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Ardis Brown,
Recipient of the
2026 Lifelong Maine Patricia Oh Award.
Maine’s Lifelong Communities and the University of Maine Center on Aging are honored to present the 5th annual Patricia Oh Lifelong Community Award to Ardis Brown of Danforth Livable Communities.
The Patricia Oh Award was created by the former Lifelong Communities Fellows to recognize and celebrate the leaders of our Age-Friendly/Lifelong Maine movement. The first award was given to Patricia Oh….of course, longtime director of Lifelong Maine.
The award recognizes leaders who have both local and statewide impact, as demonstrated by:
Exemplary leadership of age-friendly work on the local community level, as well as statewide
Significantly improved the lives of older adults throughout Maine through advocacy or implementation of a program in one of the eight domains of livability
Provides aspirational mentorship to other communities
Prioritizes collaboration and inclusion in local partnerships and projects, as well as in state-wide advocacy
The nomination was submitted by one of her A-F volunteers, who included a timeline of Ardis’ age-friendly work that was inspired by the award’s namesake.
Tara Mozdziez tells the story. “After a regional Age-Friendly meeting where the new town manager in Danforth met Paticia Oh, the inspiration to guide Danforth with an age-friendly lens took shape. Within the next year, a social group for older residents (the Coffee Time Gang) was formed, a Senior Expo was held, a dance/potluck was hosted, and the Danforth History Discussion group started. In 2018, we applied to become an AARP Age-Friendly Community and Danforth Livable Communities was created. With the help of a fellow from the University of Maine Center on Aging, the advisory group developed an Action Plan. It was a whirlwind that kept going…
The town manager reached out to others in the Age-Friendly universe to see what initiatives would fit Danforth and its surrounding communities- not only was she looking to improve lives in the Town of Danforth but those of our neighbors too.”
Under Ardis’ leadership, Danforth Livable Communities has accomplished numerous local and regional goals, such as opening the area’s first community center, starting a Volunteer Transportation program, a sand bucket program, becoming an Aroostook Agency on Aging Access Point, plus creating the very first “community connector” which was later reproduced on a larger scale. In 2022, Danforth was honored as the recipient of AARP Maine’s Beacon Community Award for their work - work that was spearheaded by Ardis.
As Danforth’s town manager, Ardis has been able to keep inclusive design a focus during municipal planning and revitalization efforts moving from a culture of “No, we can’t” to one of “Yes, we can. How do we get it done?”.
Described as tenacious and dedicated but warm, friendly and genuine, Ardis often puts herself in other’s shoes, and infuses the human story- people’s experiences, outlooks, and needs - into everything she undertakes. Her dedication to improving the lives of older adults in Maine through community-based efforts demonstrates the essence of the Lifelong Maine Patricia Oh Award.
Congratulations, Ardis on this well-deserved recognition!
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