Neal Allen has continued his family’s tradition of service to the greater Portland community through his career as a municipal, regional, and state official and through his volunteer commitments. A graduate of Hartwick College (B.A., Political Science) and Hartford University’s Barney School of Business (M.P.A.), he has been assistant city manager and acting city manager of the city of Portland, the first executive director of Regional Waste Systems, executive director of Mid-Maine Waste, executive director of Greater Portland Council of Governments and executive director of the Southern Maine Economic Development District. He also served as Governor Brennan’s liaison to the National Governor’s Association and the executive director of the Maine Job Training Council. His civic responsibilities have also included chairing the Lake Region School Board and moderating Sebago town meetings. Private sector service includes the AVESTA corporation, where has been a board member and chair, and Seventy-five State Street, where he is serving his second term as board chair. Throughout his career, Neal has been an advocate of regional cooperation and collaboration, with a particular emphasis on promoting sustainability in community development and environmental protection.
Erin Billings has built her career in communications, beginning as a statehouse reporter in Helena, Montana, for Lee Newspapers and later as a national political journalist in Washington, DC, for CQ-Roll Call. During her time as a reporter, Erin was regularly featured as an analyst on CNN, MSNBC, FOX News, and NPR. After journalism, Erin became a strategic communications consultant for several prominent public affairs agencies, specializing in crisis communications, media relations, and reputation enhancement for a broad range of clients such as Tyson Foods, Credit Suisse, and H&R Block.
The goddaughter of Senator Muskie and, like the late Senator, Erin attended Bates College where she majored in Political Science and French. She received her master’s degree in Journalism from the University of Montana, her parents’ alma mater. Leon and Pat Billings were dedicated public servants: Leon served as Muskie’s Senate and Secretary of State chief of staff and both Leon and Pat served in Maryland’s House of Delegates. A Washingtonian and lover of Maine who proudly boasts of her Montana ties, Erin is a strong supporter of the University of M
William Burney was a long-time civic leader in his home town of Augusta
and in state and federal education and housing programs. A graduate of
Augusta’s Cony High School, he is an alumnus of Boston University and the
University of Maine School of Law. Bill’s public service career included City
Councilor and Mayor of Augusta, executive director of Augusta’s Downtown ’82
the program, chair of the Maine Board of Education, Maine field office director for the
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and assistant director of the
Maine Housing Authority. His professional and volunteer affiliations included the
Board of Directors and Advisory Council of the National League of Cities, chair of
the Maine Conference of Mayors, Board of Directors of Volunteers of America
Northern New England, Advisory Council chair of Penney Memorial United Baptist
Church and the Maine Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil
Rights. Augusta’s Le Club Calumet named him Outstanding Citizen and he was
the organizer of Kids ’n Cops on Campus. Still actively engaged in community
service in retirement, he is a member of the Maine Capitol Planning Commission
and the Capital Area Recreation Association in addition to his service on the
Muskie School Board of Visitors.
Jane Fenderson Cabot was a longtime member of Senator Muskie’s staff, interning in his office before accepting a permanent position following her graduation from Mount Holyoke College. She was a research assistant on the candidate’s plane during Muskie’s 1968 vice-presidential campaign and a professional staff member on his Senate Subcommittee on Intergovernmental Relations where she specialized in federal revenue sharing. After directing scheduling and advance operations for Rosalynn Carter during Jimmy Carter’s 1976 presidential campaign, she was appointed White House Director of Scheduling for the First Lady from 1977-81. Later, as executive vice president of M Booth & Associates, a public relations firm in New York City, she represented some of the nation’s best-known philanthropies and educational institutions. She is the current president of the Maine Women’s Giving Tree, philanthropy serving women, children, and families in Midcoast Mai
Rebecca Swanson Conrad owns RSC Consulting that assists businesses and organizations
seeking to align mission to outcomes, develop new projects, or scale to new market positions.
Previously, she served as President and CEO of the Lewiston Auburn Metropolitan Chamber of
Commerce where she led the acquisition of the Lewiston Auburn Economic Growth Council.
