Rebecca (Beckie) Conrad is former President and CEO of the Lewiston Auburn Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. Prior to the LAC Chamber, she was the Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Maine College of Art in Portland, Maine where she had worked since 2006. She was co-owner with her husband of Austin’s Fine Wines and Foods for 20 years, and for 3 years owned and operated Rÿsen Home Garden & Antiques, a retail gallery promoting local art and products that supported international women’s economic development. Both shops were located in downtown Auburn. Prior to Rÿsen, Conrad’s career spanned 21 years in higher education administration at Bates College, including 1999–2003 when she served as executive director of LA Excels, the college’s non-profit community development partnership in Lewiston-Auburn focused on leadership, arts, educational aspirations, and economic revitalization. She served on the Maine Arts Commission for seven years, with four as vice-chair. Volunteer board roles include chair of the Lewiston Auburn Economic Growth Council, past chair of L/A Arts and Androscoggin Home Care & Hospice, vice chair of the Maine Association of Nonprofits and as a board member of Advocates for Children, the Androscoggin County Chamber of Commerce and the advisory boards of USM’s Lewiston-Auburn College and Central Maine Community College. Conrad received her BA in English from Bates College and studied in the New England Studies MFA Program at the University of Southern Maine. She lives in Auburn with her husband Austin Conrad, Jr. and her cat, Charles Mingus.
Julia serves as the State of Maine Economic Development Plan Implementation Director. Prior to her role as Implementation Director she directed the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) at the City of Portland to assure access for underserved populations, including immigrants/refugees, to relevant, high-quality job training and workforce preparedness opportunities while also improving linkages between job seekers and employers; convene regional stakeholders to work collaboratively to identify gaps and existing initiatives in order to develop evaluative metrics to measure the collective effort’s impact, and overall serves as a connector among service organizations, employers, and job seekers. Prior to OEO, she served as Director for Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services’ Multicultural Affairs Office (OMA). The Office provided support to state agencies, non-governmental organizations and community partners in order to develop sustainable projects and initiatives to address the needs of Maine’s racially, ethnically and linguistically diverse populations. She was also responsible for supporting the long-term economic self-sufficiency of Maine’s refugee population by overseeing all workforce development, ESOL classes, health promotion, and programs and grants stemming from the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement. Prior to that, Julia was part of Maine’s Department of Education Federal Programs/No Child Left Behind Team (NCLB), as the Title I, Part C Maine’s Migrant Education State Director. She oversaw all the activities of the Statewide Migrant Education Program.
Julia has a B.A. in International Studies from the University of Southern Maine and a Masters in International Cooperation for Development from the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain.
Julia is from the island of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, Spain. She also prides herself of having a strong cultural influence from Extremadura, Spain; where her mother is originally from. She lives in Portland with her two daughters Elia and Vera.
Luc Nya serves as a children’s behavioral health program coordinator in the Maine Department of Health and Human Services. Prior to this, Nya served as the Multicultural Services Coordinator in the Office of the Multicultural and Immigrant Services (OMIS). Nya’s unique experiences working for both DHHS, and OMIS has led to his partnership and Board position with the Maine Health Access Foundation (MeHAF), which works to “promote access to quality health care, especially for those who are uninsured and underserved, and improve the health of everyone in Maine.”
After coming to Maine in 1992, Luc graduated from the University of Southern Maine with a degree in Economics in 1996 and went on to receive his Masters in Public Policy & Management from the Muskie School of Public Service in 1999. He returned to USM and earned a Master of Science and Education degree in Counseling in 2008.
Luc has helped mental health service providers improve their ability to cross cultural boundaries and serve people more appropriately. He has helped many understand how western concepts of mental health may be foreign to immigrants and refugees. Because of his dedication to this work, Luc Nya received a “Heroes in the Fight” award from the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) in 2006.
Neil J. Kiely is the President and CEO and of Androscoggin Bank. Neil also sits on the Board of the Portland Trust Company, an affiliate of the Bank focused on trust and wealth management services. Before joining the Bank’s Executive Team as part of the CEO succession plan, Neil served for five years as a Director on the Androscoggin Board. Neil’s background includes law, real estate development and other entrepreneurial ventures. Prior to joining Androscoggin, Neil served five years as the Director of Development–New England for First Wind, LLC, where he led internal and external teams in all aspects of the development of grid scale wind and solar energy projects from site identification through community engagement and permitting to construction. Neil received his J.D. from Emory University School of Law and his undergraduate degree from Boston College. Neil lives in Falmouth, Maine with his wife Elise and their two children.
Chris has been buying/selling real estate for over 17 years and has personally purchased real estate to convert a multi-unit into condos, rehabbed and renovated over five properties, built a home from the ground up, and currently owns several rental properties. One of his buildings, which houses his office, is located right next to the USM Portland Campus.
Chris has an extensive network of relationships and has been in the top 2% of Agents in Maine for the majority of his career. Chris also enjoys fishing, tele skiing, longboarding and bowling.
Chris was born in Maine and his family traces their roots back many generations. He lives in Scarborough with his wife Danielle, and their two young boys.
