Board of Directors

We mourn the loss of P.D. Merrill, who passed away on February 11, 2007. P.D. was a good friend and strong supporter of GrowSmart Maine. He will be missed.

Board of Directors' Bios

Paul Boghossian serves as Chairman of Concordia Manufacturing, LLC, which has made notable advances in the research, development and manufacture of technical yarns, fibers, fabrics and composites for advanced end uses. He also founded the Manufacturers Comp Group of Rhode Island (MCGRI), a very successful self insurance group for workers compensation coverage that became a part of Beacon Mutual in 1999. On the development front, Paul has been involved with numerous rehab projects with the common theme of creative reuse of older buildings, and he is currently working on the Hathaway Creative Center, a 450,000 square foot mixed use and loft space development in Waterville, and the Eastern Mill, a 350,000 square foot mixed use and marina development in Brewer. A 1976 graduate of Colby College, Mr. Boghossian also holds a MBA from the University of Rhode Island. Paul, his wife Jennifer, and three children live in Jamestown, Rhode Island.

Michael Burgmaier is a partner at Clear Venture Partners, a venture capital firm based in Freeport, Maine.  Michael sources deals, analyzes opportunities and works with portfolio companies.  Current board seats include Rustic Crust, Be.Products Co., Natural Pasta Co. and Look's Gourmet Food Co.; observer seats include Juno Rising and NanoComp Technologies Inc.

Michael joined CCVI in 2004.  Previous experience includes three years as a Consultant/Case Team Leader at the management consulting firm Bain & Co. in Boston.  While at Bain, Michael worked with clients across several industries, including consumer products, biotechnology, durable goods and health care.  Prior to joining Bain, Michael was the Acting Director/Senior Policy Associate at Children Now (nonprofit children's policy organization) where he led programs to improve the quality of health care.  He also served as a fiscal policy analyst in the Executive Office for Administration and Finance under former Massachusetts' governor William Weld where he oversaw the Department of Mental Health and Elder Affairs.  Michael began has career at a start-up socially-responsible tax-free municipal bond fund in California.

Michael is a member of the Social Venture Network; he holds an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, an MPP from Duke University and a BA in Economics from Boston College.  Michael lives in Yarmouth, ME with his wife and two young children.

Deb Burd is the Executive Director of the National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture dedicated to educating the public on the importance of a sustainable food and agriculture system that is economically viable, environmentally sound, socially just, and humane.  She has recently finished a decade of community based work in western Maine.  She is a graduate of the University of Maine, with a background in education.  She has worked primarily in the non-profit sector since 1991.

Since 1998 Deb has conducted trainings and studied in Central Europe. She is a founding member of the Maine Women's Agricultural Network, the Sustainable Development Working Group and GrowSmart Maine. Deb has served as the vice-chair of the Maine Rural Development Council, HealthReach Community Health Centers, and as a trustee of the Natural Resources Council of Maine. She has been appointed to and has sat on a variety of State boards and commissions.

Currently, Deb serves on the boards of Coastal Enterprises, Inc., and GrowSmart Maine.  Deb is the mother of two grown children and has recently relocated to Portland Maine.  She loves kayaking, skiing, snowshoeing, and long days in her garden.

John Cashwell. John is President of Seven Islands Land Company in Bangor, Maine. He has served the Maine Woods Company, Portage Wood Products, Maine Mutual Group, Maine Forest Service and Sustainable Forestry Board. John is a helicopter pilot who served in the U.S. Army from 1966-1969 and again from 1990-1991. John is the former mayor of Calais and Bangor, Maine. He participated in the development of the New England Standards for FSC certification in the New England Region. John also developed the High Conservation Value Forest policy as a member of the international community for FSC. He has a B.S. in Forestry from the University of Montana, and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Maine. John resides in Bangor.

Deb Cook. Deb has worked as internal staff and external consultant to public, private and non-profit organizations across Maine for 25 years. Most recently Executive Director for the Maine Small Business Alliance, Deb brought a fledgling non-profit project to its current status as an independent Maine-based non-profit organization advocating for a vibrant and entrepreneurial small business economy for Maine. Prior staff roles include Vice President of the Maine Science and Technology Foundation, Communications Director for the Greater Portland Chamber of Commerce, Media Director for Maine Clinton-Gore Campaigns in 1992 and 1996, and Director of Advertising for Carroll Reed. In addition, Deb served in staff roles on Capitol Hill for Senator Patrick Leahy and Congressman Tom Andrews. As a consultant, Deb has worked with a number of statewide economic development organizations, has provided in-depth communications consulting to the Center for Educational Services and has worked nationally with NOAA's (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration) National Estuarine Research Reserves Project.