She joined the Chamber following a career in higher education administration, first at Bates
College and then as Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Maine College of Art. With
her husband, she founded and owned two small Maine businesses. She had a gubernatorial
appointment to the Maine Arts Commission as vice-chair. She currently serves with Oxfam’s
“Sisters on the Planet,” a diverse group of American women using their influence to fight global
poverty, hunger, and injustice, with a particular focus on empowering women and girls
worldwide. She is also on the University of Southern Maine’s Board of Visitors and the Muskie
School’s Board of Visitors, is an Olympia Snowe Leadership Advisor and serves on Maine
Business Immigration Coalition and Community Health Options boards. Conrad received her BA
in English from Bates College and studied at the New England Studies Program at the
The University of Southern Maine. She lives in Auburn, Maine with her husband Austin and cat
Charles Mingus.
Peter J. Crichton began his 35 year career in public service as economic
development director in his Aroostook County home town of Mars Hill. He
was superintendent of administration for public works, then assistant city
manager for the City of Lewiston and, for eighteen years, Cumberland
County manager, rounding out his professional positions as Auburn city
manager. His leadership roles in municipal and regional government
included presidency of the National Association of County Administrators
(2013-2014) and presidency of the Maine Town, City & County
Management Association (2017), which recognized him with their Annual
Leadership Award (2003) and their Linc Stackpole Manager of the Year
Award (2020). He earned his MPA at the University of Maine and
supplemented his academic education with an internship in Senator
Muskie’s office. He is the co-chair of the Muskie School MPPM Advisory
Committee.
Larissa Crockett graduated with a BA in Economics from the Whittemore
School at the University of New Hampshire in her hometown of Durham,
NH. While homeschooling her three children she served on numerous
Town of Acton, Maine committees and boards and discovered a love of
municipal government. After earning a master’s in policy, planning, and
management from the Muskie School of Public Service Larissa served as
the Assistant Town Manager in Scarborough, Maine before beginning as
Town Manager of Wells, Maine in August of 2020. She loves serving on the
Board of Visitors and is grateful for the opportunity to support future
municipal leaders in Maine.
Patrick Cunningham is CEO of Blue Marble Geographics, a Hallowell
based GIS software company. He is a proud native Mainer, who grew up
in Westbrook and earned his BA in Psychology at USM. After working in
behavioral health Cunningham studied and received an MA in Sociology
from the University of New Hampshire. Exposure to demography and
statistics led him to pursue a career as an applied researcher and program
manager in the software industry in Massachusetts, where, as an industry
analyst, Cunningham co-developed a return on investment (ROI) software
calculator to assist companies such as Microsoft, Compuware and others
with their sometimes complicated B-to-B software solutions. Patrick
returned to Maine in 2003 as Director of Business Development with Blue
Marble and a year later became President. Under his leadership the
company has grown to be a world-wide leader in GIS, mapping and
cartography software.
Cunningham is married to Wendy Harper PhD, Economist with the
University of Maine at Farmington, and is the proud father of twin teenage
daughters Josie and Charlotte. The family enjoys skiing and hiking the
4,000 footers of New England, as well as supporting their daughters’
athletic and academic pursuits. Cunningham is out-going Chair of the
Maine GIS User’s Group, a member of the Maine Geolibrary Board and a
member of the City of Hallowell’s Comprehensive Planning Commission.
He is an amateur musician (voice, guitar, mandolin, banjo and drums) and
enjoys volunteering as a youth basketball coach and a member of the
Vaughn Woods trails committee. Cunningham also actively supports
Capital Area New Maines Project, the Ronald McDonald House and the
Good Shepard Foodbank with employee and personal volunteering efforts.
