A roundup of new hires, promotions and achievements in the Maine business community.
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New hires
Affinity Care of Maine in South Portland hired Dianna Stade Gagnon as medical director and Jessica Duffy as hospice executive director. Gagnon is also the physician and owner of Better Health DPC in Westbrook while Duffy was previously executive director at 75 State Street Assisted Living in Portland.
Maine Source Homes & Realty in Auburn hired Malayka Harriman as a sales agent/realtor.
Maine chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness hired Jennifer Thompson as executive director. Thompson was previously president of Health Equity Alliance.
ACLU of Maine hired Arthur Padilla as executive director. Padilla has led organizations that managed emergency preparedness for COVID-19, advised the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and worked for a youth shelter in Seattle.
Partners Bank in Sanford hired William Wood as vice president and market manager in Buxton, Limerick and Waterboro. Wood was branch manager and vice president at Biddeford Savings Bank.
DFD Russell Medical Centers in Turner hired Rachel Samardak as a board-certified physician assistant. Samardak is a member of the American Academy of Physician Assistants and the Society of Dermatology Physician Assistants.
CUSO Home Lending, a licensed mortgage company owned by credit unions and the Maine Credit Union League, hired Billie Cook as mortgage lending officer.
Insurance Trust in Westbrook hired Alex York as member lending support manager, Liz Stevens as compliance specialist and Benjamin Roberts as training director.
Portland Gastroenterology Center hired Matthew Grunwald, Vicki Cook and Kate Rossiter. Grunwald is board-certified in internal medicine and gastroenterology while Cook and Rossiter are members of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.
F.L.Putnam Investment Management Co. in Portland hired Jill Hibyan as a private client advisor. Hibyan was previously a vice president and portfolio manager at R.M. Davis.
Promotions
Maine Cancer Foundation in Falmouth promoted Ray Ruby to executive director. Ruby was previously director of development.
Katahdin Trust in Houlton promoted Natasha McCarthy to executive vice president, chief human resources officer. Previously, McCarthy was vice president, human resources director.
Appointments
NBT Bank and CEI-Boulos Capital Management named Betsy Biemann as a member of its social impact advisory board for the NBT CEI-Boulos Impact Fund, a $10 million real estate equity investment fund with NBT Bank as the sole investor. Biemann is CEO at Coastal Enterprises Inc., a community development financial institution in Brunswick.
The Portland Chamber Music Festival added Misty D’Amico, Ray Gamache, Greg Michaud, Hallie Pike and Chase Whelan to its board of directors. D’Amico is senior director, tax at WEX; Gamache is an author and retired professor of journalism; Michaud is owner of Restorationful; Pike is operations coordinator for the Portland Symphony Orchestra and a senior at the University of Southern Maine; and Whelan is a second-year jazz performance major at the University of Southern Maine’s Osher School of Music.
Maine Adaptive Sports & Recreation in Bethel named Steve Palleschi as president of its board of directors and added Glenn Kroll and Joe Begin as new board members. Palleschi is vice president and director in the risk management division of TD Bank, Kroll is retired from the insurance industry and Begin is a tax manager at Baker Newman Noyes.
Achievements
Berman & Simmons, a law firm in Lewiston, said that attorney Charles Hehmeyer won a unanimous $25 million federal jury verdict in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on behalf of a motorcycle driver who was catastrophically injured in a crash with a tractor-trailer. The amount of the verdict is a record for a Maine attorney trying an out-of-state case.
The University of New England in Biddeford was included in the Princeton Review’s Guide to Green Colleges: 2023 Edition for a sixth consecutive year.
Pulp+Wire, a branding and marketing agency in Portland, was honored in two categories, Advertising & Marketing and General Excellence, by Inc. Business Media in its inaugural Power Partner Awards.
Preti Flaherty, a law firm in Portland, said its Maine offices received 13 regional “Tier 1” awards in the U.S. News – Best Lawyers rankings. In addition, the firm’s Maine-based practices received seven regional “Tier 2” rankings and three regional “Tier 3” rankings.
AARP Maine in Portland announced Jean Saunders won the “2022 Andrus Award” for community service. The award is named in honor of the organization’s founder, Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus. In addition, Paul Armstrong, AARP Maine advocacy volunteer lead, was named the “The Steadfast Advocate Award” winner and Danforth Livable Communities, a member of the AARP Network of Age-friendly States and Communities since 2018, was the “Beacon Community” award winner.
Pierce Atwood, a law firm in Portland, said its Maine offices received a “National Tier One” ranking for its land use and zoning law practice in the U.S. News – Best Lawyers rankings. Additionally, the firm’s Maine-based practices received 33 regional “Tier 1” rankings, seven regional “Tier 2” rankings and one regional “Tier 3” ranking.
YFI Custom Homes in Cape Neddick announced that it won a Down East Magazine “Readers’ Choice Award” for Best New Home in Maine Homes for its An Ogunquit Dream Home.
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins received the “Guardian of Small Business Award” from the National Federation of Independent Business, the nation’s largest small business association, for her advocacy on behalf of job creators.
Matthew Marston, vice president of pharmacy at Northern Light Health, was named the “Marco Gasbarrone Award” winner by the Maine Society of Health System Pharmacists.
The Portland Water District said that Carrie Lewis was presented with the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies “President’s Award” for outstanding contributions to the improvement of water supply management. Lewis recently retired five-and-a-half years as the utility’s general manager.
The University of Maine at Augusta was recognized by Military Times as “Best for Vets,” for its service to veterans, military service members and their families.
Denis Landry, co-founder of Landry/French Construction Co., was selected as the “Major Achievement in Construction Award” winner by AGC Maine. The award is designated for individuals who make significant contributions to Maine’s construction industry.
The American Heart Association in Maine presented Unum with its “Corporate Leadership Award,” one of six awards presented in the Association’s Eastern States region which includes 14 states from Maine to Virginia and the District of Columbia.
Jim Quimby, general manager of Saddleback, was one of seven inductees into the Maine Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame.
Geiger, a promotional products distributor in Lewiston, announced that Heather Barnett, Tracey Bohmbach, Tricia Cunningham, Lydia Dagneau, Megan Hawk and Alyssa Huseth earned the Certified Advertising Specialist certification while Savannah Bennett, Theresa Benson, Chris Gagne, Kaitlynne Gibson, Valerie Guynn, Dylan Harrington, Lori Plummer, Kristin Prosper, Sheri Ridgeway and Cheryl Simpson earned the Master Advertising Specialist certification.
