🔒Newsworthy people and performances

New hires

Legacy Properties Sotheby's International Realty hired Heidi Steele as a senior vice president in Camden. Steele was previously a broker and office manager at RE/MAX Jaret & Cohn in Camden.

U.S. Sen. Angus King hired Matthew Felling as director of communications in his Washington, D.C., office.

Machias Savings Bank hired Michael Sutton as vice president and small business relationship banker.

Gov. Janet Mills hired Hannah Pingree to lead the state's Office of Policy Management with the specific charge of developing a framework to transition it into the Office of Innovation and the Future. Pingree is a former Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives. Mills also added Donna Loring, a former Penobscot Tribal Council member, as senior advisor on tribal affairs.

United Way of Greater Portland hired Amy Fecteau as director of human resources and Shultzie Fay Willows as director of marketing and communications. Fecteau was most recently with the University of Southern Maine, while Willows was worked in the nonprofit sector specializing in community engagement, development and marketing within the homeless housing sector in the state of Washington.

RE/MAX Shoreline in Portland hired Dawn Marston and Jamie Crain as sales associates.

Dream Local Digital, a digital marketing agency in Rockland, hired Ron Belyea as chief revenue officer. Belyea was formerly digital director of the Sarasota (Fla.) Herald Tribune.

James W. Sewall Co., a natural resources, energy and infrastructure consulting firm in Old Town, hired Charles Nadeau as CFO of the company as well as its new owner, Treadwell Franklin Infrastructure Capital LLC; Matthew Dieterich as executive vice president; Lynn Frazier as a certified professional traffic operations engineer; Heather Hayes as a structural engineer specializing in bridge and pier design, adaptive signal control technology design and preparation of design-build specifications; and Winston Sinclair as a field technician on its survey team.

Dirigo Strategies LLC, a consulting, technical analysis and formal report writing firm in Thomaston, hired Matthew Stanley as an associate. Stanley is an acquisition and operations specialist who excels at planning and execution while tracking risk and risk management.

Academy Mortgage in South Portland hired Tamika Donahue, Steve LaChance, David Mannette, Angela Hussey, Deb White, Bart English, Jordan Mezoian, Janessa White, Tracy Rowe and Michelle Turcotte.

College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor hired Daniel Gatti as a computer science professor. Gatti possesses decades of experience in professional work as a programmer and bioinformatics analyst.

The Maine Community Foundation hired Leslie Goode as program officer in Hancock, Washington and Waldo counties. Goode was previously executive director of the Maine Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and director of policy and communication at the Maine Health Access Foundation.

SIS Bank in Sanford hired Jeff Hoerth as mortgage consultant in Portsmouth, N.H. Hoerth last served as assistant vice president, mortgage department for National Grand Bank of Marblehead, Mass.

Atlantic Federal Credit Union in Brunswick hired Chris Perry as vice president of commercial lending. Perry has 15 years of experience in the financial services industry.

Landry/French Construction in Scarborough hired Mike McLaughlin as senior vice president, Ben Brown as director of business development, Shawn Butler as senior estimator and Michael Stephens as assistant project manager.

Maine Department of Health and Human Services hired Michelle Probert as director of MaineCare Services. Probert was previously manager of integrated health services at Bath Iron Works.

The Hobbs Funeral Homes in South Portland hired Jonathan Cagney as a licensed funeral director. Cagney was previously a licensed funeral director in Newport, R.I.

Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor hired Mostafa Mazen as an ophthalmologist at Northern Light Eye Care and Kasey Ladd as a team member at Northern Light Gynecology. Mazen specializes in cataract surgery, glaucoma care and surgery, dry eyes and corneal diseases while Ladd specializes in women's wellness, contraceptive management and routine annual and breast exams.

Fontaine Family – The Real Estate Leader in Auburn hired Alle Gildart as a team member in Scarborough.

Gov. Janet Mills hired Gordon Smith, executive vice president of the Maine Medical Association, to serve as director of opioid response. The position, which will be housed within the Office of Innovation and the Future, will marshal the collective power of state government to combat the opioid epidemic.

Promotions

Live and Work in Maine, a private-sector initiative designed to promote the Maine employment brand to the national talent market, promoted Nate Wildes to executive director. Wildes was previously engagement director.

Harriman, an architecture firm in Auburn, promoted James Fortin and David Story to principal. Fortin is a structural engineer and leads the firm's structural and civil engineering groups while Story is a mechanical engineer and leads the firm's mechanical engineering group.

