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U.S. Democratic Congressman Barney Frank has represented Massachusetts’s 4th Congressional District since 1981.
Frank chairs the House Financial Services Committee, a key housing committee in the House, and has been a long time supporter of affordable housing. He has been highly critical of the government allowing Section 8 subsidies to expire, has fought to produce more subsidized apartments, and has pressured Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to make more loans for manufactured housing and affordable housing.
This year he sponsored comprehensive housing legislation to address many of the problems that led to the subprime mortgage collapse and the current housing crisis affecting many states.
In addition to his strong support for housing, Frank has been the House’s leading legislator on gay rights issues and has been deeply involved in immigration legislation.
Frank grew up in Bayonne, New Jersey, and is a graduate of Harvard University and Harvard Law School. At Harvard he first became involved in Massachusetts politics and in 1967 went to work for former Boston Mayor Kevin White.
Frank is one of the intellectual and political leaders of the Democratic Party in the House of Representatives, where he is regarded as the best debater in the House and is consistently celebrated as their smartest and funniest member.
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John E. Baldacci was re-elected Governor of the State of Maine in November 2006 for a second term. Governor Baldacci has made the health, education, and well-being of Mainers his top priorities and has continued his strong commitment to affordable housing initiatives.
Born and raised in Bangor as one of eight children, Baldacci learned the value of communication and cooperation early. Growing up around his family’s Bangor restaurant (Momma Baldacci’s) Baldacci was surrounded by civicminded family and community members who instilled an intense work ethic and an equally intense desire to serve the people of his state. While working at the family restaurant, Baldacci earned a BA in history from the University of Maine.
When he was twenty-three years old, Baldacci served as a member of the Bangor City Council, his first elected position. In 1982, he was elected to the Maine State Senate, where he served before being elected to the United States House of Representatives for Maine’s Second District in 1994. Baldacci was re-elected to Congress in 1996, 1998, and 2000, and he committed himself to acting in the best interest of his home state and its people. As a member of the House Agriculture Committee and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Baldacci played an active role in decisions directly affecting Maine people. Baldacci traveled home to Maine every weekend, determined to hear first-hand the challenges Mainers faced.
Governor Baldacci continues to dedicate himself to the people he serves, always remembering the question his father, Bob, posed to him when he was a State Senator: “What did you do for the people today?” It is this commitment to Maine, his passion for the natural resources that make Maine unique, and his fearless defense of “The Way Life Should Be” that motivate Governor Baldacci today.
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Peaches Bass oversees special projects for the Maine Department of Labor Commissioner’s Office. Her current projects include Women’s Employment Issues and Nontraditional Occupations, Green Job Training, and partnerships with other service providers, including housing programs.
Peaches is the principle staff person for the Women’s Employment Issues Committee of the Maine Jobs Council and the Prior Learning Assessment Work Group. She also serves on the Leadership Team for the Maine Girls Collaborative Project and she is the Chair of the State TANF Advisory Council.
She has over 20 years experience in public health and social service programs, including serving as Executive Director of the Maine AIDS Alliance for eight years, and has worked in workforce development programs since 2002. Her background includes technical writing, program development, and professional training.
In 2007, Peaches developed a partnership with the Portland and Westbrook Housing Authorities to provide low cost computers to residents in those housing developments. This year she is working with MaineHousing to develop green jobs training for low income people, including residents of public housing, to prepare them for entry level jobs in energy efficiency occupations.
Melinda Boehm has worked in the banking and mortgage industry since 1985. Melinda currently is a Senior Residential Underwriter for First Horizon Home Loans (soon to be Metlife Home loans) where she is responsible for lending decisions on jumbo, conventional, government, and second lien products.
Melinda has been a delegated FHA underwriter for ten years, and an authorized VA appraisal reviewer for six years. She has been board member of the Mortgage Bankers Association of Maine for the past several years, and is currently President of the organization.
