Marisa Butler was crowned as Miss Maine USA 2016 by the outgoing queen, Heather Elwell on November 29, 2015. Brooke Harris was adjudged as first runner-up, Jasmin White was announced as second runner-up, Sara Disselkamp was titled as third runner-up and Tiara Wills was declared as fourth runner-up. Completing the semi-finalists spot were, Emily Robbins, Alfine Nathalie, Janay Wright, Kaylee Darigan, Brooke Harris and Olivia Jones. At the same event, Jessica Stewart was crowned as Miss Teen Maine USA 2016.

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The 21 years old beauty, Marisa is best known as an amateur fisher who participates in NOAA’s shark-tagging program. When animal activists criticized photographs of Butler with sharks, she elucidated to reporters that conservation is a chief ingredient of her pageant platform and that she hoped to change the public’s perception of the creatures. Butler expressed: “The majority of sharks tagged in this program are from recreational anglers like myself. I have only recently began fishing – let alone shark fishing – and am still in the learning process.”

In addition to her first runner-up placement at Miss ME Teen USA, Marisa is a three-time Miss Maine runner-up and was first runner-up in 2013 and 2014. In 2013 she represented Maine at Miss National Sweetheart. In her third attempt at Miss Maine USA, Butler topped 25 other contestants at this year’s competition in Portland.

Marisa Butler was born in Portland Maine, and hails from the beautiful town of Standish. She is the daughter of small business owners Walter and Debra Butler. She attended Bonny Eagle High School and is currently in her last year at Stonehill College in Easton Massachusetts, where she is pursuing a degree in Economics with a minor in Business along with being a member of the College Dean’s List.

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Marisa is an avid athlete, and was lucky enough to participate in all her high school sports at the collegiate level as well. During her first year at Stonehill, Marisa was associated with the Division II Varsity Soccer Team as a goal keeper. She then got united with the college’s club cheering team, and captured a national champion title in 2013. The following year she tried out for her school’s nationally ranked Varsity Lacrosse Team, and made the cut! Her team went on to the NE10 Championships, and finished in the semifinal game to the team that would eventually go on to win the national Division II Women’s Lacrosse title that year.

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In the spring semester of Marisa’s junior year of college she premeditated abroad at the esteemed King’s College London. At the same time, Marisa was afforded the chance to walk in a London Fashion Week event for Lungta De Fancy. This event was a private fashion show for investors at their Flagship Store in London, where she was able to work directly with the designer.

Aside from hiking, traveling and sports, some of Marisa’s also enjoys singing opera, boating and fishing. She has received international attention for her volunteer work tagging sharks through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association’s Corporative Tagging Program, a federally funded program that has been studying sharks for over fifty years. This program relies on the help of recreational anglers, such as Marisa, to collect data on these impressive and misunderstood predators.

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Marisa competed for the title of Miss Maine Teen USA back in the fall of 2011, where she was adjudged as first runner-up. This is the second time she has competed for the crown of Miss Maine USA, having been a non-finalist back in 2013. As Maine is one of the less successful Miss USA states, with only seven placements as of 2011, do you think Marisa will cater a placement for her state in the coming edition of Miss USA?