Joel K. Goldstein has been a teacher and scholar of the American presidency, vice presidency, and constitutional law for more than a quarter-century. He is perhaps best known for his work on the vice presidency, a topic on which he has written two books and many scholarly and journal articles and book chapters. He is frequently interviewed by national and international media and consulted by government officials regarding the vice presidency. He has co-authored a Constitutional Law casebook as well as Understanding Constitutional Law and numerous articles regarding constitutional interpretation and theory, the work of the Supreme Court and its justices, and its decisions dealing with race, and presidential succession and inability. He is the Vincent C. Immel Professor of Law Emeritus at Saint Louis University, where he taught from 1994-2019 and has also taught at Washington University School of Law and the Edmund Muskie School of Public Service at the University of Maine as a visitor.
He received his A.B. from Princeton University summa cum laude (1975), a B.Phil. (1977) and D.Phil. (1978) in politics from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, and his J.D. from Harvard Law School (1981).
He is currently working on a political biography on former Senator and Secretary of State Edmund S. Muskie as well as works on the vice presidency, constitutional law, and the Supreme Court.
Jennifer Hutchins became the Executive Director of the Maine Association of Nonprofits in July 2016. Prior to joining MANP, Jennifer was Executive Director of Creative Portland, where she led the City of Portland’s efforts to strengthen the creative economy. Jennifer also served as Director of Communications and External Affairs at the USM Muskie School of Public Service for nine years and Marketing Director at Portland Stage Company from 1995-2000. She has served on several boards during her career, including Visit Portland, the Greater Portland Economic Development Council, the Maine Association of Nonprofits, the Maine Academy of Modern Music, and most recently, the Maine Philanthropy Center. In May 2020, Jennifer was selected to participate on Governor Mills’ Economic Recovery Committee, which is tasked with putting forth recommendations to alleviate the impacts of the COVID 19 pandemic on the state’s economy. Jennifer holds a Master’s in public policy and management from the USM Muskie School and lives in Portland with her husband and two daughters.
Larus Isfeld born and raised in Reykjavik, Iceland, earned his B.A. in International Studies at Methodist College, NC. He started his career in European retail and food processing, based in Iceland, then moved to NYC to start a logistics company, which he sold to Eimskip USA and headed the merged company, moving its headquarters from Norfolk, VA, to Portland, ME, developing and integrating the Eimskip USA container port with his new home town. He initiated linkages between Maine and the North Atlantic Community through the North Atlantic Development Office, the Arctic Circle Secretariat, and partnerships between Maine universities and businesses and counterparts in the North Atlantic region, fostering also the movement of artists, art and culture through the participating countries and Maine. Now providing management consulting services and continuing his contributions to the Maine-North Atlantic connections, he is able to spend more time with family, wintering in downtown Portland and spending summers at the family homestead on Sturdivant Island, Casco Bay, where their aquaculture farm produces oysters, mussels and seaweed. His volunteer commitments include the Center for Grieving Children and the Muskie School Board of Visitors.
Gerard Kiladjian chairs the Muskie School Tourism and Hospitality
Advisory Board. He brings to his role in that board and as a member of the
school’s Board of Visitors his three decades of extensive experience as a
hotel and hospitality executive, leading management teams in branded
and independently owned hotels such as Hilton, Sheraton, Marriott, the
Four Seasons and the Portland Harbor Hotel in the United States and
Canada.
Gerard is currently president of Principal Hospitality in Portland and
managing partner of the Federal Hotel in Brunswick. Previously he was
general manager of the Portland Harbor Motel and area director for Hart
Hotels in Maine, including the Inn at Diamond Cove and Diamond’s Ledge
Restaurant & Marina on Great Diamond Island.
Armenian by heritage, Gerard was born and raised in the Middle East. He
is a graduate of the Boston University Hospitality Administration program.
A dedicated community volunteer, he is president of the Armenian Cultural
Association of Maine, a past board member of Piper Shores Retirement
Community, past chair of The Greater Portland Convention and Visitor’s
Bureau, and a past board member of Portland Downtown.
Amy Landry is Executive Director, Androscoggin Valley Council of
Governments (AVCOG), a federally designated economic development district
that serves Androscoggin, Franklin, and Oxford Counties in the areas of Land Use
Planning, Economic/Business Development and Transportation.