Joni Boissonneault has been a Program Manager for the Portland Housing Authority since 2002. Currently she administers the housing authority’s Family Self Sufficiency Program for both Housing Choice Voucher and ROSS Public Housing, serving over 40 participants. She will be implementing a new grant-funded 3 year economic self sufficiency program worth $250,000 this fall.
Joni has been with the Portland Housing Authority for 15 years, previously serving as a Coordinator for the Family Investment Center, as an Administrative Assistant for the Public Housing and Resident Services department, and as an Account Clerk.
She holds an Associates Degree in Business Management from the University of Southern Maine.
Daniel Brennan is MaineHousing’s Director of Development, where he is responsible for overseeing MaineHousing’s multifamily and supportive housing lending programs that fund over $30 million in construction projects annually throughout Maine.
Dan has been with the MaineHousing since 1993, previously serving as the Director of Asset Management and as the Internal Auditor. Prior to joining MaineHousing, he worked for the Bank of New England, Maine National Bank, and RECOLL Management Corporation.
Brennan is a Certified Internal Auditor and received his BA from the University of Maine, Orono.
Brenda Brown has been Assistant Director at the Bangor Housing Authority since 1994, where her duties include managing the Housing Choice Voucher program, reviewing all Fair Housing/504 issues, and maintaining the Housing Authority’s computer systems. Brenda also is involved in submitting grant opportunities for the Bangor agency.
She has 27 years experience in the housing industry, including 13 years at MaineHousing where she held four different positions in the Asset Management Division.
Brenda holds several certifications from national training organizations and has participated in many different task force groups.
Maureen Brown has been HUD Program Manager in MaineHousing’s Asset Management Department since 2002. She started at MaineHousing in 1985 as a Program Assistant and has held several other positions in the Asset Management Department, with a focus on the Section 8 Programs.
Maureen has played a key role in the introduction of many new and innovative options to the Housing Choice Voucher Program in Maine, holds many industry designations, and is well known and respected in the industry.
Monica Buck has been a Program Officer in MaineHousing’s Energy and Housing Services Department since 2001. She is responsible for running several agency programs, including the Home Repair/Replacement program, Elderly Grants, Septic Repair/Replacement program, Home Retro/ADA Compliance Grants, and the Home Energy Loan Program.
Prior to joining MaineHousing Monica worked in the banking field for fifteen years, most recently as the Relationships Manager in the Lending Department for Union Trust Company (now Camden National Bank). In that position she handled first time homebuyer loans, secondary market purchases and refinancing, construction loans, commercial loans, and the consumer portfolio.
Bill Burney is the Field Office Director for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in Bangor. During his 10 years at HUD Bill has focused on advancing several of the HUD’s priorities, including the Faith-Based initiative, minority homeownership and community development, accessible housing, homeless veterans’ assistance, and the Section 8 homeownership initiative.
Bill’s professional career encompasses over 30 years of involvement with housing and community development programs, starting as a construction laborer doing substantial rehabilitation on Section 8 apartment buildings in Boston, where he advanced in the company to plan and develop neighborhood revitalization projects in several East Coast urban communities. He worked at MaineHousing for 17 years, implementing HUD’s Moderate Rehabilitation Program, Rental Rehabilitation Program, parts of the HOME Program, and wrote the first Housing Counseling Program grant application to HUD.
Bill is a graduate of Boston University and the University of Maine School of Law. He has served on the Augusta City Council and was the first African-American Mayor elected in the State of Maine. He now serves as the Chairman of the Augusta Board of Education
Tom Cary has served as Treasurer of MaineHousing since 1984. One of Tom’s responsibilities is structuring the bond issues which fund MaineHousing’s single family and multi-family housing programs. Prior to joining MaineHousing, Tom worked at the Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company in New York City.
He holds an MBA from the State University of New York and a BA from Williams College.
Linda Couch is the Deputy Director of the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), where she has worked since 1995 except for three years at the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging.
Linda’s background is in state governmental affairs, working for a private consulting firm and as a fellow in the Connecticut General Assembly’s Office of Legislative Research.
