Board Members

Wendy J. Wolf, M.D., M.P.H., President & CEO, Maine Health Access Foundation
Wendy serves as Chair for MPC. She is the first director of Maine’s newest and largest private health care foundation formed in 2000 from the purchase of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Maine by Anthem Insurance. Formerly, she worked as a Senior Advisor in Health Policy for the Administrators for two major agencies within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In this capacity, she helped develop, coordinate, and implement the federal policy and operational guidance for the $24 billion State Children’s Health Insurance Program, and spearheaded national efforts to enroll children from low-income families into this innovative federal-state health care program.

Meredith Jones, Vice President, Program Development and Grantmaking Services, Maine Community Foundation
Meredith serves as Vice Chair for MPC. At the Maine Community Foundation she is responsible for leading a team that awarded $16 million in grants to more than 3,500 non-profit organizations and individuals in 2005. She also helped create the Compact for Higher Education, a partnership with the Maine Development Foundation designed to increase the educational attainment level of Maine people. Prior to joining MCF, Meredith was associated with the Maine Health Care Association and Maine Development Foundation where she was responsible at various times for communication, education and training, leadership development, strategic planning, and program development.

Brigitte Kingsbury, Executive Director, Orchard Foundation
Brigitte serves as Board Secretary for MPC. Previously she worked as a researcher for Bower, Rohr & Associates in Hanover, NH, an economic consulting firm specializing in regulated industries, and as an assistant editor for economics at Cambridge University Press in New York City. Brigitte served a six-year term as an elected representative to the Portland Water District Board of Trustees. She has also served on the boards of the Friends of Casco Bay, the Cape Elizabeth Recycling Committee, and the Fort Williams Charitable Foundation Study Committee. Currently she serves on the boards of the Natural Resources Council of Maine and the Maine Conservation Voters Education Fund. 

Linda Roberts, Principal, Berry, Dunn, McNeil & Parker
Linda serves as Treasurer for MPC. She joined Berry, Dunn, McNeil & Parker in 1988, and is a member of the firm’s Not-for-Profit and Professional Services Industry Groups, where she provides audit, review, accounting, tax, and consulting services to a variety of housing, not-for-profit, and professional services clients. Her many years of accounting experience have given her a wealth of solutions to the unique problems of both non-profit organizations and professional service firms.

Wendy Ault, Executive Director, MELMAC Education Foundation
Wendy served as the Associate Director of Admissions at the University of Maine at Farmington for seventeen years. During her tenure at UMF, she was elected to four terms in the Maine House of Representatives representing part of Kennebec County from 1988 through 1996. She served all eight years as a member of the Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs, serving as its House Chair during her final term. In September 1999, she became President of the non-profit Maine Educational Loan Marketing Corporation (MELMAC). When MELMAC was sold to a for-profit corporation in 2001, the proceeds from that sale created the MELMAC Education Foundation, and Wendy was named as Executive Director.

Betsy Biemann, Executive Director, Maine Technology Institute
In 2005, Betsy was appointed by Governor John Baldacci to head the Maine Technology Institute. The Institute’s purpose is to support entrepreneurs in the State’s seven targeted technology sectors to bring new products and services to market and thereby create good jobs for Maine residents. Betsy joined the Maine Technology Institute after serving as Associate Director of the Working Communities program at The Rockefeller Foundation for nearly a decade. There she oversaw a five-year, $22 million grant and investment program expanding access to employment in low-income communities across the U.S. 

Nancy Brain Co-Director & Trustee, Frances Hollis Brain Foundation, and
Executive Director, Sam L. CohenFoundation
Nancy Brain has been the Executive Director of the Sam L. Cohen Foundation since 2003, and a trustee and Co-Director of the Frances Hollis Brain Foundation since its founding in 1993. Prior to that, she worked at UNUM as a system analyst and a systems liaison with the product development areas. Nancy is also currently serving on the boards of the National Center for Family Philanthropy and the Nine Wicket Foundation. 


