MaineHousing Board of Commissioners

Chairman Frank O'Hara has been an independent public policy consultant since 1987.  His work includes market analyses for housing development markets in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, and involves projects for senior, multifamily, single family, seasonal, and year-round housing; as well as varied funding sources including private financing, the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, and Rural Development.  In addition to his market study work, he has also authored several housing-related studies on affordability, policies, elderly housing, housing preferences, and the cost of sprawl. Prior to his work as an independent consultant, Mr. O’Hara was co-owner of Planning Decisions, Inc., and held several public policy positions including Special Assistant to Governor Joseph Brennan, Director of Planning and Program Development at Maine State Housing Authority, Director of the Community Assistance Division at Maine State Planning Office, Director of Targeted Jobs Program at the City of Portland, and Housing and Community Development Planner at Greater Portland Council of Governments. Mr. O’Hara received his B.A. with honors in Urban Studies from Haverford College and his M.A. in Religion from Yale University Divinity School. 

Daniel Brennan became MaineHousing’s Director in April 2018.  Prior to becoming Director, Mr. Brennan served in a number of senior staff positions at MaineHousing overseeing multifamily asset management and development efforts; weatherization, fuel assistance, and home repair programs; and federal programs providing federal rental assistance and funding for Maine’s homeless shelters.  Mr. Brennan joined MaineHousing in 1993 as their first Internal Auditor.

Mr. Brennan currently serves on several state, regional and federal boards and councils, including the National Council of State Housing Agencies, Efficiency Maine Trust, the Maine Redevelopment Land Bank Authority, the Maine Climate Council, and currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston’s Advisory Board.

Mr. Brennan earned his B.A. in Business Management from the University of Maine and his M.B.A. from Thomas College.

Joseph C. Perry is the Maine State Treasurer and serves on the MaineHousing Board of Commissioners as an ex officio member.  Joe Perry was elected State Treasurer in December of 2024 by a Joint Convention of the House and Senate. Joe was first elected to the Maine House in 1996 and served 20 years in the Maine Legislature, with 14 years on the Taxation Committee, six as Senate Chair and two as House Chair. In addition, Joe served on Banking and Insurance, Transportation, Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, OPEGA, IDEA, and the Joint Select Committee on Property Tax Relief. Joe also served 3 years on the Bangor City Council. Joe grew up in Veazie Maine, the 5^th of 6 children to Byron and Mary Perry. For 32 years Joe owned and operated a neighborhood market near his home in Bangor, where he resides with his wife and two children.

Noël Bonam is AARP Maine's State Director. Noël has extensive experience in leadership development, stakeholder engagement, diversity, equity and inclusion practice and civic leadership. Before joining AARP, Noël had been the head of The Global Institute, a public benefit organization (with operational hubs in Denmark, India and the US), specializing in social equity, leadership development and organizational sustainability. Noël has worked extensively with diverse partners from across the world, particularly in the public and not-for-profit sectors. Formerly, he was the Director for the Bureau of Multicultural Affairs for the State of Maine. In that role, he managed systemic changes through diversity, equity and inclusion efforts by working closely with inter-departmental stakeholders and with key community partners from across the state. Noël holds a Master’s in Public Personnel Management from Osmania University (India) and a certification in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Human Resources from Cornell University. He is also a graduate of the Senior Executive in State and Local Government mid-career program at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. He is currently the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Association for World Education, an international NGO specializing in lifelong learning with consultative status at the United Nations and he is also a member of the Maine Climate Council.

Laura Buxbaum serves as the Senior Vice President, Public Policy and Resource Development for Coastal Enterprises, Inc. in Brunswick, Maine, where she previously served as Director of Housing Resource and Policy Development. Prior to her work with Coastal Enterprises, Inc., she served in various capacities including Executive Director and consultant for community and workforce development and affordable housing organizations throughout Massachusetts. She currently serves as Co-Chair of the NeighborWorks America Rural Initiative Rural Advisory Council, as well as a Member of the Board for the National Rural Housing Coalition, the Housing Assistance Council, and the Four Directions Development Corporation. She previously served on the Board of the Maine Affordable Housing Coalition.

Elizabeth "Betty" Dietz was born in Presque Isle, left Maine for a few years, and also has lived in Gardiner, Augusta, Ellsworth and Penobscot. Betty has extensive experience working in finances in the Fuel Oil/LP Gas industry, Medicare Benefits, and Elderly Housing. She recently retired as the Finance Manager/Bookkeeper for the Bangor Area Homeless Shelter. Her volunteer work includes experiences with Hospice, Elderly Medicare SHIP clinics, church councils, and several Maine non-profits including the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine. She is a mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother and currently resides in Veazie.

Nancy Harrison is a Senior Vice President and Regional Sales Manager for Bangor Savings Bank in Bangor, Maine. She has worked in the Banking Industry for 35 years with a broad base of regional lending experience and a focus on Residential Mortgage & Consumer Lending. She has been a presenter at hoMEworks homebuyer education classes for both KVCAP and Penquis Agencies. She currently serves on the Board of Visitors at Husson University, Four Directions Development Corporation Loan Committee and as a public member for the Fee Arbitration Commission Panel for the Board of Overseers of the Bar. She received both her B.S. in Business Administration and M.B.A from the University of Maine.

Melissa Hue is a graduate of the University of New England where she earned a Bachelor’s in Medical Biology and a Master’s in Public Health. She previously served seven years in healthcare, including three years at MaineHealth where she worked on accessibility to healthcare for vulnerable and marginalized communities and served as Co-chair for MaineHealth’s BIPOC care team network. She attributes her passion for Public health work to her lived experience. Hue was the first ever municipal Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the state of Maine. Hue created high level equity assessments and advocated for community health, economic mobility, and civic engagement. Hue currently serves on the Maine state workforce board, the Office of Population Health Equity Advisory Council, and the board of Special Olympics Maine. She continues her work as the Director of Economic Opportunity for the city of Portland, launching initiatives that address SDOH, workforce, civic engagement, community integration, and economic mobility for all.

Renee Lewis is a Principal and Managing Partner of Bloomfield Capital, a direct lender and investor in middle market commercial real estate throughout the country.  She joined the firm through its merger with VAR Capital Advisors, a boutique real estate diligence and advisory firm she founded.  Prior to forming VAR, Renee was a partner and managing director in another national real estate lender and investor during which she led departments including underwriting, asset management and debt purchase.   Renee’s career includes founding and growing commercial real estate consulting firms and providing services to major institutional and government clients, while based in Maine. A graduate of Duke University, Renee has been committed to building businesses and community in the state. She has served as a board member, president and co-chair of the capital campaign for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Maine, board member and chair of Avesta,  board member and president of Maine Real Estate Development Association,  current board member of the Olympia Snowe Womens Leadership Institute, as well as other area organizations. Renee lives in Hollis with her husband and son and their never-ending renovation project at the Ellis B. Usher house.

Paul Shepherd is a BPI-certified Building Analyst and has been the co-owner of Penobscot Home Performance for the past 15 years. He has been involved in hundreds of residential energy retrofit projects throughout Maine that have helped homeowners make their homes more comfortable, healthy, and energy-efficient as well as lower their greenhouse gas emissions. He previously spent eight years working for both Penquis and Coastal Community Action Programs where he was responsible for implementing the WAP weatherization program and the Central Heating Improvement Program. He was also a certified Lead Inspector and Lead Sampling technician and has been involved in lead abatement projects.   He has a B.S. degree in Architectural Studies from the Philadelphia College of Art.

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