She holds a Masters of Public Affairs from the University of Connecticut and a B.A. from George Washington University.
Barbara Croman is a Loan Specialist for the Department of Veterans Affairs, Manchester Regional Office. Barbara has worked there for 18 years, first in the Finance Division and then in the Loan Guaranty Division.
Prior to VA she was employed by Bucks County, PA, as a draftsperson and editor.
Barbara is a certified VA trainer, having completed their "Training the Trainer" instructor’s course. She has been underwriting and auditing VA loans and educating users of the program for 15 years.
Lisa M. Cyr has been a CareerCenter Consultant with the Department of Labor in Augusta for 15 years. In that capacity Lisa has worked with businesses in Kennebec County offering services to help keep and expand local employment opportunities while also connecting customers of the CareerCenter with good careers. She also has case managed and worked in the information center to assist job seekers with educational pursuits, job searches and computer access in an effort to provide skilled workers with jobs that meet their family needs.
Lisa has over 26 years experience working for the State of Maine, including jobs in the Department of Health and Human Services and State Human Resources. She received her Masters degree from the University of Maine, Orono.
Jean Dempster is the Asset Development Program Coordinator for Maine Centers for Women, Work, and Community (WWC). Since joining WWC in 2000, she has conducted a variety of workforce development, microenterprise, and personal money management training, works with individuals on self-sufficiency planning, and helped develop curriculum to integrate financial literacy training into the career planning process.
Jean coordinates the Family Development Account (FDA) matched savings program at WWC, chairs the Maine FDA Coalition Steering Committee, and serves on the Augusta Housing Authority Family Self Sufficiency Program Committee.
Jean holds a BA in Social Work and has done graduate work in community development.
Tobi Goldberg joined the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston’s Housing and Community Investment staff in 2005. Tobi oversees the bank’s affordable housing portfolio in Maine and Essex County, where she works with members and their community-development partners. As part of her community investment role she has coordinated forums for financial institutions and nonprofit development partners on lending opportunities around expiring Low Income Housing Tax Credits, the response of public and private lenders to evolving community lending opportunities, and challenges in developing, underwriting, and maintaining the long-term viability of housing with supportive services
Before joining the FHLBB, Tobi was a regional manager for HallKeen Management and later began her own property management consulting business. She holds a BA degree from Colgate University, where she attended the Graduate Program for Women in Politics and Government, and is a Certified Property Manager â by the Institute of Real Estate Management.
Lorrie Hamlin, Single Family Housing Specialist for USDA, Rural Development, has been with RD
for 31 years, working in both the direct and guaranteed single family housing loan programs. Lorrie’s experience has included loan origination and underwriting, servicing, and borrower counseling. Currently she is responsible for program oversight for both the direct and guaranteed single family housing loan programs, providing assistance and training to field office employees.
Lorrie is an active participant in the Maine Home Repair Network and serves on the Board of Directors for hoMEworks.
Julie Hashem is MaineHousing’s Communications & Planning Manager and has been with MaineHousing since 2004. Prior to joining MaineHousing, Julie was a policy development specialist at the Maine State Planning Office. She has nearly 20 years of professional experience in policy development, regulatory and legislative affairs, and economic and management consulting.
Julie received a B.S. in civil engineering and urban studies and planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1985, and an M.B.A. from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley in 1990.
Kent Hiteshew, with an over 30-year professional career in the fields of housing finance and public policy, is Senior Managing Director of JP Morgan’s 11-member Housing Finance Group, and is a member of the Tax-Exempt Capital Markets Operating Committee.
Before his investment banking career, Kent worked for the City of New York and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, D.C. He has senior managed housing transactions for 20 state housing finance agencies, including recent financings on behalf of the agencies of Maine, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, and California. Over his Wall Street career, Kent has senior managed over $30 billion of housing transactions.