Daniel Daggett is a native of Maine born and raised in Bath.  His parents raised him with traditional values, a strong work ethic, and the notion of supporting local business.  His fondness for local business and downtowns was further strengthened during the 12 years he worked as a haberdasher at Shepard's Clothing on Front St.  Dan graduated from Morse High School as a Business Vocations student, and attended University of Southern Maine earning an Associate's degree in Business Administration and a Bachelors degree in Political Science.

In 1993 Dan started with his current employer Bowdoinham Federal Credit Union and in 1995 took the reigns as CEO.  Since that time he has helped craft many new programs and services for their members, and although one of the smaller institutions asset wise, they are one of the leaders in the State where service and product development come into play. 

Dan's past board experience has included 5 years as a trustee for the Maine Credit Union League Insurance Trust, 3 years for Habitat for Humanity serving his last year as President, currently serving on the nominating committee.  This year represents Dan's 5^th year of service on the board for the Southern MidCoast Maine Chamber in which he serves as Chairman.

Dan and his wife Sue live in Woolwich with their 3 children (8 year old twin girls and a 3 year old son).  They both consider themselves fortunate to live in this great State and are able to raise their children here.  Dan is honored by the opportunity to serve on the GrowSmart board and be part of the movement to help perpetuate the "Quality of Place" we cherish, while at the same time helping the people of our state prosper.

Tom Doak has been a Licensed Professional Forester for more than 20 years. In the early part of career, he worked as a forester and land manager on Maine's state owned forestland at the Bureau of Public Lands (BPL). He then became Director of Planning for BPL and became involved in the consolidation of the state public lots, through trades and purchases, into large, manageable parcels. He also served as lead negotiator for the State on two of the first acquisitions under the Land For Maine's Future Program - the Cutler Coast and Dodge Point in Newcastle.

He became Director of the Maine Forest Service in 1999 and served in that capacity for nearly four years, capping his service with coordinating the Baldacci Administration's Forest Certification Initiative. He became Executive Director of the Small Woodland Owners Association of Maine (SWOAM) in April. Tom lives in Augusta.

Joseph Donnelly is currently a trustee and committee member of a variety of non-profit organizations, was a Co-Founder and Co-Director of the New England Consortium for Community College Leadership, a consultant to college presidents on strategic planning and community development, and a former Research Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.  For several years he conducted a research project, entitled "College Presidents: Leadership and Longevity." Joey received a Doctorate of Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, concentrating in higher education, within the school's Administration, Planning and Social Policy Program.  He previously received his Bachelor's degree in Economics from Tufts University, a Master's in Business Administration from Babson College, a Master's in Education from Harvard University, and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Joey has served schools, colleges, universities and other organizations for over thirty years in a variety of capacities: as a senior administrator, a member of a governing body, a consultant, a teacher, a case writer, and a leader of workshops.  His specific interest is in how institutions establish, articulate, and implement their goals and objectives by developing the necessary plans and strategies required for successful implementation. 

Joey's board experience includes the York County Community College Foundation, where he just completed serving as chair, and Maine's Working Waterfront Coalition.  He previously served on the York Comprehensive Planning Committee, the board of United Community Planning Corporation in Boston and their program and evaluation committee.

Joey and his wife Carol have two children and live in York Harbor.

Christopher Duval, President, McCabe, Duval + Associates. Chris is the co-founder of McCabe, Duval + Associates, a full service marketing, advertising and design firm based in Portland, Maine. Founded in 1988, and recognized today as one of the largest and most successful marketing firms in New England, working with clients such as TD Banknorth, LL Bean, New York University, Maine General Healthcare, Hewlett Packard, Fairchild Semiconductor and GrowSmart Maine. Chris has held positions in marketing, advertising account management and creative services for over twenty years. He has established a strong track record in managing marketing programs from strategy implementation through budget and production. Chris has managed accounts for companies such as Central Maine Medical Center, Merrill Industries, Morse Payson & Noyes Insurance, and Ventrex Laboratories, Real Log Homes, Northeast Laboratory Services, Philips Elmet Corporation, American Stabilis, Pioneer Plastics, and Howell Laboratories.Chris is one of the founding members of FairPlay for Harpswell, a group formed to oppose Fairwinds LNG, which was a joint project of TransCanada and ConocoPhillips. This massive development would have devastated a large portion of the fishing community of Casco Bay, and would have had a negative effect on the character and environment of Harpswell and the surrounding communities. Due to the efforts of FairPlay, and hundreds of other citizen volunteers, the FairWinds project was ultimately defeated. He has served on the boards of Greater Portland Landmarks and Habitat for Humanity.