Michael R. Currie, President and Managing Director, H. M. Payson & Co.
Michael joined H.M. Payson & Co., a Maine Trust Company and Registered Investment Advisor with offices in Portland in 1997. Prior to that he was a partner in the law firm of Pierce Atwood.  He received his undergraduate degree from Colby College, his law degree from The University of Maine School of Law, and an L.L.M. (Taxation) from Boston University School of Law.  Michael is a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and a member of the American Bar Association and Maine State Bar Association. Michael is also currently serving on the Boards of the United Way of Greater Portland, the United Way Foundation, the Maine Cancer Foundation, the University of Maine School of Law Foundation, the Davis Family Foundation and the Rosamond Thaxter Foundation.

Bob Greene, Chair, Jean Byers Sampson Center for Diversity, USM
Upon retiring from a career in journalism, Bob returned to his native Portland area. His journalism career included working for a weekly newspaper in Kansas City, Missouri, as sports editor of the Leavenworth Kansas Times, and for the Associated Press in Missouri, Wisconsin, Washington, D.C., Maine, and New York. In 1974, he turned his reportorial skills to sports, and in 1980 was named The AP Tennis Writer. He currently chairs the Steering Committee for the Jean Byers Sampson Center for Diversity in Maine at the University of Southern Maine and is on the board of Visible Black History.

Martha E. Greene Partner, Brann & Isaacson, and Managing Director, JTG Foundation Martha E. Greene, Esq. ("Meg") is a partner in the law firm of Brann & Isaacson, in Lewiston, where she has specialized in sophisticated estate planning for the past 22 years.  She is also the Managing Director of the JTG Foundation, a private foundation established by Tom Gorman of Yarmouth, Maine.  Meg graduated from Bowdoin College in 1976 and the University of Maine School of Law in 1983.  She was a development officer at the Maine State Housing Authority between college and law school, which provided her the opportunity to travel throughout the State overseeing the development of subsidized housing for Maine's low income residents. 

Nancy J. Meagher, Community Relations Director, Bank of America
As the Market Development Manager in Maine, Nancy oversees the Bank of America Foundation’s philanthropic giving within the state. Bank of America's philanthropic budget is one of the largest in the nation, with charitable investments totaling $108 million in 2004, and a ten-year philanthropic goal of $1.5 billion. Nancy formerly held the position of Consumer Market Manager, leading all forty Bank of America banking centers across Maine. Nancy has served as both Board and Committee Members for the Kidney Foundation and Empower Lewiston.

Bo Norris, Director, Lennox Foundation
Bo was the Associate Director of Philanthropy for the Maine Chapter of The Nature Conservancy from 2001 to 2005. He served as an economic development Peace Corps Volunteer in Jamaica, West Indies, from 1985 to 1987. Bo is active in his family’s foundation, The Lennox Foundation. He also serves on the Board of Trustees for GlobalQuest, an international experiential educational organization and on the Board of Directors for the Center for Cultural Exchange. In the past, he served on the Board of Advisors for Businesses for the Northern Forest, a 350-members advocacy group working to protect wildlands, improve forest stewardship, and foster sustainable economic development.

Cary Olson-Cartwright, Director, Community Relations, UnumProvident
In her position at UnumProvident, Cary works with community groups to help provide support to youth, individuals and families. She recently was honored at the White House as one of six national recipients of the President’s Volunteer Service Award. In 2002, she was selected by the Maine Children’s Alliance for a Giraffe Award as the Children’s Advocate. In 1999, the American Bankers Association awarded her with an America’s Promise Award for teaching youth to give back through community service.

Joe Pratt, President, Bar Harbor Trust Services
Joe is the Managing Director of Bar Harbor Trust Services and has been with the company since 2000. He specializes in endowment management, planned giving, and charitable estate planning.  He is the founding President of the Maine Planned Giving Council (1995), and the founding Chair of Maine's "Leave A Legacy" program (1997). Joe lives in Bangor with his wife and twin daughters and is involved with nonprofit organizations throughout Maine.