Adam R. Lee is an attorney at Trafton, Matzen, Belleau & Frenette, where he represents individuals, businesses and municipalities in all manner of litigation, with a particular focus on employment, administrative and governmental law. Previously Adam was Associate Corporation Counsel for the City of Portland, and has served multiple terms as a City Councilor in the City of Auburn. Adam was named one of Lewiston/Auburn’s 40 under 40 honorees for activism and commitment as a local government & civic leader. Adam is deeply involved in the community serving on the boards of the Lewiston Auburn Economic Growth Council and the Franco American Heritage Center, and previously on the board of the Lewiston Education Fund. He has also volunteered with the Lewiston/Auburn YMCA, the Lewiston/Auburn Triple Crown 5k series, as a Big Brothers Big Sisters mentor, and as a debate coach at Edward Little High School. Adam is also presently the Policy Debate Coach at Boston College.
Adam lives in Auburn with his wife Heidi McCarthy, and when not working, serving, or volunteering, they enjoy traveling and achieving their goal of running a 5k race in all 50 states before they reach the age of 50. Adam has a B.A. from the University of Texas and a J.D., cum laude, from Vermont Law School.
Aimée Petrin is the Executive Director of Portland Ovations, an over 80 year, Maine-based, multidisciplinary presenter. She is active in the field, participating in regional and national grants panels, showcase juries, curating excursions, and panels. She serves on the board of APAP, the Bates Dance Festival Advisory Board and until recently the Maine Arts Commission. Aimee is also a member of the USM Music Advisory Board.
She has participated as an international delegate for New England Foundation for the Arts. She is a former Board Chair for the Arts Presenters of Northern New England and has been instrumental in initiating and supporting regional performing arts projects.
She is the former Northeast partner representative to the National Performance Network. Aimee previously served as the Programming Manager at the Flynn Center in Burlington, VT, where she initiated partnerships focusing on diversity and access, designed and implemented residencies, and produced site-specific performances.
Jana Lapoint has been an active member in the USM community, as a volunteer for the University Of Southern Maine School Of Music and USM Board of Visitors. Jana earned a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degree with high honors from the University of Bridgeport. She is a former business teacher and taught at the New Canaan High School. Jana previously owned Lapoint Industries in Auburn, Maine and served as a trustee on the Maine Community College System board for 11 years, with two years as Chair. She also served the Maine Charter School Board for 10 years, for 6 years as a Trustee of Dean College in Franklin, Massachusetts, and 6 years as a trustee of Cheverus High School. Jana received a Distinguished Service Award from Dean College and a Women of Distinction Award from the Girl Scouts of Maine. She has been on the State Board of Education for 8 years. Jana also served on the Board of Habitat for Humanity for 8 years and has been a volunteer for Ronald McDonald House of Portland for many years. Jana is a resident of Falmouth.
Mohammad Nasir Shir, originally from Afghanistan, moved to Maine in April of 1984. He has been a proud citizen of Cape Elizabeth since moving his family in April of 1997. Nasir has been a Cape Elizabeth School Board member since 2017, serving on the Finance Committee, Policy Committee, and Technology Committee. Nasir has a B.A. in Geography and International Development from Clark University and a M.A. from the Muskie School at USM. Nasir’s professional expertise is in the field of Geographic Information Systems where he applies analytical spatial reference to databases in a map format. He has served on many boards including Waynflete’s Board of Trustees; Maine Community Foundation, Maine Civil Liberty Union, and the Cape Elizabeth Conservation Commission.
Muhidin Libah was born in Southern Somalia before being forced to flee. He arrived in Lewiston in 2005 after 13 years in a Kenyan refugee camp and one year in Syracuse, New York. Soon after settling in Maine, Libah graduated from the University of Southern Maine with a B.A. in Natural and Applied Sciences and a minor in Holistic & Integrative Health. Mr. Libah founded the Somali Bantu Community Association of Maine, where he currently serves as the Executive Director. The Somali Bantu Community Association helps people with everything from reading their mail to navigating IRS audits. He has co-founded multiple other nonprofits including the Middle Juba Relief and Sustainability Organization and Somali Bantu Community Association of Syracuse. In addition to his role within the Somali community, he serves on The Maine Community Foundation’s Androscoggin County Fund committee reviewing grant applications received through the Community Building grant program that serve Androscoggin County.
Andrea (Annie) King is currently a School Counselor at South Portland High School, where she has been serving for the past 3 years. A resident of Portland, Ms. King obtained a B.A. in Psychology from Bates College in 2013, where she also received the Leland and Claudina Bechtel Award for her commitment to the Renaissance School in Auburn, Maine. In 2017, Ms. King graduated from the University of Southern Maine with a M.S. in Counseling.
Kelly Barton is an experienced senior health care executive. Much of her career has been focused on behavioral health services with a diverse background in health care management. She began her health care leadership career at Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center in La Crosse, Wis., as a compliance and health information manager for Behavioral Health. Over 15 years at Gundersen, she worked in roles with progressively greater responsibility, including as vice president, clinical operations from 2012 through 2016. In 2016 she joined Community Health Network as the chief operating officer of its Northern Division and in 2018 assumed her role overseeing all integrated primary care.
Executive Director of Maine Community Integration, Fowsia Musse is one of nine siblings born in Somalia. She immigrated to the United States in 1995, after fleeing to Ethiopia with her family during the Somali Civil War. Living briefly in California, then Georgia before finally settling in Maine, Musse has embraced Auburn as her home, taken aback initially by what she experienced in the United States up to that point. Maine Community Integration is committed to integrating New Mainers into their communities while respecting and uplifting their diverse cultures, identities, and tradition. We serve the interests of both immigrant and local communities by bridging gaps in mutual understanding in order to create social and systemic change. We focus on empowering New Mainer girls and their families through a variety of social education and systems advocacy programs.