Jill M. Goldthwait. Jill is the Director of the Office of Government Relations at the Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor. She is also a weekly columnist for the Ellsworth American and Mt. Desert Islander. A former RN, she held the following civic positions: Maine State Senator, Senate Chair, Joint Standing Committee on Appropriations and Financial Affairs, and the Bar Harbor Town Council. Jill has a B.A. from the University of New Hampshire and R.N. from Cabrillo College in California. Her current board service includes Maine Sea Coast Mission, Maine Humanities Council and Acadia Capital Corporation.

Daniel Hildreth is a director and shareholder of Diversified Communications, a broadcasting and trade media company based in Portland.  He has worked in business development, web development, and market research at Diversified.  In the late 1980s, he worked on the staff of Congressman Joseph Brennan.  He has served on Falmouth's Conservation Commission and led a project to identify, map, and assess the town's vernal pools, pursuant to the town's wetlands ordinance.  Falmouth's work subsequently became an impetus for state legislation protecting this habitat.  Daniel has also been a trustee of Maine Audubon and a member of GrowSmart's steering committee for the Brookings Institution report.  He graduated from Bowdoin College and has an MA from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

Jack Kartez is Professor and Chair in the Community Planning and Development Program of the University of Southern Maine's Muskie School of Public Service. A planner who worked for Oregon's statewide program in its early years enforcing LCDC's statewide affordable housing rule, he has also worked as a local government planner in rural Washington State and North Idaho, and for the Wisconsin Secretary of Revenue's innovative policy analysis unit. He and his students have been recently assisting local planning and economic development planners with holding downtown participatory design workshops in several Maine service center cities, an example of the close relationship between practice, service and professional education at Muskie. Jack has a 1976 Masters in Planning from the University of Oregon, a Ph.D. from UNC-Chapel Hill (1990) and a bachelors from Middlebury College (1972).

Eleanor Kinney grew up in Washington D.C. but is a third generation summer resident of Northeast Harbor.  She has a B.A. from Yale University and an M.S. in biological oceanography from the University of Rhode Island.  While in Rhode Island she became involved in land conservation, leading the effort to save the last old growth forest in the state from development.  She served both as a board member and as the director of the Aquidneck Island Land Trust, the largest land trust in Rhode Island. 

Eleanor is vice-president of the board of the Natural Resources Council of Maine.  In 2005 she became actively engaged in battling sprawl when she co-founded a citizens group, Our Town, and led the fight to stop Wal-Mart from building a supercenter in Damariscotta.  What started in one town quickly became a regional effort and to date, four adjacent towns have worked together to pass size caps limiting the scale of retail development.  As a consequence of her activism in environmental issues and sprawl, Eleanor has become increasingly interested in sustainable economic development and in taking a more integrative approach to preserving what is best about Maine while growing its economy.  Eleanor lives on a farm in Bremen with her husband and small children. 

Valerie Landry has more than 20 years experience in senior executive positions in both public and nonprofit sectors. Valerie is the founder of Landry & Associates specializing in strategic planning, external relations and organizational development. Prior to this work, Valerie was Commissioner of Labor during the administration of Governor Angus King.  Valerie was also appointed by Massachusetts Governor Jane Swift to review operations at MassPort, including Logan Airport, after the September 11 terrorist attacks. The Commission made sweeping recommendations to improve the organization's overall effectiveness, efficiency and credibility.  Valerie has also served as Executive Director of Creative Work Systems, a nationally accredited nonprofit organization providing services to people with disabilities, and has served in municipal government.

