PORTLAND – The executive director of the Maine Civil Liberties Union is resigning after two years on the job.

The MCLU’s board of directors announced Friday that Louise Roback, 47, was stepping down effective early September.

“It has been an exciting challenge to lead the MCLU for the past two years, and I am pleased to have had the opportunity,” Roback said in a prepared statement. “Having dedicated two years to strengthening the MCLU, I look forward to moving on in other arenas and challenges.”

Roback was hired to replace former MCLU Executive Director Sally Sutton, who resigned in 2001 to spend more time with her family. Before coming to Maine, Roback was director of the capital region chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union in Albany, N.Y.

The MCLU is the state’s leading civil rights organization, working on issues such as free speech, gay rights and privacy rights.