March, which we have traditionally done. Our top priority is keeping folks safe and healthy so instead, we’ll be doing a lot of the caucus work online and that will include nominating yourself Read more…

Lillie Lavado Concedes I have not won this race, but the margin was slim for Presque Isle. Joseph Underwood, our 71 year old white male Republican representative-elect, has decided to use his winning remarks to bash the fact that I grew up in Connecticut and suggest that I am merely an Read more…

Videos by Lillie There is nothing like hearing directly from your representatives.  Here are videos in chronological order that I produced this election cycle. Lillie Lavado PIHS Candidate Forum Response Monday, November 2, 2020Youtube link Students at Presque Isle High School shared questions to be answered by local political candidates. Read more…

Star Herald: Volunteers collect items for at-risk groups in donation drive David Marino Jr.October 27, 2020 PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — On Saturday, Democratic Maine House candidate Lillie Lavado and volunteers collected kitchenware, cleaning supplies and bedding for survivors of domestic violence and youth aging out of the foster care system in Read more…

Know Your Candidates As voters, we must expect and receive transparency from candidates aiming to represent us. I have responded to many questionnaires and given several interviews during my candidacy for State Representative.  Information that I have provided examines my background and priorities.  Below you will find an inexhaustive list Read more…

Indigenous Peoples Day Today, in Maine, we celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day. In light of the visceral divides some elected leaders choose to encourage, or excuse, I urge you to go rouge and do the hard work yourself, for your family and your community, by seeking #thetruth and acting to right Read more…

Increase Connectivity… Smartly This is my livelihood and not merely a calculated political position: We must expand our connectivity and do it smartly.  Only 68% of households in Presque Isle, Maine had broadband in 2018.  Our #solutions must be nuanced to avoid investing in a singular technology or bypassing workforce Read more…

Vulnerable populations – in our community – need us to step up to ensure that their burden is lessened so they can thrive. Some candidates use their platform to bolster themselves but I prefer taking this opportunity to highlight the importance of community service and collective action in improving the lives of us all.

COVID-19 Update & Tips Managing COVID-19 Stress Take a break from the news Take care of your body. Take time to unwind. Connect with others This situation may be overwhelming… As we all return indoors with the changing weather, it’s important that we also return to the strong hygiene habits Read more…

Real Advocacy for Domestic Violence Victims For years I have lived with domestic violence (DV). I know firsthand that the insidious nature of DV persists for many victims long after they have escaped. Running for public office invites criticism from the public for every candidate but for a person coping with Read more…

AM Chat with Shawn Cunningham: HardScrabble Solutions (KBTX) By Shawn CunninghamPublished: Apr. 23, 2018 at 7:52 AM EDT In this edition of AM Chat with Shawn Cunningham, we feature a discussion with Lillie Lavado the CEO and Operator of HardScrabble Solutions in downtown Presque Isle talking about why its important companies and Read more…

Lillie and her girls meet Presque Isle voters July 14, 2020 It was a pleasure to meet so many primary voters today! We stopped at Morning Star Art & Framing to pickup some canvasses, brushes, and watercolors for the girls – thanks James Carroll!! – before heading down to the Presque Isle Recreation & Read more…

PI Democrats elect delegates, propose disability and Native American rights platforms at caucus David Marino Jr. • March 10, 2020 Frank Bemis, left, Frederick Asam, center, and James Dunleavy, right, participate in the Presque Isle Democratic Party caucus on Sunday. (David Marino Jr. | The Star-Herald) PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Nearly 20 members of Read more…

County citizens join nationwide protests against gun violence Melissa Lizotte • March 24, 2018 PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Standing in solidarity with protesters around the country, more than 30 individuals gathered Saturday next to the bridge that overlooks the Aroostook River on Main Street in Presque Isle to rally against gun violence Read more…

Community members protest U.S. immigration policies, advocate for families in PI Melissa Lizotte • July 3, 2018 PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — A small but passionate group of 12 individuals, including two children, gathered outside Hardscrabble Solutions on Main Street in Presque Isle Saturday afternoon, holding cardboard signs with messages such as “Be Kind Read more…

Presque Isle locals protest the death of George Floyd By Gina CambriaPublished: May. 30, 2020 at 6:58 PM EDT A peaceful protest was held Saturday morning on Main Street in Presque Isle. A number of protesters gathered in the parking lot of the Aroostook Center Mall asking for justice for George Floyd… Read more…

Dozens on Presque Isle’s Main Street protest police brutality and racism David Marino Jr. • June 6, 2020 PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — More than 30 people protested police brutality and racism in the criminal justice system in Presque Isle on Saturday, June 6. Protestors demonstrated on Main Street across from the Aroostook Read more…

Area youth learn computer coding at Caribou Public Library Chris Bouchard • October 11, 2019 Robert Hohman teachers a group of about half a dozen teens and pre-teens about the basics of coding during a Sept. 8 class at the Caribou Public Library. (Chris Bouchard) CARIBOU, Maine — Teens and pre-teens at Caribou Read more…

Family-friendly coworking space opens in PI Melissa Lizotte • September 29, 2018 Lillie Lavado (right), web designer and developer, walks (from left) Gisele Clark, Minyi Shaw and Dianna Leighton through their first class on website coding Friday night during the first monthly Code Like A Mother monthly meeting at Hardscrabble Solutions in Read more…

A Just Choice: Choose Humanity Contributed • July 5, 2019 One year ago, 12 of us plus two children chanted: “End the separations, keep families together” in downtown Presque Isle.  Unfathomably, this year we must chant against worse policies: “Close the child prisons.” Our humanity is faltering. The Trump administration has instituted Read more…

Lights for Liberty protests immigrant detention centers Nina Mahaleris • July 13, 2019 People gather in silent protest of the detention centers at the U.S.-Mexico border during LIghts for LIberty event on Friday, July 12, in Presque Isle. Staff photo by Nina Mahaleris PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — People from far and wide Read more…

Bring Your Kids to Work (Every) Day A family-friendly coworking space in Presque Isle gives entrepreneurial parents more flexibility December, 2018By: Kate GardnerPhotography: Jeff Clark Location: Aroostook County Lillie Lavado was looking for office space in Presque Isle for her web and user-experience design business, she wanted more than high-speed internet Read more…

Star Herald: Students delve into robotics in after-school session Melissa Lizotte • February 6, 2019 PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Robots may be few and far between in Aroostook County, but at Presque Isle High School’s Adult and Community Education center many youngsters have begun learning how to assemble their own technological helpers. Seven Read more…

Children learn about coding in Presque Isle Melissa Lizotte • December 30, 2017 PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — On the morning of Wednesday, Dec. 27, children in Presque Isle learned about coding, a technology that many of them might use in future careers thanks to advances in computer science.   The Hour of Code Read more…

Family-friendly coworking space opens in PI Anthony Brino • August 2, 2017 Lillie Lavado, owner of Hardscrabble Solutions in Presque Isle, seen here with her daughter Saraphina, works as a freelance web designer and opened the family-friendly co-working space in May. With one of the first coworking spaces in northern Maine, Lillie Lavado Read more…