FAME’s Mila Tappan Chosen to Receive Distinguished Education Award

The Finance Authority of Maine (FAME) is pleased to announce that Mila Tappan, FAME's Education Affordability Content and Training Manager, has been chosen to receive the 2026 NEOA Claiborne Pell Award. The prestigious distinction was established to "recognize those rare individuals whose pioneering leadership and vision have made an indelible mark on the struggle for equal educational opportunity."

The Pell Award is an annual award presented by the New England Educational Opportunity Association (NEOA), an organization that advocates for higher education opportunities for low-income individuals, first generation college students, or students with disabilities.

"I am deeply honored to accept this award," Tappan said. "To be recognized in the name of Senator Pell, someone whose legacy is inseparable from the idea that education should be accessible 'to the many, not the few', is incredibly meaningful."

The NEOA Board of Directors selects recipients whose work is "breaking new ground in the effort to provide greater educational opportunity to people from low-income backgrounds.

"What makes Mila's work so special is that while she is changing the lives of individuals in Maine, she is also having an incredible impact on the place she loves and calls home," said Martha Johnston, FAME's Director of Education. "Her impact is felt across New England and, quite frankly, the nation, as a respected and influential colleague in the college access community."

The Pell Award was started in 1990 and was named after Claiborne Pell, the late senator from Rhode Island and renowned champion of high education accessibility. He was the primary sponsor of the Basic Education Opportunity Grant now called the Pell Grant, after Senator Pell which offers financial aid to low-income undergraduates. Attached: photo of Mila Tappan, FAME Education Affordability Content and Training Manager Programs Manager (right), and Arielle Derival, President, NEOA