J. Edward Knight Insurance in Boothbay Harbor hired William Pasternack as a member of its personal lines team in Rockland. Pasternack was previously an associate underwriter with Big Sky Underwriters in Montana.
Dirigo Federal Credit Union in Lewiston hired Jahnna Steindl as branch manager in Scarborough.
Midcoast Youth Center & Skatepark in Bath hired Macy Galvan as after-school program director. Galvan was most recently camp director for Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust.
REMAX Shoreline in Portland hired Beth Rawson as a realtor and Pamela Ainsworth as an associate broker.
Opus Consulting in Portland hired Danielle Couture as a new business specialist.
Paquin & Carroll Insurance in Saco hired Andrew Shaw as account executive, commercial lines. Most recently, Shaw was vice president of business insurance at Clark Insurance in Portland.
The Alfond Youth & Community Center in Waterville hired Steven Scraggs as CEO.
Startup Maine hired Sarah Smith as executive director. Smith was previously with VentureFuel, a business innovation consultancy.
Atlantic Federal Credit Union in South Portland hired Lindsey Walker as a commercial relationship manager.
Community Housing of Maine in Portland hired Kyra Walker as interim executive director. Walker previously served the organization as COO.
The University of New England in Biddeford hired Abigail Henry as senior director for corporate and foundation relations within the University’s Office of Institutional Advancement. Henry most recently served as director of advancement at the Landing School of Boatbuilding and Design in Arundel.
The Professional Logging Contractors of the Northeast in Augusta hired Michelle Tibbetts as marketing and digital content coordinator. Previously, Tibbetts was director of marketing for United Way of Kennebec Valley.
Portside Real Estate Group in Falmouth hired Joey Giordano as a sales agent in its Portsmouth, N.H., office.
Reveler Development in Portland hired Nick McCrillis as director of asset management and general counsel.
SMRT Architects & Engineers hired Ben Halleck as director of advanced manufacturing and Andrew Tyner as director of life sciences and nutrition.
The city of Portland’s Housing & Economic Development Department hired Heather Moretti as waterfront coordinator.
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate the Masiello Group in Cape Elizabeth hired Tom Heany as regional sales director. Heany was previously with Keller Williams.
Oxbow Brewing Co. hired
Briana Warner COURTESY / ISLAND INSTITUTE
as president. Previously, Warner was CEO of Atlantic Sea Farms.
Promotions
Bath Savings announced several promotions including Shannon Anketell to vice president, Brunswick branch manager; Michelle Barker to regional vice president, Freeport branch manager; Casey Bedard to senior vice president, branch administration; Katie Burak to assistant vice president, commercial credit officer; Tatiana Chipilova to executive vice president, finance; Justin Dionne to vice president, senior commercial lender; Andy Estes to assistant vice president, retail lending; Jennifer Frederick to regional vice president, Portland branch manager; Don Kerivan to executive vice president, audit; Evan Libby to executive vice president, risk management/operations; Jenny Little to vice president, business banking; Sean Martin to senior vice president, senior trust investment officer; Jessica McConnell to vice president, Westbrook branch manager; James Perkolidis to senior vice president, commercial lending; Katie Spiridakis to vice president, marketing; Conor Sullivan to assistant vice president, facilities; Stephanie Wagg to senior vice president, administration; and Ryan Wing to executive vice president and chief technology officer.
Brann & Isaacson, a law firm in Lewiston, promoted Hanna Wurgaft to partner. Wurgaft advises clients on labor and employment law, education and municipal law and litigation.
The Maine Hospital Association in Augusta promoted Jeffrey Austin to president, effective March 1. Austin currently serves as vice president of government affairs and communications.
Jeffrey Austin, Maine Hospital Association. PHOTO / COURTESY MAINE HOSPITAL ASSOCIATIONLittler, an international employment and labor law practice representing management with an office in Portland, promoted James Thelen to shareholder. Thelen is a labor and employment attorney with experience in private practice and higher education leadership.
DeBlois Electric Inc. in Lewiston promoted Steve Morin to president. Morin most recently served as vice president of operations.
Bath Area Family YMCA promoted Amy Vendt to CEO. Vendt had been serving as the organization’s interim leader since July.
Murray Plumb & Murray, a law firm in Portland, elected Nicholas Bernate, Micah Smart and Lauren Weliver as shareholders. Weliver was also named chair of the firm’s trust and estate planning and administration practice group. In addition, Sean Turley was named chair of the firm’s land use practice group.