He has worked with the Maine State Housing Authority since 1990, including serving as senior managing underwriter for the past nine years. Kent holds a B.S. from Rutgers University and a Masters of Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Matt Holden has been engaged in energy conservation since 1982 and is President of Investment Engineering, which he founded in 1990. Investment Engineering has provided energy efficiency services to affordable housing for over ten years, and serves clients nationwide. Mechanical system designs and energy audits for affordable housing have included cogeneration, weatherization, condensing boilers, water conservation, lighting, controls, and the synergies of all these systems working together.
Matt has a BS and Masters in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Iowa. He is a LEED Accredited Professional, is licensed as a Professional Engineer in seven states, and is certified as an Energy Manager and Building Commission Professional
John Joseph is President of JAI Software and is presently developing a computerized residential energy-audit system for MaineHousing. John also is the project evaluator for MaineHousing’s Residential Energy Assistance Challenge (REACH) grant project, and serves part-time as Professor of Finance and Economics at Thomas College in Waterville.
He served as Director of the Maine Office of Energy Resources in the late 1970's. He is a member of the Maine Milk Commission and serves as a representative of small colleges on the Finance Authority of Maine's NextGen Advisory Committee.
John received his MA and PhD in Economics from Georgetown University.
John Kerry is the Director of the Governor’s Office of Energy Independence and Security. John has extensive experience in the public and private sector and a background in the energy and environmental fields, including serving as Executive Director of the Maine Office of Energy Resources in the Brennan Administration from 1983-86.
He served two terms in the state Senate, where he chaired the Utilities Committee, and one term in the state House of Representatives. In addition to his work in government, John has been a successful businessman, including ownership stakes in a real estate company, two restaurants, and an energy services company.
He holds a master's degree in public administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and a master's degree in planning from Boston College.
Bob King joined MaineHousing in 2005 as a Senior Research Analyst in the Communications and Planning Unit. In this capacity, Bob provides research and analysis to support MaineHousing’s various programs and activities.
Prior to joining MaineHousing, Bob held research and analysis positions with Cuddledown (a Maine based catalog company) and Central Maine Power Company and was an adjunct instructor with the Thomas College MBA program.
Bob received a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Maine, Orono and an MS in Business from Husson College in Bangor.
Debbie King-Johnson, a senior homeownership officer with MaineHousing, has over 20 years experience in the residential mortgage industry. Her responsibilities include First Home program compliance and administering the housing counseling grant program. She is an advocate of homebuyer education in Maine and is committed to helping people achieve homeownership.
Debbie began her career with Gardiner Savings Institution and later with Maine Savings Bank. Since 1986, she has held several positions in MaineHousing’s Homeownership Division. She left MaineHousing in 1999 to oversee the outreach and marketing of the Maine Municipal Bond Bank programs, and returned in 2002.
Adam Krea has been Deputy Director of MaineHousing since 2005. Prior to that Adam served as Assistant State Treasurer for the State of Maine from 1998-2004.
He is a graduate of Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont with a degree in Government. Adam and his family live in Harpswell.
Patti Lawton is the 2008 President of the Maine Association of REALTORS, and a broker with Welcome Home Realty in Brunswick. She is a past president of the Merrymeeting Board of REALTORS, past Chairman of the MAR Foundation, and serves on the Board of Directors for the National Association of REALTORS.
Her community involvement includes serving as President of the Tedford Shelter Board, past capital campaign co-chairman for United Way, and Vice President of Midcoast Maine Community Action. Patti is a past local REALTOR of the Year and lives in Brunswick.
Bobbie Jo Marcoux has been the Default Manager in MaineHousing’s Finance Department since 2004, where she is responsible for the performance of MaineHousing’s single-family, multi-family, and home improvement program portfolios.
Prior to joining MaineHousing she worked for Banknorth for ten years, most recently as the Loss Mitigation Manager in the Collections Department.
Bobbie Jo received her Associates Degree in Workplace Technology from Central Maine Community College and is pursuing her BA in Leadership and Organizational Studies from the University of Southern Maine.