Sarah Ruef-Lindquist, JD, CTFA, Senior Consultant, Planning for Good
Prior to founding Planning for Good, which provides expertise and support to organizations planned giving programs, Sarah was V.P. and Sr. Administrative Trust Officer at Union Trust in Camden and Ellsworth.  Previously, Sarah was responsible for the Portland office of the Maine Community Foundation - during which time she served on the board of MPC - and prior to that had practiced law in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and Portland.  She has extensive knowledge and experience in planned giving and endowment management, and has facilitated many seven-figure and larger charitable gifts.  Sarah currently serves on the boards of the Maine Bar Foundation, Georges River Land Trust, Atlantic Challenge Foundation, Camden Conference and the Spannocchia Foundation.

Barry M. Sturgeon, Trustee, Davenport Trust Fund
Barry is a lifelong resident of Bath, Maine. He has been a trustee for 14 years with the Davenport Trust Fund, one of Maine's oldest private foundations established in 1927. In 2003 Barry also assumed the additional duties of Office Manager of the Trust. He was a long-time employee of the County of Sagadahoc, serving 25 years before retiring in 2003 from the position of County Clerk.  Prior to joining MPC’s board, Barry served on our Common Grant Application Committee and the Accountability and Effectiveness Advisory Committee. 

Janet C. Taylor, Philanthropic Advisor, and Trustee, C.F. Adams Charitable Trust

Janet joined the law firm of Ropes & Gray in 2001, bringing with her over 30 years of experience working with private foundations, corporate giving programs, and family philanthropy.  She has extensive knowledge of charitable institutions and has developed creative strategies for leveraging philanthropic resources.  In her role as Philanthropic Advisor, she assists clients and their families in making their charitable giving more fulfilling and effective. Janet's background includes 14 years with Raytheon Company, where she was responsible for the corporate-wide community relations and contributions program; the scholarship program for children of employees; and the United Way campaign.  She also served for 9 years as President of Associated Grantmakers of Massachusetts, a fellow regional association of MPC that promotes professionalism and collaboration among donors and non-profit organizations.

Carolyn Wollen, Trustee, Betterment Fund
Carolyn serves as a trustee of the Betterment Fund and is an attorney with Verrill Dana in Portland. Carolyn brings twenty-five years of experience with Maine nonprofit organizations with the perspective of a grantmaker, a grant seeker and an advisor to donors. As a trustee of the Betterment Fund, a private foundation created by a former resident of Bethel, Maine, she has been actively involved in grant decisions. Her board service for Gould Academy in Bethel and the Maine Community Foundation has given her the perspective of a grantseeker and collaborator with other nonprofits. As an estate planning attorney, she most enjoys advising clients with charitable intent.

Joseph S. Wood, Provost & VP for Academic Affairs, USM
Joe has been Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of Southern Maine since 2000. He has been a Councilor and Treasurer of the Association of American Geographers and presently serves on the boards of the American Geographical Society, the Vernacular Architecture Forum. He chaired the Omaha Landmarks Heritage Preservation Commission and has served on community organization boards including the DC Preservation League (Washington, DC), the World Affairs Council of Maine, and now the Maine Philanthropy Center.

Staff

Janet Henry, President
Janet Henry is a native of Arkansas, escaping in 1970 to launch her trek to Maine with stops in Kentucky, Tennessee & Ohio. She began her philanthropy career at a community foundation in Dayton, Ohio, one of the oldest and largest in the country. Her 13 years in Maine have included work with the University of Maine Foundation as a planned giving officer, the establishment of the Portland office of the statewide Maine Community Foundation and capital campaign work for the University of New England. A resident of Kennebunkport, Janet has served on the Brick Store Museum Board of Directors and the Maine Initiatives Advisory Committee.  In 2001, she became the President of the Maine Philanthropy Center in Portland, Maine, an organization she helped to create while at the Maine Community Foundation. 

Mari Jones, Assistant Director

Stephanie Cox, Administrative Assistant
Andrea Perry, Environmental Funders Network Coordinator
Christina Foster, Special Projects