Amy joined AVCOG in 1996 as Economic Development Specialist and Planner
responsible for the coordination of the agency’s economic development programs
and grant administration; development of the region’s Comprehensive Economic
Development Strategy and asset-based strategic initiatives; technical assistance
and coordination of Federal and State community and economic development
programs; development of a regional brownfields program and underwriting
AVCOG’s microlending program.
Amy is Past President of the Economic Development Council of Maine and serves
on the Maine Development Foundation Board of Directors; Central/Western Maine
Workforce Investment Board; Lewiston-Auburn Metro Chamber of Commerce
Board of Directors; Lake Auburn Watershed Protection Commission;
Androscoggin Transportation Resource Center Policy Committee; USM LAC
Community Advisory Board and past board member of the Lewiston Development
Corporation. Amy holds an MBA from Southern New Hampshire University and a
B.S. in Business Administration from Bryant University. She resides in Lewiston
with her husband and 2 children.
Adam Lee is a native of Auburn and went to Vassar. He worked in New York City for five years before returning to Maine. He currently serves on the Muskie Board of Visitors, the MPBN Board, and the Maine Conservation Voters Board. Lee served as the Chairman of the Efficiency Maine Trust and Chair of the Maine Audubon Corporate Partners. He is the past chairman of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and a past member of the Natural Resources Council of Maine, Maine Historical Society, Maine Energy Council, Governor’s Advisory Council, Center for Cultural Exchange, and the OSHER Map Library. Over the last 20 years, Lee has worked hard in conjunction with various environmental groups to raise fuel economy standards across the nation. He’s proud of the successful accomplishment that will raise the national standards to 54.5 MPG’s by 2025. Lee is a graduate of Vassar College and the recipient of environmental awards from the Natural Resources Council of Maine and the Maine League of Conservation Voters.
John L. Martin, of Eagle Lake has had a long career serving Maine in the legislature. He earned his B.A. in history at the University of Maine. A member of the House for thirty years, during which he was Minority leader (1971-1974) and a Speaker(1975-1992). Term-limited in the House, he was elected to the Senate (1998-2008). Term-limited in the Senate he returned to the House in 2014 and has been re-elected three times. He was president of the State Legislative Leaders Foundation (1979-1982) and chairman of the New England Caucus of State Legislatures (1982-1983). Martin was also a chairman of the Land Use Regulation Commission (1970-1972) and chairman of the Intergovernmental Relations Commission in 1969. He has served as president of the National Conference of State Legislatures (1990-1991) and was chairman of the State-Federal Assembly of NCSL in 1985-86, vice-chair of NCSL’s Budget, Fiscal and Rules Committee in 1986-87, and chair of the Task Force on Reapportionment in 1987-1988. Martin interned in Senator Muskie’s office and managed his Washington campaign office in the 1968 vice-presidential campaign. In addition to his service as a legislator, he has been a high school and university history and political science teacher.
Mary McAleney was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, but her family roots are deep in Maine. She attended high school in Maine, earned her bachelor’s degree at Merrimac College, and returned to Maine and taught high school in Maine at St. Joseph’s and Catherine McAuley High School. After eight years of teaching, she began a second career as a political and legislative staff member. She worked for Senator Muskie’s ‘76 campaign, twenty-two years after her grandfather, Guy Twombly, Democratic State Committeeman from Waldo County, helped launch Senator Muskie’s first campaign for governor. She also worked for state Senator Jim Tierney. She served in George Mitchell’s U.S. Senate office for ten years (1984-1994) and was his chief of staff.
From 1995 until her retirement in 2007, Mary was the district director for the U.S. Small Business Administration in Massachusetts and Maine. She has also been the executive director of the Maine Irish Heritage Center. Mary now manages her real estate business within Maine.
