Matt Bernstein

Matt Bernstein is a 9th grade humanities social studies teacher at Casco Bay High School in Portland, Maine. He is the 2022 Cumberland County Teacher of the Year and the 2023 Maine Teacher of the Year. Bernstein has a Bachelor of Arts in History with a European History concentration from Bowdoin College where he was also a Bowdoin Teacher Scholar. Bernstein’s pedagogy is centered around student voices and student activism. He believes that the purpose of education is to help students find their way of contributing to a more equitable world. Bernstein is also passionate about creating opportunities for students to experience joy and belonging at school on a daily basis and, to that end, he believes in cultivating meaningful relationships with students, often through his work as a 9th grade crew advisor, that are grounded in deep listening and holistic support. READ MORE

Paul Bolin

Paul Bolin is the Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer with Northern Light Health. Most of Paul’s primary and secondary education was attained in Maine Public schools. Paul earned both undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Maine, and has spent most of his career working in Maine. Having completed the Leadership Maine program in 2006, and serving  as a board member of for-profit and not-for-profit organizations, he is also a member in the Maine Bar Association’s Fee Arbitration Commission, and chair of the City of Bangor Planning Board, Paul is deeply rooted in Maine and its communities.

Paul has 24 years of leadership and HR experience, and holds the designation of Senior Professional in Human Resources and SHRM Senior Certified Professional. Paul annually instructs courses at Eastern Maine Community College for Maine HR leaders to assist them in attaining their national certifications.

Amy Boles

Amy is the Superintendent of Ellsworth Schools. She began this role at HCTC in 2009 after serving as assistant principal of Ellsworth High School for five years. A former social studies teacher at Massabesic High School, Amy has been working in Maine schools for more than 20 years. She has a bachelor's degree from Colby College as well as a master's degree and a Certificate of Advanced Study from the University of Maine. Amy is a current board member for the Ellsworth Area Chamber of Commerce. She is passionate about career and technical education in Maine and serves on the CTE Committee of the Maine State Board of Education and is active within the Maine Administrators of Career and Technical Education (MACTE). In addition, Amy serves on the local YMCA Youth Sports Soccer Board and is a volunteer youth travel soccer and basketball coach. Amy resides in Hancock with her husband Michael and their two children, Hunter and Elizabeth.

Michael Cato

Michael Cato is a Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Bowdoin College.
Michael leads Information Technology (IT) strategy and operations at Bowdoin College, widely regarded as one of the nation’s foremost liberal arts institutions. He joined the college in early 2018 with 17 years of experience in Higher Education IT having served in IT roles at Vassar College, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Finding the right opportunities to integrate technologies into a highly successful curriculum is one of the great opportunities of leading IT at Bowdoin.
At Vassar College, Michael led the Computing and Information Services (CIS) division to adopt new approaches to better serve the college community. These efforts included developing Project Management methodologies, initiating IT Service Management principles, and implementing an intentional organizational culture program. Notably, in 2014 Michael led CIS to successfully receive two Campus Cyberinfrastructure: Infrastructure, Innovation Engineering (CC*IIE) grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Michael actively engages in the Higher Education IT community, seeking opportunities to learn from and share with colleagues across the industry. He considers himself a student of leadership, and is increasingly participating in efforts to address issues of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. He loves to learn, read, travel, eat, occasionally cook, and with his wife, Heather, raising a totally awesome four-year-old son. READ MORE

Dan Coffey

Dan is the Director of the Cianbro Institute at Cianbro Corporation.  Born and raised in Maine and residing in Hampden, ME with his wife and two boys, Dan joined the Cianbro Corporation following his graduation from the University of Maine.  In Dan’s 8 years with Cianbro he rotated through field operational and corporate support positions gaining significant knowledge specifically in the areas of Health, Safety and Human Resources. READ MORE

Steve DeCastro

Steve DeCastro joined Gorham Savings Bank in July, 2016 as executive vice president of the Commercial Banking division. Promoted to President and CEO in April 2018, Steve oversees the bank’s Commercial, Business Banking and Cash Management, Retail Banking, and Marketing divisions.