Frank Miles is a founding board member and currently President of Maine Farmland Trust. After a thirty-five year career as a teacher, administrator, and principal in public education, he has pursued long-time interests in agriculture, in high quality and especially locally grown food, and in sustainable land use. He has served on the board and as president of a large food coop in New Hampshire that has grown to over 30,000 members. He also served on the board of the Maine college of Art. He is currently a representative to the Agricultural Council of Maine, a member of the steering committee of the Maine Land Trust Network, and works with the Eat Local Foods Coalition. Frank became particularly interested Maine land use planning after taking a Muskie School course with Evan Richert and participating in the Eco-Eco Civic Forum. He has degrees from Yale University and the University of New Hampshire. He and his wife Nancy are organic gardeners and live in Cape Elizabeth.

Stacy Mitchell is a researcher with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, a national nonprofit organization providing research, analysis and innovative policy solutions for building strong local economies and sustainable communities. She is the author of The Home Town Advantage: How to Defend Your Main Street Against Chain Stores and Why It Matters and edits The Home Town Advantage Bulletin, an electronic newsletter on strategies to strengthen independent businesses. Stacy is a frequent speaker at public forums and conferences, and has worked with small business groups, community organizations, and policymakers in cities and towns nationwide. She lives in Portland, Maine.

Rep. John Piotti is a self-described "community junkie". He chairs the Planning Board and Comprehensive Plan Committee in Unity. He also serves as volunteer Executive Director of Unity Barn Raisers, a local community improvement organization that won the 2003 Noyce Award for Non-Profit Excellence.  John is the Executive Director of Maine Farmland Trust.  Prior to that, John served as Director of the Maine Farms Project, a program of Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI), a statewide community development corporation with a national reputation for innovation and effectiveness. John is also a state legislator representing eight towns in western Waldo County. John has served in leadership positions on numerous boards, including time spent as President of the Kennebec Valley Council of Governments and Chair of RTAC 4. He holds three degrees from M.I.T., in engineering, public policy, and management.

Bonita Pothier. Bonnie is a single mother of three children and was born in Biddeford. After graduating from Biddeford High and the University of Maine in Farmington, Bonnie taught for 9 years at Biddeford Junior High. She left teaching to run her own business, a gift shop and hairstyling salon, for 10 years. During that time she helped reorganize the Biddeford-Saco Chamber of Commerce and Industry and served as its President. Bonnie was also elected and served as Biddeford's mayor in 1990. After selling her business, Bonnie worked as General Manager for I. Zaitlin & Sons, helping to expand that company into Massachusetts. She left that position to serve as Director of Saco Spirit, one of the original Main Street Maine 'downtown communities.' In 2004, she became manager of the Key Bank branch in Biddeford, where she continues to support Biddeford's community. Bonnie has been a strong advocate for economic development, having worked on a number of regional economic development initiatives and strategies, including the York County Economic Development Summit. Bonnie lives in Biddeford.

Patrice Putman is a nurse, an attorney, and an educator from Winthrop. She is a member of the Winthrop Town Council and also served on the Winthrop Planning Board. She is a former Chair and current member of the Board of Directors for the Southern Kennebec Healthy Communities and was a founding member of the Maine Network of Healthy Communities. She is on the Alumni Committee of Leadership Maine. Patrice left private practice to work as an attorney for the Maine Department of Transportation and coordinated and served as the MDOT's first Regional Transportation Advisory Committee (RTAC) Supervisor. She recently served on the Legislative Task Force on the Future of Maine's Youth. She is employed as Director of Employee Development at MaineGeneral Health. Patrice is active in a number of community health issues with a focus on land use planning as it impacts Maine's quality of life and the health of its citizens.

Rep. Christopher Rector, from Thomaston, is in his third term in the Maine State Legislature, representing House District 48, which includes Matinicus Island, Part of Owl's Head, St. George, So. Thomaston and Thomaston.  Chris was a member of the Joint Standing Committee on Business, Research and Economic Development in the 121^st Legislature and is the ranking Republican member of that Committee in the 122^nd Legislature.

Chris, who is an art publisher, attended Boston University College of General Studies. He received a BA in Economics from the University of Maine at Portland/Gorham (now USM). He also attended the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 2006.  He is the former board chair of the Center for Maine Contemporary Art and former co-chair of the Camden Downtown Business Group.   Chris is a member of Maine Businesses for Social Responsibility, the Rockland-Thomaston Area Chamber of Commerce and the Thomaston Fire Department.  He also participates on the Thomaston Comprehensive Plan Committee.