Cumberland County Federal Credit Union promoted Ryan Grund to president, effective July 1. Grund, currently CFO, will succeed President and CEO Scott Harriman, who will step down at the end of 2026.
Skowhegan Savings promoted Maggie Leone to assistant vice president and commercial lender. Leone previously served as the bank’s small business portfolio relationship manager on the commercial lending team.
Morgan Stanley announced several promotions in the firm’s wealth management office in Portland including Jane Stevens to associate vice president; Catherine Cleale to vice president; Griffin Gribbel and Tammy Weston to first vice president; Iain Eldredge to senior vice president; Stephen Roop to executive director; Andrew Thomas and Richard Rosu-Myles to managing director; and Frederick Caswell to market manager.
Appointments
Keller Williams Realty Maine in Portland added associate brokers Davian Akers, Kylie Bureau, Laura Dionne, Sandy Irish and Bruce Kaplan; and brokers Kirk Butterfield, Nick Dambrie, Rick Dow, John Hatcher and Angela Lee to its agent leadership council. Members were selected from the top 20% of the firm’s performers.
The Alfond Youth & Community Center in Waterville named Susan Scacchi as board chair. Scacchi is executive director of the Maine Masonic Charitable Foundation.
The Maine Downtown Center, a program of Maine Development Foundation in Augusta, added Ross Cunningham, James Rather and Tamara Whitmore to its advisory council. Cunningham is with the town of Lisbon, Rather with Southern Maine Planning and Development Corp. and Whitmore with Gardiner Main Street.
Achievements
The Maine Justice Foundation in Augusta presented Janis Cohen the “Howard H. Dana Jr. Award,” Cameron Goodwin the “New Lawyer Award” and Christopher Northrop the “Downing Award” at its 2025 awards ceremony. Cohen is a retired attorney and former vice president and managing counsel of the investment lawyers at Unum Group, Goodwin is an attorney at Pierce Atwood and Northrop is director of the Rural Practice Clinic at the University of Maine at Fort Kent. The foundation also announced that Saint Louis University School of Law Juris Doctor Candidate, Zoe Evans, was selected as the “2026 Frank M. Coffin Family Law Public Interest Fellow.”
The Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland announced that Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture will be honored with the “2026 Maine in America Award” at its annual gala in July.
Bar Harbor Bankshares, the parent company of Bar Harbor Bank & Trust, said that it was recognized by Newsweek as one of “America’s Best Regional Banks and Credit Unions” for the fifth consecutive year.
Legacy Properties Sotheby’s International Realty, a luxury property company in Portland, said 2025 was its best year ever, with sales exceeding $1.1 billion and accounting for 25% of all sold dollar volume for properties sold over $1 million.
The Maine Crafts Association, in partnership with the Maine Arts Commission and the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen, announced seven mentor/apprentice pairs selected for the 2026 Craft Apprentice Program including Albert Nhan and Chrystina Gastelum, Maine, fiber; Jason Fox and Zachary Sherman, Maine, wood; Malley Weber and Michelle Oraa Ali, Maine, ceramics; Nisa Smiley and Jesse Mixer, Maine, jewelry; Shana Brautigam and Molly Ludlam, New Hampshire, ceramics; Travis Clough and Hale Linnet, Maine, fiber; and Tyler Gulden and Janet Moran, Maine and New Hampshire, ceramics.
Ricky Leighton, a Maine-based video producer at Esquire Digital, earned a “Gold AVA Award” for “Fearless. Focused. Female. Anapol Weiss” video, which was produced on behalf of female-led law firm Anapol Weiss.
The University of Maine at Augusta was rated No. 77 in “Best Online Bachelor’s Programs,” No. 55 in “Best Online Bachelor’s Programs for Veterans” and No. 88 in “Best Online Bachelor’s in Business Programs” in the 2026 U.S. News & World Report Best Online Colleges rankings.
Morgan Stanley announced that Portland-based Blakeman Mavor Group, Doolan Eldredge Group, Burns Kolben Group, Portland Group and Breakwater Group and Bangor-based 207 Wealth Management Group were all named to Forbes Magazine’s 2026 list of “America’s Best-In-State Wealth Management Teams.” In addition, the Downeast Group in Portland was named to Forbes Magazine’s 2026 list of “America’s Best-In-State Wealth Management Teams” with the top ranking for the state of Maine.