Down East Credit Union in Baileyville promoted Joseph Moses to president and CEO. Moses, who has 20 years of experience in the credit union industry, had served as president since 2017.

The Maine Small Business Development Centers promoted Peter Harriman to center director at its Portland office located at the University of Southern Maine. Harriman was previously a business advisor.

Verrill Dana, a law firm in Portland, elected Seth Coburn, Eugene Ho, Brian O'Rourke, John Powell, Sarah Trautz and Geoffrey Why to partner. Coburn represents companies in intellectual property disputes across a range of high-tech fields and industries; Ho counsels companies in all stages of their development from start-up through acquisition; O'Rourke focuses his practice on the representation of owners, construction managers and contractors in the building, energy and infrastructure construction industries; Powell has provided clients with IP counseling, patent strategy, opinions, due diligence and hands-on patent prosecution; Trautz provides a broad range of transactional and regulatory advice for clients in the health care industry; and Why has substantial experience in prominent policy and legislative issues affecting the cable, broadband, wireline and wireless industries.

Geiger, a promotional products distributor in Lewiston, promoted Dawn Laprell to web and operations manager, Justin Fortier to program manager in corporate programs and Casey Conroy to licensing and royalty specialist. Laprell was previously in the corporate programs call center, Fortier was an assistant program manager and Conroy was a pricing specialist in corporate programs.

Katahdin Trust Co. in Houlton promoted Katherine Hill to vice president, bank operations manager; Natasha McCarthy to vice president, human resources director; and Kate Goodwin to vice president, project manager.

Appointments

Maine Public Relations Council added John Spritz and Kristan Vermeulen to its board of directors. Spritz is account manager at Burgess Advertising & Marketing in Falmouth while Vermeulen operates her own public relations and influencer marketing consulting business.

Maine Initiatives named Andrea Francis, Lauress Lawrence and Luc Nya to its board. Francis is a member of the Aroostook Band of Micmacs, Lawrence is a program officer at the Elmina B. Sewall Foundation in Freeport and Nya is a children's behavioral health program coordinator at the Maine Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Child and Family Services in South Portland.

Live and Work in Maine, a private-sector initiative designed to promote the Maine employment brand to the national talent market, formed an advisory board including Ed McKersie, Guy Langevin, Melanie Tinto, Bill Allen, Ed Cervone, Quincy Hentzel, Dana Connors and Dave Vasconcelos. McKersie is founder and president of the organization and president/founder of Pro Search Inc.; Langevin, vice president of human resources and chief administrative officer, Dead River Co.; Tinto, chief human resource officer, WEX Inc.; Allen, president and senior advisor, Allen Advisors LLC; Cervone, executive director, Educate Maine; Hentzel, CEO, Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce; Connors, president and CEO, Maine State Chamber of Commerce; and Vasconcelos, director of business development, Pro Search Inc.

SeniorsPlus, an agency on aging located in Lewiston, elected Cheryl-ann Jerry to its board of directors. Jerry, who also serves on the organization's advisory board, is the owner of Reflexology by CJ in Jay.

Berman and Simmons, a law firm in Lewiston, said attorney Taylor Asen was appointed by the speaker of the Maine House of Representatives to serve on the state's Right to Know Advisory Committee, a resource concerning Maine's Freedom of Access laws. Asen represents client claims involving personal injury, medical malpractice and dangerous drugs and medical devices.

Preti Flaherty, a law firm in Portland, announced that attorney Dan Walker was appointed to Maine's new Marijuana Advisory Commission by outgoing Senate President Michael Thibodeau. Walker is a partner in the firm and chair of its cannabis business and government affairs practice groups.

Riding To The Top Therapeutic Riding Center in Windham elected Casey Etter-Bobb, president; Steve Flynn, vice president; Cynthia Cyr, secretary; and Carissa Robb, treasurer, of its board of directors.

The Good Food Council of Lewiston-Auburn added Francis Eanes, Bates College Environmental Studies; Alyssa Adkins, University of Maine Cooperative Extension Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program; Jeff Newell, Androscoggin Gleaners and University of Maine Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Program; David Bell, Bell Farms; Julia Bergquist, family medicine residency at Central Maine Health Care; Mohamed Dekow, Sustainable Livelihoods Relief Organization; and Rachel Jalbert, Bates College Catering, as new board members.

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Portland selected Julie Ray, Perkins Thompson, as vice president, and Lex Meagher, Kennebunk Savings Bank, as secretary of its board. New board members include Dava Davin and Sam LeGeyt. Davin is broker and principal of Portside Real Estate Group and LeGeyt is a broker with NAI The Dunham Group.