Charles Micoleau was born in Englewood, New Jersey. He attended Bowdoin College (1963) for his bachelor’s degree, he then earned a master’s degree in international relations at Johns Hopkins University (1965). He returned to Maine, working with anti-poverty programs, then joined Senator Muskie’s staff in 1970 and was the scheduler in the 1970 re-election campaign in addition to his legislative staff work.He became Senator Muskie’s administrative assistant (1975-1978). During his service on Senator Muskie’s staff he attended Georgetown University Law School, earning his J.D. in 1977, returned to Maine and became a founding member of Curtis, Thaxter, Stevens, Broder, and Micoleau. He was a member of the Democratic National Committee (1984-1992) He is a past president of the Maine Chapter of The Nature Conservancy and has served as President of the Maine Center for Innovation in Biotechnology and loan review committees of the Maine Technology Institute. He is currently the Chairman of the Muskie School of Public Service Board of Visitors.
Peter Mills is Executive Director of the Maine Turnpike Authority. He was born in Farmington and attended Gorham high school, following which he attended Harvard and earned his bachelor’s degree (1965). After five years of U.S. Navy service he entered the University of Maine Law School and earned his J.D.(1973). He practiced law for thirty-two years, twenty-three of which were with, Wright and Mills in Skowhegan. He is a founding member of the Somerset Economic Development Corporation and a founding member of FirstPark, a business park in central Maine. Mills has also spent many years in public service, serving as a representative and senator (1995-2010). He was also a candidate for governor in 2006 and 2010). He was appointed Executive Director of the Maine Turnpike Authority in 2011.
Edmund S. (“Ned”) Muskie, Jr. is a Senior Advisor with the Washington, DC, office of Bernstein Private Wealth Management. He serves private clients throughout the US and, selectively, overseas. Prior to joining Bernstein, Ned was a managing director at both U.S. Trust and Convergent Wealth Advisors. Most of his clients are successful first generation entrepreneurs or serial entrepreneurs. He also serves family offices responsible for sustaining the multigenerational wealth, vision, and legacy of ultra-high-net-worth families. Mirroring his father’s skills, Ned assists his clients with probing questions that elucidate their unique needs, beliefs, and principles as he connects them to resources who will aid in their business or personal goals.
As the youngest son of Senator Muskie, Ned was raised with strong family values and an appreciation for public service. Ned has served on numerous boards. In addition to his service on the Board of Visitors he regularly volunteers with the Capital Area Food Bank and Children’s National Hospital.
Ned earned a BA in political science from Duke University. His career in finance has taken him to 74 countries and throughout the United States. Apart from living a decade in London, he has resided in Washington, DC, (Georgetown) most of his life. He also spends as much time as he can in Kennebunkport, Maine.
Gregory Nadeau is chairman and CEO of Infrastructure Ventures, LLC, a company forming strategic alliances and serving as a bridge for infrastructure companies and public and private transportation systems, building on his experience as a state legislator, state government and the Federal Highway Administration. Following graduation from high school in Lewiston he attended the University of Maine in August the University of Southern Maine Lewiston/Auburn College. He was elected to the Maine House of Representatives from Lewiston in 1978 and served in the legislature from 1979 to 1990. From 1995-2002 he was a policy advisor for Governor Angus King. He was appointed to the Maine Department of Transportation as the Director of the Office of Policy and Communications and continued with the agency as the Deputy Commissioner for Policy, Planning, and Communications until July 2009, when he was appointed deputy administrator of the Federal Highway Administration. In December 2013 he became acting administrator and in July 2015 he was appointed administrator of the agency. He left the Highway Administration at the end of the Obama administration and founded Infrastructure Ventures LLC.
Donald (“Don”) Nicoll was born in Boston and has devoted his career to Maine since he graduated from Colby College and received an MA degree from Pennsylvania State University. He was executive secretary of the Maine Democratic Party (1954-56); administrative assistant to Congressman Frank M. Coffin (1957-60); and worked for Senator Muskie from 1962 to 1972), first as legislative assistant and news secretary and for 9 years as his administrative assistant. He served as a senior advisor to Muskie from 1972-1996. Nicoll was chairman and CEO, Joint Operations Committee, New England Land Grant Universities (1973-75); vice president for planning and public affairs, Maine Medical Center (1975-86); and an independent program and policy consultant. He has led Maine state committees, commissions, and task forces on government organization, state compensation policy, the mental health system, information technology, and telecommunications, and the Allagash Wilderness Waterway. A founding member and former chair of the Muskie School Board of Visitors, he is the founding president and a current board member of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway Foundation.