Chris Martin is the founder and board chair of Information Technology Exchange (ITE), a Maine-based non-profit organization known for its “PCs for MAINE”computer access and literacy project. The project is a resource of low cost, high quality personal computers, support, and training for individuals and families who need technology to reach academic or career skills objectives.
Martin has 18 years experience in the technology. His most recent work includes the technical and business development of Maine’s first computer recycling facility in Waterville.
ITE is a member of the Great Bay Foundation network, and recently has been nominated for both the Manhattan Institute’s Social Entrepreneur Award and the Lodestar Foundations’ Collaboration Award for its work with other non-profit organizations.
Gail McBride, a former Bank Vice President with twenty-five years of private sector lending experience, joined MaineHousing in 1999 as the Director of the division responsible for the agency’s single family First Time Homebuyer purchase programs. On an annual basis, MaineHousing helps over 1,000 low and moderate income Maine households buy their first home.
A graduate of the University of Maine at Orono, Gail has served on a variety of non-profit organizations’ Board of Directors as well as economic development committees.
Dale McCormick has been Director of MaineHousing since 2005, where she has received state and national recognition for her leadership in the housing and energy fields, including the Green Building Leadership Award and an award from the National Association of Women in Construction. In 2007 she was inducted to the Maine Women’s Hall of Fame.
Prior to becoming Director Dale served eight years as the first woman Treasurer of the State of Maine, and served three terms in the Maine Senate. She also founded Women Unlimited, a program that successfully trains women on welfare to compete for high-paying jobs in trade and a technical occupation, ran her own construction and design firm, and is a successful author.
She is a member of the Advisory Council for the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston.
Dale holds a BA from the University of Iowa and is the first woman to complete a carpentry apprenticeship with the carpenter’s union.
Don has more than 30 years experience in the building profession in Maine, and currently serves as Construction Services Manager for MaineHousing's Development Department. Don's primary responsibilities include evaluating, establishing, and administering construction standards and policies, including Green Building Standards, for the new construction and substantial rehabilitation housing programs administered by MaineHousing. Don manages and mentors a staff of construction analysts.
Prior to working at MaineHousing, Don was Director of Project Development for Ledgewood Inc., a major commercial and housing general contractor in the greater Portland area, and a Vice-President and co-owner of Terrien Architects Inc. of Portland.
Don holds a BS in civil engineering from the University of Maine at Orono.
Peter Merrill joined the Maine State Housing Authority in 1996 where he currently serves as Director of the Communications and Planning Unit, the agency’s research, planning, and public information staff. He also serves as MaineHousing’s lobbyist at the state and federal level.
Prior to joining MaineHousing, Peter was Vice President of the Maine Oil Dealers Association, served as Manager of Special Projects for the Merrill Companies, and was Executive Director of the National Association of Housing Cooperatives. He previously served as a member of the Maine State Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, as President of the Munjoy Hill Housing Association, and as President of York Cumberland Housing Development Corporation.
A graduate of George Washington University and Southern New Hampshire University, Peter is a member and past President of the Board of Trustees of the Portland Public Library.
Melany Mondello is the Statewide Grant Coordinator at Shalom House Inc. in Portland, Maine, a housing and support services non-profit organization serving adults with mental illness. Melany manages rental subsidy programs and is the lead staff person in the Cost of Homelessness grant. As the Grant Coordinator she has been an integral part of the expansion of the federal Shelter Plus Care Program (SPC) and state Bridging Rental Assistance Program (BRAP) initiatives, whose missions are to serve people with disabilities. Melany is one of two Co-chairs for the Maine Balance of State Continuum of Care and is active in the GAPS Analysis/HMIS committee.
Previously she worked as a Quality Improvement Coordinator, managing licensure compliance and reporting for mental health and crisis response programs. She is a graduate of the University of Southern Maine with a Bachelors degree in psychology.
