Courtesy / FocusMaine
Kimberly Hamilton, FocusMaine's inaugural president, will step down July 1.
March 31, 2022
FocusMaine's inaugural president will step down
By Jessica Hall
FocusMaine, a private sector-led initiative to create Maine jobs in agriculture, aquaculture, and biopharmaceuticals, on Thursday said Kimberly Hamilton will step down as president in July.
Hamilton was the inaugural president of FocusMaine and has served in that role for nearly five years. The North Yarmouth native had previously worked for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and served as chief impact officer at nonprofit Feeding America.
Hamilton’s last day will be July 1. She will serve as a senior advisor to aid in the transition. Ed McKersie, president of Prosearch and a member of FocusMaine’s leadership team, will lead the search effort for the next president. Hamilton said she shared her intentions to step down with FocusMaine’s board in February.
During Hamilton’s tenure, the organization, which was launched publicly in January 2016, has had a tangible impact on key sectors of Maine’s economy, she said.
“It has been an honor to work alongside so many committed individuals who share a singular vision: to harness the power of jobs to transform the lives of Maine families. We have channeled energy, ideas, and resources into sectors that we believe are gateways to a brighter future for the state," said Hamilton.
“Just as the organization is reaching an exciting phase in its own evolution, I have reached a similar inflection point in my own life. This change will provide the flexibility of place and schedule that my family needs at this stage in our lives.”
Michael Dubyak, FocusMaine co-chair, said, “We are grateful for Kim’s committed leadership as we have built FocusMaine. Kim has a unique combination of experience and vision that helped us launch the organization. The impact that we’ve had in a short period of time and the strong partnerships that she cultivated with business and economic development leaders across the state are a testament to her leadership."
According to the organization’s recent report, FocusMaine has invested more than $8 million in Maine businesses, organizations and projects, and nearly $6 million in Maine's food economy. FocusMaine investments have helped create more than 800 jobs and have helped attract new funding to the state.
The money included over $2 million for Maine's marine economy through the Seafood Economic Accelerator for Maine, and another $919,000 to catalyze business growth in Maine’s food economy as part of the 2022 Congressionally Directed Spending awards.
FocusMaine and the Portland-based Roux Institute at Northeastern University also secured $500,000 for a regional biomanufacturing coalition.
In the past four years, FocusMaine and Educate Maine also engaged more than 2,100 interns hosted at 90 participating employers.
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Anonymous
April 1, 2022
How great that a special daughter of Maine comes home to take on the challenge of helping to direct a concerted efforts of a qualified business group to facilitate change to our economic economy across several sectors that is making a difference. We will all benefit by your dedicated leadership to your inaugural leadership at a crucial time. As the Irish say SLA’INTE (CHEERS)
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