Prior to joining Gorham Savings, Steve was in charge of Key Bank’s Wealth Management group for New England, with $1.3 billion under management. He has over 22 years of banking experience in the greater Portland market. READ MORE

Grier Tumas Dienstag

Grier is a Partner at the global consulting firm McKinsey & Company where she serves financial services companies. Grier started her career in education and philanthropy and most recently was a consultant at The Bridgespan Group. She serves on the New England Local Advisory Board of Jumpstart, a national non-profit focused on advancing equitable learning outcomes for young children. Grier earned an MBA with Distinction from Harvard Business School and an AB Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard College. She lives outside of Portland with her husband and two children.

Anthony DiMarco

Tony is the Vice President of Manufacturing Operations at IDEXX. He has worked in the human and animal healthcare industry for 30 years, including the last 19 at IDEXX. In addition to his current role in Manufacturing, he has held leadership positions in Research and Development, Scientific and Regulatory Affairs, and Quality Assurance.

In his current role, Tony is actively engaged in Academic Partnerships that support Workforce Development and advancement of initiatives committed to social criteria. He is co-founder of the HEART! Program at IDEXX, which pairs hourly labor employees with internal mentors to provide apprenticeships and network access for career development.

Tony lives in the Greater Portland area with his wife Reed Kelly, along with several children, dogs, chickens, bees, and other assorted wildlife.

Barry Driscoll

Barry joined WEX as Vice President of Enterprise IT Services where he headed up the global IT team and work. He currently serves as Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at WEX. Prior to WEX, Barry worked with Fairchild for 10 years in a number of positions and served as their Vice President of Global IT.  Barry is a graduate of the University of Maine where he earned degrees in electrical and computer engineering.  

Clif Greim

Clif Greim is the Founder of Frosty Hill Consulting. In his previous role, Clif was President and CEO of Harriman, a full-service architecture and engineering firm with offices in Maine and New Hampshire. He joined Harriman in 1981 and became an owner of the 74-person architecture and engineering firm in 1994. For three decades, he has led the firm's mechanical engineering department and has designed mechanical systems for a wide range of projects including several on a national level. Clif has always had a special interest in sustainable design and has developed innovative and energy-efficient systems that incorporate leading-edge technology. He has designed numerous sustainable buildings including several LEED Registered and Certified projects. READ MORE

Brian J. King

Brian is the President of Bank of America Maine. Prior to his current role, Brian was a product management executive in the Consumer and Small Business product division and was responsible for the Advantage Banking Checking Account product and portfolio.  He has been with Bank of America for 25 years and has 28 years of banking experience.

In addition to his product management role, Brian acted as the site executive for the Belfast, Maine operations site; responsible for the daily operations and site wide integration of ~600 employees. Brian joined Bank of America in June of 1997 and has held leadership positions in a variety of areas including credit underwriting, client satisfaction, retention, and marketing.  Brian also serves as the executive sponsor for the Military Support and Assistance and the Disability Advocacy employee networks for the B of A Maine market. READ MORE

James Martin

Jim is the Chief Executive Officer of Community Concepts, Inc, a community action agency for western Maine. Prior to assuming his role at CCI, Jim served as the Chief Program Officer at Sweetser and served as the Director of the Office of Child and Family Services at the Maine DHHS, where he was responsible for ensuring the safety, permanency, and well-being of children and families through the administration of child welfare services, children’s behavioral health services and a broad spectrum of early intervention and prevention services.

Jim is a licensed clinical social worker by training and received his Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of New England and his undergraduate degree from the University of Southern Maine. Jim is a well-versed social services leader with executive leadership experience in non-profit and state government sectors. Jim has a broad professional background providing clinical services to children and families, as well as working closely with state and local policymakers to advance best programmatic practices. Jim is a collaborative leader and has dedicated his career to helping others. 