Carolann Ouellette graduated from Cornell University with a bachelor’s in 1984. Since then, she has had a rich career. Her background as a whitewater guide and former Operations Manager of the New England Outdoor Center. Carolann is a graduate of Cornell University She has served on numerous boards throughout the state. This includes Kennebec Valley Tourism Council, Old Canada Road Scenic Byway, and U.S. Travel Association, and is the former chair of the Maine Tourism Association Board. Carolann was the Director of the Maine Office of Tourism (MOT) and served as a founding Board member of the Commission. She also was the former Operations Manager of the New England Outdoor Center, Currently, she is the Executive Director of Maine Huts & Trails based in Kingfield and a returning Board member. She is also the board chair of Discover New England.
Amanda Rector has been the Maine State Economist since 2011. She graduated with a BA in Economics from Wellesley College and a Master’s degree in Public Policy and Management from the Muskie School of Public Service at the University of Southern Maine. She is also a graduate of Maine Development Foundation’s Leadership Maine program. Amanda started working for the state in 2004 as an Economic Research Analyst with the Maine Department of Labor before spending time as an Economist and Senior Economist in the former State Planning Office. She is a member of the State of Maine’s Revenue Forecasting Committee and serves as the Governor’s liaison to the U.S. Census Bureau as well as serving on the advisory board for the New England Public Policy Center at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Amanda is originally from Camden, Maine, and now lives in Union with her husband and their two children.
Linda Silka started her academic career at Oklahoma State University with a B.S. in Psychology. From there she continued to the University of Kansas with an MA in Psychology and then received a Ph.D. there in Social Psychology. Silka has had a rich professional career. For thirty years, Silka was a faculty member at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, where she directed the Center for Family, Work, Community, served as the Special Assistant to the Provost for Community Outreach and Partnerships, and was Professor of Regional Economic and Social Development. She has many years of experience in leading community-university research partnerships on environmental, economic development, and environmental health issues. She has conducted much research over her career and has been published extensively in multiple peer-reviewed publications including the Journal of the New England Board of Higher Education, Australasian Journal of Community Engagement, and Gateways: International Journal of Community Research and Engagement. Silka has been the Director of the University of Maine’s Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center. Silka is currently a Member and Fellow of both the American Psychological Association and the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues and is now a Senior Fellow at the University of Maine’s George Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions
Mary-Elizabeth Simms is a native of Southern Maine, who graduated from
USM with a Bachelor’s in Business Management in 2015 and went on to
earn her Master’s in Public Health as well as a Master’s in Business
Administration from USM in 2017. She is passionate about building strong
community networks and is the co-founder of the Muskie Alumni
Association.
She currently works as Medicare Program Manager at Martin’s Point
Health Care where she leads and supports initiatives to improve the health
and well-being of our communities in Maine and New Hampshire by
addressing social determinants of health and ensuring equal access to
care.
She adds “In my free time, I have fun exploring trails around Greater
Portland with my fiancé (also a USM grad) and our pup, Theo. We recently
purchased a home in Portland and have been enjoying getting used to our
new neighborhood and settling in.”
James (“Pat”) Webber was appointed director of the Bates College Muskie Archives and Special Collections in 2012, following five years as archivist and one year as acting director. His early career, following graduation from the College of William & Mary in 1988, was in archeological field work, followed by geotechnical services in the construction industry. He shifted fields and earned a master’s in history at Virginia Commonwealth University with a 2001 master’s degree in history. He completed his move to the archivist’s profession with a 2001 master’s in public history at the Special Collections Research Center of North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C. As director of the Muskie Archives he is responsible for Senator Muskie’s collection of documents, films, photographs, audio recordings, the Muskie Oral History collection, the Senator’s legislative record, and memorabilia. Under his direction the archives has expanded digital access to the oral history interviews, the legislative record and other research aids, all vital resources for students of Senator Muskie’s legacy.