Robert C. Moss is Senior Vice President and Director of Origination, Affordable Housing, for Boston Capital. Robert has 23 years of affordable multifamily housing experience, including syndication, preservation and development, debt financing, tax credit applications and property management. Prior to joining Boston Capital in 1993, where he has originated over $1 billion in tax credit equity and debt and directs the Origination Department nationally, he served as vice president for a private management and development firm in Portland, Maine.
Robert serves on the boards of several national and state housing organizations, is the Chairman of the Housing Advisory Group (HAG) that is active in preserving the credit program in Congress and served as the Federal Legislative Subcommittee Chair for the Housing Credit Group of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). In 2007, he received the NAHB’s Daniel B. Grady Memorial Award in recognition of his commitment to the industry. Robert recently testified before the House Ways and Means Committee during Tax Credit Modernization hearings.
He holds a BA from New Hampshire College.
Gregory Payne has been Coordinator of the Maine Affordable Housing Coalition and a Development Officer at Avesta Housing in Portland since 2007.
Gregory has more than 13 years of experience in issues related to housing and homelessness, including work at the Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless and the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless. He also worked in Boston for five years as a real estate attorney specializing in affordable housing.
Gregory earned a B.A. from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts and a J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law in Boston.
William Peters has more than 30 years experience in real estate and for the past 10 years has worked from the HUD Bangor office on single-family housing issues in Maine. Prior to that William worked for HUD in Vermont in the single family program, had his own appraisal firm, and worked for HUD doing appraisals. He began his career in Bangor selling real estate for several local real estate firms.
William holds a BS in Business Administration from Husson College.
Tina Pettingill has worked in the field of Public Health for over 15 years and currently serves as the Executive Director of the Maine Public Health Association and as a public health consultant in secondhand smoke policy and environmental work. Tina has specialized experience in the areas of community organizing and secondhand smoke. She is the founder and Chair of the Smoke-Free Housing Coalition of Maine, a state-wide coalition with a mission to eliminate involuntary exposure to secondhand smoke among multi-unit residents. The Coalition has successfully helped 17 Maine public housing authorities and hundreds of private landlords implement smoke-free policies
Previously, Tina served as Health Promotion Manager for the Portland Public Health Division, Executive Director of a public health organization in Lewiston, and Executive Director of a substance abuse prevention organization in Jackson, Michigan.
Tina holds a Master of Public Health and Bachelor of Social Work from Indiana University.
Wes Phinney is Deputy Director at York County Shelter Programs and is a Region I representative to the Statewide Homeless Council.
Previously, Wes served as the York County Sheriff for two terms and was the Chief Deputy for the York County Sheriff.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Southern Maine and a master’s degree in counselor education/rehabilitative counseling from the University of Southern Maine.
Chris Pinkham is President of the Maine Association of Community Banks, the state-wide trade association representing Maine’s community banks with twenty-two Maine–based member banks. Chris is the chief lobbyist for legislative and regulatory matters on both the state and federal level for the member banks. Beyond the management of these activities, the association staff of eleven provides insurance programs, educational seminars, and training conferences for the banking community in Maine.
Chris began with the Association in 1974 and has been its chief executive officer since 1980.
He has an undergraduate degree from Colby College in Waterville and is a graduate of the National School of Banking at Fairfield University.
Rick Rand been Account Manager with MGIC since 1978, with responsibilities for introducing all new insurance products and providing customer service for all accounts in Maine and New Hampshire.
Prior to that Rick worked for seven years in banking. He is a graduate of the University of Maine in Portland.
Dave Ranslow has worked for MaineHousing for 22 years in a variety of administrative, technical, and supervisory capacities. Dave currently serves as Inspection Services Manager, where he works with a team of field inspectors in both the multi-family and voucher direct programs.
Prior to working at MaineHousing he worked for 9 years in the Low Income Weatherization Program, including three years as the State Director.
Dave is a graduate of University of Maine with a BS in Education.