Maine State Music Theatre in Brunswick elected Karen Geraghty, Andrew Masland, Brandon Mazer, Marge Healing and Diane Eberle to its board of trustees. Geraghty is senior philanthropy officer for Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, Masland is a global alliance manager at NEC Corp., Mazer is an attorney at Perkins Thompson, Healing is a previous board member and Eberle was an English teacher at Mount Ararat.

Sebago Technics, an employee-owned, engineering and surveying consulting firm in South Portland, added Kylie Mason, to its board of directors. Mason is vice president of Project Delivery.

The Maine Justice Foundation in Hallowell elected Bill Harwood, partner at Verrill Dana, as president. The foundation also added Jerroll Crouter, partner at Drummond Woodsum; Gerald Petruccelli, partner at Martin & Haddow LLP; and Thaddeus Day, principal at the Law Offices of Thaddeus V. Day PLLC, as board members. In addition, Grady Burns, 2018-19 teaching fellow (civil procedure and constitutional law) at the University of Maine School of Law, was elected the as the organization's law student member of the board of directors.

FocusMaine, a private-sector-led initiative to accelerate the creation of quality jobs in Maine by investing in three of Maine's most globally competitive and high-growth fields: agriculture, aquaculture and biopharmaceuticals, said Michael Bourque, CEO, MEMIC; Charles Hewlett, former executive vice president, Jackson Laboratory; and Raymond Kelley, Maine market president, KeyBank, joined its leadership team.

Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park in Winter Harbor elected Trina Wellman and Steve Myers to its board of directors. Wellman currently serves on the Puget Sound Partnership Science Panel, the Task Force on Southern Resident Killer Whale Recovery, The SeaDoc Society Science Advisory Board and is president of the Board of Salish Sea Expedition and commodore of the Sorrento Yacht Club. Myers previously served as senior vice president, panel management for Research Now.

Achievements

Preti Flaherty, a law firm in Portland, said that Sigmund Schutz was among a group of authors chosen to contribute to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press' recently published legal guides Open Government Guide and Reporters Privilege Compendium. Schutz, a partner, practices in the firm's litigation and media law groups. Schutz was also invited by the National Center for State Courts to participate in a focus group meeting on Evidence Based Public Access in Arlington, Va.

Printing Impressions, a national resource for the printing industry, ranked DMM Inc. in Scarborough No. 208 out of 400 in its list of the printing companies in the U.S. and Canada for exceeding $23 million in total sales processed through its headquarters and Print and Mail Distribution Operation Center in North Wales, Pa.

Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington said that Molly Mitchell a certifications in chemotherapy/biotherapy administration from the Oncology Nursing Certification Corp. and a Certified Lactation Counselor credential from the Healthy Children Project. Mitchell provides patient care in the hospital's family birthing center, as well as in oncology/hematology and infusions clinics.

Dirigo Strategies LLC, a consulting, technical analysis and formal report writing firm with experience in maritime operations, research and modeling, announced that Brian Perkins was awarded the “Surface Navy Association's Special Recognition Award” at the Surface Navy Association Symposium held in Washington D.C. Perkins, who is president of the firm, served 30 years in the U.S. Coast Guard.

The Maine Real Estate & Development Association recognized its annual award winners as part of its Annual Forecast Conference. Noel Graydon, regional vice president of commercial lending for Norway Savings Bank, was selected for the “Robert B. Patterson Jr. Founders' Award;” Roxane Cole of Roxane Cole Commercial Real Estate was the “President's Award” winner; Sen. Nate Libby of Androscoggin County received the “Public Policy Award;” and Bev Uhlenhake, a broker at Epstein Commercial Real Estate, received the “Volunteer of the Year Award.”

Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington said that Heather Patterson, a physical therapist, was awarded a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree and a certificate in Rehabilitation Administration from the University of Montana, Theresa Richard, a nurse in charge, earned the Certified Medical-Surgical Registered Nurse credential from the Medical-Surgical Nursing Certification Board and Ashley Roy, registered nurse, earned the Certified Lactation Counselor credential from the Healthy Children Project.

Central Aroostook Chamber of Commerce named its annual award winners including Rob Kieffer, “Lifetime Achievement” award winner; Rick and Nancy Duncan, “Citizens of the Year;” Northeast Packaging Co., “Economic Impact Award;” Soderberg Construction Co., “Community Impact Award;” and Steve and Prudy Dobson, “President's Award.”