Gary Merrill

Gary has worked for Hussey Seating Company for over 25 years and was elected CEO in June 2016. Prior to that role Gary served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer. Gary graduated from the University of Maine with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and received his MBA from Babson College. He earned his CPA while working for PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC in Portland, ME. In addition to his responsibilities at Hussey Seating, Gary serves on the Board of Directors for Tilson Technology and the American Red Cross of Southern Maine.

David Pease

David Pease is Senior Vice President and Director of Talent, Diversity & Inclusion at Bangor Savings Bank. His HR career spans 35+ years in business, nonprofit, healthcare, academia, and corporate America. He has a Master’s degree in Human Resources Management from Lesley University and a BS in Political Science and Communication from the University of Southern Maine. David has earned the Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and the Senior Certified Professional (SCP-SHRM) national designations. He has been on the faculty of the Maine HR Convention and served as an adjunct faculty member in Thomas College’s graduate school. David is the former State Director of Maine SHRM and received the distinguished Maine HR Leader of the Year award. READ MORE

Liz Riley

Liz is currently the Senior Director of Enterprise Transformation at WEX. She was previously the Chief Operating Officer at Logically and managed their Sales, Marketing and Managed Services teams. Liz joined Logically in 2014 as a Marketing Analyst, after spending seven years working in various capacities at the Portland Sea Dogs, the Double A-Affiliate of the Boston Red Sox.

In the marketing department, Liz was able to work closely with the sales, technical and consulting teams to create compelling campaigns and programs. As a result of this work, Liz was in tune to consultant and technician successes and challenges that led to the expansion of her role to include more operational responsibilities. She was responsible for the teams that worked closest with the Winxnet clients and oversaw key aspects of Customer Service, Account Management, Sales and Service. READ MORE

Rosa Redonnett

Rosa Redonnett is the Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Success and Credential Attainment for the University of Maine System. The Associate Vice Chancellor is responsible for advising the Chancellor, Chancellor’s Staff and the Board of Trustees on all matters affecting student life on the universities of the University of Maine System (UMS), and most specifically on those matters impacting the persistence, graduation and success of all students within the UMS. In collaboration with the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, the Associate Vice Chancellor provides System-wide leadership to enhance and promote student success through collaborative efforts within the University of Maine System, with other higher education institutions, and within the preK-20 education community.  This position provides system-wide leadership and support in furthering campus efforts specific to adult credential and degree attainment and the development and implementation of a System-wide approach to micro-credentials READ MORE

Lisa Sawin

Lisa Sawin is an architect, principal and partner at Harriman Architects and Engineers, a 150 year-old firm based in Auburn, Maine.  She serves as an educational planner and practice leader in Harriman’s PK-12 Education Studio. Lisa is responsible for leading the PK-12 studio, research-based design and advancing the design of educational facilities that support future ready learners.  Her experience as a teacher, builder, and architect, coupled with her passion for developing inspiring learning environments, allow her to facilitate a collaborative process between all stakeholders resulting in meaningful design solutions. Her design philosophy is rooted in a belief that the most successful schools are those designed in collaboration with the community and that sustainable design is synonymous with good design.  Lisa has been involved in numerous LEED Silver, Gold and Platinum educational buildings as well as net zero facilities. READ MORE

Lindsay Skilling

Lindsay is the CEO of Gifford's Ice Cream. Lindsay is still young by most measures, but her role today has grown to that of mom, wife, and CEO at Gifford’s Famous Ice Cream. She is part of a small legion of women in Maine who are running mid-sized businesses. With a staff of 37 year-round employees and sales of 2 million gallons of ice cream a year, her role includes oversight of operations, staff, five seasonal ice-cream stands, and an ice cream factory in Skowhegan that produces 100 flavors and distributes to hundreds of retail locations from Maine to Virginia to Nevada.

Janet Sortor

Janet Sortor is the Vice President and Chief Academic Officer for the Maine Community College System. Prior to that, she served as the Vice President and Dean of Academics Affairs at Southern Maine Community College for 13 years and as the Dean of Academic Affairs for Bunker Hill Community College for 10 years. Janet actively represents the Maine Community College System on a number of strategic partnerships, including MaineSpark.