Lynne Rodrigue has worked in the housing industry for nearly twenty years. Since 2006 she has been with MaineHousing, where she works in the Housing Choice Voucher Program as the statewide Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program coordinator. Lynn also is a consultant for C&C Realty Management, overseeing their statewide Resident Service Coordinators Program.
Her background include working with families, seniors and disabled residents in supportive services and providing technical assistance to Resident Service Coordinators and Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Coordinators in obtaining services and resources specific to residents needs.
Lynne received her degree in Social Services from the University of Maine at Augusta and has a Certificate in Mediation & Facilitation Resources. She serves on the Board of Directors for Maine Resident Service Coordinators Association and co-chairs the Augusta Housing Authority and MaineHousing FSS Program Coordinating Committee.
Marc Rodrigue of Western Maine Community Action is one of four Disability Program Navigators (DPN) working with CareerCenters throughout Maine to improve employment opportunities and services for people with disabilities. Much of the work involves training CareerCenter staff and assisting people with disabilities to “navigate” through complex programs and services. Marc has been supporting employment efforts of people with disabilities for over 12 years.
Prior to joining Western Maine Community Action in 2007 he worked for Independence Association as Employment Services Program Manager, and has worked as a Job Coach and Employment Specialist with Allies, Inc. and Creative Work Systems.
Marc currently holds certifications as an Employment Specialist, Direct Support Professional, and Mental Health Rehabilitation Technician.
Cullen Ryan is the Executive Director of Community Housing of Maine, the largest supportive housing developer and provider in Maine, providing supportive housing for homeless and special needs populations throughout the state. He has worked as a direct service provider for homeless and special needs populations for 21 years, 14 years in supervisory positions. Formerly a licensed clinician, Cullen has provided direct care services, family therapy, and individual/group psychotherapy to homeless adults, families, and adolescents in a variety of clinical and non-clinical settings in three states.
He currently serves on three Boards of Directors, two of which provide funds for affordable housing and one that provides education for refugees and immigrants. He is active in local, state, and federal policy development and advocacy, serving on numerous committees and councils, including the Statewide Homeless Council and the three Regional Homeless Councils in Maine.
Cullen has a MA in Counseling and Psychological Services from St. Mary’s University in Minnesota.
Kerry Sack is the Training Coordinator for National Able Network’s Senior Community Services Program (SCSEP) in Maine. SCSEP provides employment training for low income, unemployed seniors aged 55 or older who need to keep working or rejoin the workforce.
Kerry previously served as Regional Housing Coordinator for Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services for 15 years, developing, managing and monitoring housing, rental assistance programs, and improving access for people with disabilities in five Maine counties.
She is a Licensed Social Worker and holds COS, CMH, and HQS Inspector certificates from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Bill Shanahan is a Vice President at Northern New England Housing Investment Fund, a Portland based non-profit organization that promotes affordable housing in Maine and New Hampshire and specializes in syndicating low income housing tax credits. Bill is responsible for the company’s acquisition and consulting business units.
Prior to joining the Fund in 2000 he spent over ten years as Director of Development and Chief Financial Officer for Realty Resources Chartered, a Maine-based for-profit developer of affordable housing. Bill has been involved in real estate finance and development throughout his career.
Bill is Treasurer and serves on the Board of the Maine Real Estate Development Association (MEREDA), and on the Board of the Genesis Fund. He holds a B.A. degree from Bowdoin College.
Peter Talbot has over 30 years of experience in the underwriting, origination, and equity syndication of affordable housing investments. Since 1991 he has served as Managing Director of Origination for Michel Associates, Ltd., a national syndication firm in Boston, where he is responsible for originating affordable housing investments financed under the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program and supervising the origination activities of other associates. Peter has originated and closed over 350 multi-family investments, representing over 10,000 units in 50 states and Puerto Rico, with a value exceeding $600 million. Most were financed or subsidized under Housing and urban Development, Rural Development, and state agency programs.
Prior to joining Michel in 1991 he worked for 12 years for another Boston-based national syndication firm as Vice President responsible for origination.