Chris and his wife, Elisabeth (Betsy), have two children.  His hobbies outside of art and public service include sailing, gardening, hiking and cooking. 

Evan Richert is associate research professor in the Muskie School of Public Service, University of Southern Maine. In this capacity he directs the Gulf of Maine Program of the Census of Marine Life, teaches graduate courses in land use planning, and is a consultant to state and local governments.

From 1995 to 2002, Evan served as Director of the Maine State Planning Office under Governor Angus S. King. Evan also chaired the cabinet-level Land and Water Resources Council, the Land for Maine's Future Board, and represented Maine on the international Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment, which he chaired for two years.

Prior to his appointment to the State Planning Office, Evan was co-owner and president of Market Decisions, Inc., a planning consulting firm, and was Planning Director for the City of South Portland, Maine.

He is the founding president of the Gulf of Maine Ocean Observing System and is on the boards of directors of Maine Coast Heritage Trust, the New England Forestry Foundation, and Grow Smart Maine.

Evan has a Master of Regional Planning degree from Syracuse University and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners.

John Rohman is CEO and President of WBRC Architects-Engineers in Bangor. He received a BS in civil engineering from the University of Maine at Orono and a BS in business administration from Husson College. After two years in the military in Vietnam, he went to work for Eaton W. Tarbell and Associates, an architectural firm in Bangor with a primary focus on commercial buildings. After joining WBRC Architects-Engineers, John returned to school at the Boston Architectural Center for studies in interior design. For many years, John has had a strong interest and involvement in the arts and has served as chair of the Board of Directors of the Maine Crafts Association, on the Board of Directors of the Bangor Symphony Orchestra and the University of Maine Museum of Art Advisory Committee. John is also the national President for the Board of Directors of the National Assembly of States Arts Agencies and serves on the board of the National Council for the Traditional Arts. John served as Mayor of Bangor where both the arts and downtown/waterfront development were a focus. John was appointed chair of Governor Baldacci's Creative Economy Council, and now serves on the Quality Places Committee studying aspects of the Brookings Report. John and his wife live in a wonderful historic home in Bangor where both the interior and the gardens keep them active in their spare time. They have two children, both of whom live out west.

Tom Rumpf is a former member of the Freeport Town Council; Tom previously served on the Freeport Planning Board, Residential Growth Management Committee and Solid Waste/Recycling Committee. While on the Growth Management Committee he spearheaded efforts to develop a new open space subdivision ordinance for the town. He is Associate State Director for The Nature Conservancy, Maine Chapter, where he has worked for the last eight years. Tom spent seven years in the recycling business for Browning Ferris Industries, most recently as District Manager for organics recycling. A licensed forester, he also spent nine years working for the Maine Forest Service in Augusta.

Paul Schumacher is the Executive Director at Southern Maine Regional Planning Commission. Prior to that he worked as a Town Planner in several southern Maine towns and also at an environmental consulting firm on Cape Cod. He has a B.A. from the University of New Hampshire and a Master's Degree in Urban/Environmental Policy from Tufts University. His professional interests revolve around creating sustainable communities and including all relevant interest groups from social service organizations to economic developers to environmentalists in the discussion of what that community should be. He makes it a point to visit Washington County with his wife Rachel, son Ryder and their kayaks every summer.

Lynne Seeley is a land use planner with experience in community land use planning, environmental assessment of transportation projects, and public participation. Lynne went to Colby College, and then got her M.A. in Urban and Environmental Policy at Tufts University. She has worked as a land use planning consultant since 1984, first in Boston, and then in Maine, where she opened and ran an office for the Boston consulting firm, Wallace, Floyd, Associates. She has recently taken time off to raise her two boys, but has been "on call" as a land use consultant for the engineering firm, Sebago Technics. In addition to her consulting work she served on the MDOT's Regional Transportation Advisory Committee (RTAC) for the Portland area for 6 years; she chaired the committee in 1995. She also served on MDOT's Sensible Transportation Policy Act Study Committee. Currently she is on the Greater Portland Landmarks Middle School Urban Planning Curriculum advisory committee. She is also on the board of the Maine Audubon Society.

George Smith is an outdoor writer, newspaper political columnist, television show host, and executive director of the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine, the state's largest sportsmen's organization. He writes a monthly column for The Maine Sportsman magazine and the Northwoods Sporting Journal, a weekly editorial-page column for central Maine's two daily newspapers, and the monthly SAM News. He is co-host of a unique weekly television show called Wildfire, a talk show focused on conservation and environmental issues and seen on commercial and cable stations throughout the state. Smith was part of the management team that successfully defended Maine's moose hunt in 1983, and managed a successful 1992 campaign that placed the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife in the Maine Constitution and protected its revenues. He also led a successful campaign in 2004 to defeat an animal rights referendum to stop Maine's bear hunt. Among his many ideas, Smith conceived the Maine Outdoor Heritage Program, funded by an instant lottery game, that has provided over $12 million for wildlife conservation and outdoor recreation projects in his state. He served on the MOHF Board for 10 years. George lives in Mount Vernon.

John Sylvester is the chairman of the 11-Town Group of Selectboards from 11 central and western York County towns. He is chair of the York County Budget Committee and former Alfred Planning Board member and chairman. John serves on the Executive and Legislative Policy Committees of the Maine Municipal Association. John has lived in Alfred for 33 years, having grown up in Portland. He is former President and Director of the YMCA of Sanford/Springvale, The Sanford Kiwanis Club and the Sanford/Springvale United Way. John is a self-employed Stone Mason, Logger and Firewood Dealer. He is married with two adult daughters and two grandchildren.

Matthew D. Teare, Director of Development, for John Wasileski and Sea Coast Management Company. Matthew manages community design and development for Maine's largest developer of senior communities. In this role, he oversees a development team responsible for land use planning, architectural design, community relations, town and state approvals, market analysis, financial analysis, financing, and construction. The Sea Coast Management Company's current communities include two continuum of care retirement communities -- OceanView at Falmouth and the Highlands of Topsham - and an adult resort community and golf club - Highland Green in Topsham. Matthew also served as the Director of Operations at Granite Hill Estates in Augusta - a continuum of care community developed by Sea Coast Management in partnership with MaineGeneral Health. Prior to moving to Maine in 1999, Matthew managed the child and elder care information and referral network for Work/Family Directions, the nation's leading provider of corporate work and family services. He began his career as an attorney in New Jersey and Massachusetts and holds a BA from Connecticut College and a JD from Suffolk University Law School. Since arriving in Maine, he has served on Governor King's Retirement Industry Advisory Council and the board of the Cathance River Education Alliance in Topsham. Most recently, he participated in the Falmouth Corners Study Initiative conducted by the Greater Portland Council of Governments and the Institute for Civic Leadership on behalf of the Town of Falmouth. He lives in Falmouth with his wife Tracy and their three daughters.

Anna Marie Thron serves on the boards of the Natural Resources Council of Maine, Maine Community Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, Portland Stage Company and Friends of Casco Bay. She is a member of the South Portland Conservation Commission and other South Portland civic communities. Now retired, she was a founder, co-owner, and vice president of a computer software company in Cambridge Massachusetts. She lives in South Portland and Boothbay, ME.

Samuel Zaitlin is a self-employed public policy consultant in Saco.  His contract work for a regional solid waste and recycling firm has him focusing on government relations, communications, media, and overall policy development at both the state and local levels.

Sam's career began when, at the age of 20, he took over his family recycling business and grew the company from sales of $100,000 annually with six employees to a peak of $22 million a year with 85 employees.  Under Sam's tenure, the company expanded operations from a local area to servicing all of New England and New York State, with two additional plants in Massachusetts.  I. Zaitlin & Sons became the leading vendor to Maine's municipal recycling programs.  The company was sold in 1997 to a public firm entering the national recycling field.

In 1997, Sam became Senior Vice President to KTI, Inc. in Saco.  He was responsible for government and regulatory affairs at the regional, state and local levels.  Sam developed legislative and policy positions for the company.  In particular, mercury (Hg) control and recycling strategies for the private and public sectors and beneficial use proposals for the utilization of municipal waste combustor by-products.

Sam attended Boston University and the University of Winnipeg and graduated from Harvard University's JFK School of Government-both the Senior Executives in State & Local Government Program and the Master's Program in Public Administration.

Sam is a member of the Board of Directors for the Maine State Chamber of Commerce and the Maine Turnpike Authority.