Peter is a 1974 graduate of Harvard College with a BA in Government and serves as President of the Harvard Club in Maine. He also is a Past Director of the Council for Affordable and Rural Housing (CARH), a national advocacy group based in Washington, DC that represents the interests of developers, owners, and managers of rural housing.
Ellen Tohn is the founder and principal of Tohn Environmental Strategies and a nationally recognized expert in housing-based environmental health threats, healthy housing, and indoor air quality. Ellen serves as an advisor on indoor air quality issues to the US Green Building Council’s LEED for Homes standards setting process, and for numerous other green building programs.
She previously worked as an environmental consultant to corporations and to the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
Ellen holds a Masters in City Planning from MIT and BA from Cornell University.
Lucy Van Hook is the Maine Conservation Corps AmeriCorps Environmental Educator at MaineHousing. Lucy oversees the Residential Energy Assistance Challenge (REACH) IV grant applications and manages alternative energy installations. Concurrently, as the Carbon Market Program manager, she plays a key role in the research and development of the carbon program, which will ultimately allow housing finance agencies nationwide to quantify carbon emission reductions from energy efficiency measures installed in housing projects in their portfolios.
Lucy is a Maine certified energy auditor, and received her BA in Biology and Environmental Studies from Bowdoin College.
Lisa Viola began working at the South Portland Housing Authority (SPHA) in 1984 in the Public Housing Program, and has been the Director of Leasing for SPHA since 1993.
She has gained an extensive knowledge of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and its programs through her work with residents and landlords, and is considered an expert by her colleagues at other housing authorities and at HUD.
Kimberly Weed is Director of the Energy and Housing Services Department at MaineHousing, responsible for the administration of several federal and state funded programs that help low-income families with energy and home repair or improvement needs. The programs include the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, Weatherization, Central Heating Improvement Program, Emergency Crisis Intervention Program, Lead Hazard, Appliance Replacement and Low Income Assistance Program, the Home Energy Loan Program, and the Maine Home Repair Network.
Prior to heading MaineHousing’s energy department, she served as MaineHousing’s Internal Audit Manager for four years, and was employed as an Internal Auditor at Central Maine Power Company.
Kim is a Certified Internal Auditor and holds a B.A. from Colby College and M.B.A. from Thomas College.
Catherine Whitney is the owner and chief operating officer of C & C Realty Management, LLC, an Augusta-based real estate management firm founded in 2003 and specializing in state and federally financed or assisted multi-family housing developments located across the State of Maine.
Cathie has worked in Maine’s housing industry since 1973, with experience that includes serving as the Maine State Housing Authority’s director for asset management and housing programs, and co-managing a leading real estate development and management company.
She is committed to providing quality housing opportunities for Maine’s low income elderly, people with disabilities, and families through participation with the Resident Services Coordination and Family Self Sufficiency programs, and in 2007 launched a Tenant Education Program for residents of affordable housing.
Chris Wolff is Community Development Director at the Island Institute, where she heads the Island Institute’s affordable-housing initiatives and co-chairs the Coalition for Coastal Workforce Housing, a coalition of collaborating affordable-housing groups that develops and advocates for legislative strategies to benefit affordable housing in coastal Maine. Chris also administers the affordable-housing component of the Affordable Coast Fund, a grant-making program that provides financial and technical assistance for affordable housing and working-waterfront purchase. She has managed the Island Fellows Program, placing over 50 recent college and master’s level graduates in coastal and year-round island communities for one to two-year assignments addressing community-identified projects since 2004, and has worked within AmeriCorps programs that have been instrumental in professionalizing the Island Fellows Program.
Prior to joining the Institute, Chris served for six years as a program coordinator and program director with the Student Conservation Association’s New Hampshire Parks AmeriCorps Program, and for five years as the program coordinator for the Maine Conservation Corps Serve/Maine Volunteer Leader Program.
Chris holds a Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts from the University of Maine, Orono.
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