Board of Visitors Biographies

Tom Boutureira

Tom Boutureira is Executive Director of the new Downeast Coastal Conservancy.  Prior to the DCC, Tom was the Executive Director of Great Auk Land Trust.  From 2003-2007 he served as a rural natural resource volunteer with the United States Peace Corps in Bolivia.  As a result of his successful service, he was invited to work as a technical specialist for the Peace Corps Natural Resource Management Program in Cochabamba, Bolivia.  Tom's previous experiences include working as a conservation organizer with the Sierra Club in Maine, trail steward and operations assistant at Little Lyford Pond Camps in the 100 Mile Wilderness section of the Appalachian Trial, and as a watershed investigator with the Maine Department of Conservation.  He graduated in 1999 from the University of Maine at Machias with a B.S. in Environmental Studies.  Tom lives on a small farm with his wife Chloe and two children, Arlo and Darwin.

Ruth Cash-Smith

Ruth Cash-Smith is a business counselor for the Women’s Business Center at Coastal Enterprises, Inc. She has taught business communications for colleges in the United States as well as in Southeast Asia. A former mediator for the Maine court system, she has also served as a college administrator, career counselor, and federal grants evaluator. She has published more than seventy newspaper and magazine articles and has written several award-winning handbooks for a variety of non-profit organizations. Her book, The Graphic Designer’s Guide to Better Business Writing, will be published in April 2007.
ruthc@maineline.net

Susan Corbett

Susan Corbett is the founder and CEO/CFO of Axiom Technologies, a 13-employee telecommunication company providing internet service and technical assistance to businesses and residents in rural Maine since 2005.  Working through Axiom, Susan also is heavily engaged in educating Washington County residents and small businesses about how to use technology in basic business development.  Susan also has over 30 years experience in the health care industry.  She is owner/operator of Morning Glory Enterprises, a medical billing and practice management company founded in 1990 in Jonesport, which provides service to 25 businesses throughout New England.  In her spare time, Susan is also the owner and proprietor of Morning Glory Seaside Inn in Jonesport, which has been catering to tourists from around the world since 2000.

Harold Clossey

Harold Clossey serves as the Executive Director of the Sunrise County Economic Council, cultivating and strengthening relationships with Washington County key partners in business and economic development communities as well as federal, state and local government. From Eastport, he received a degree in Small Business Management from Washington County Community College and has spent several years working in rural economic development in Washington County. Harold currently serves on the Governor’s Nature Based Tourism Task Force and is a core governing member of Washington County: One Community!
hclossey@sunrisecounty.org

Sharon Dean

Sharon Dean serves as Executive Director of Sunrise Opportunities, a rehabilitation agency serving 120+ adults with intellectual disabilities and mental illness in Washington and Hancock Counties. From Middlebury, Connecticut, Sharon received her B.A. in Psychology in 1969 from Boston University and her M.S. in Education in 1983 from the University of Maine. After graduation she worked as a welfare worker for the state of Connecticut, and a teacher in a private special education school in Virginia.  In 1973, Sharon accepted a position as a social worker at the Elizabeth Levinson Center for severely retarded children in Bangor. Her tenure as Executive Director of Sunrise Opportunities began in 1980. Since then, she has overseen the growth of this program from a small, one-site rehabilitation program to an umbrella agency that encompasses six residential programs, two day programs, and several outreach and home-based programs.
Sharon.Dean@gmail.com

Elizabeth “Betsy” Fitzgerald

A graduate of Washington Academy and the University of Maine at Machias, Fitzgerald spent 35 years teaching history, government and law at Erskine Academy in South China, ME. During her tenure, she received an Educator of the Year Award from the Maine Council for the Social Studies and was a semi-finalist for Teacher of the Year. In addition to her work in education, she served for many years as the code enforcement officer for the towns of Vassalboro and Benton. Returning home to Washington County, Fitzgerald served as the town manager of Machias for three and a half years and is now Washington County Manager.
manager@washingtoncountymaine.com

Jack A. Frost

Jack Frost has served as Director of Maine Coast Healthcare Foundation for the past three years.  He works closely with the Foundation’s Board of Trustees to develop a planned giving program. Gifts to the Foundation, such as bequests, charitable gift annuities and real estate, advance the endowment fund for Maine Coast Memorial Hospital. Jack previously served for 14 years as Project Manager for Training and Development Corporation where his work included oversight of a state-wide job training program for youth and adults.  Jack graduated from of the University of Maine at Machias in 1989, obtained a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Maine in 1992, and completed training with the John Brown Limited course on Major Gifts & Planned Giving at Harvard University in 2007.  His memberships include New England Association of Healthcare Philanthropy and the Maine Planned Giving Council, and he has held leadership roles on the boards of numerous non-profit and charitable organizations.  Jack and his wife Brenda have one daughter, Abigail who attends the Bay School in Blue Hill.
jfrost@mainehospital.org

Malcolm Holmes

Malcolm teaches science at his alma mater, Washington Academy, a coeducational boarding and day school for grades 9 through 12. After graduating from there in 1976, he enlisted in the Air Force serving honorably until his retirement in 1995 at the rank of Master Sergeant. Upon retiring Malcolm was awarded the Air Force Meritorious Service Medal. After returning to Downeast Maine, he held several different positions in the local area before returning to college at Washington County Technical College. After completing associate degrees in liberal studies and technology, he matriculated to the University of Maine at Machias where he completed a major in biology with a minor in secondary education.
Malcolm01957@yahoo.com

Blaine Jones

Blaine Jones received a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Maine in 1992 and a Masters in Business Administration for Thomas College in 2002. He was employed by the Pine State Trading Company from 1993 to 2006 in many positions from Marketing Assistant to the Director of Category Management and Purchasing.  In 2006 Jones became the Assistant Vice President, Branch Manager of Bangor Savings Bank, the largest independent bank in Maine. He is a member of the Machias Rotary Club and serves on the Board of Directors of the Machias Bay Area Chamber of Commerce.
blaine.jones@bangor.com

Doug Jones

Doug Jones is the new CEO of Down East Community Hospital in Machias, following ten years of exemplary service as President and CEO of Maine Coast Memorial Hospital in Ellsworth, Maine.  At Maine Coast, Doug successfully led a $5.5 million capital campaign to expand that facility and its surgical services.  Doug holds a B.A. in Economics from St. Lawrence University, and a Master of Public Health degree from Tulane University.  He previously served as President/CEO at Genesee Memorial Hospital and United Memorial Medical Center, in Batavia, NY, during the 1990s, during which time he oversaw the merger of Genesee Memorial Hospital with St. Jerome Hospital.  Doug has extensive experience in strategic planning and budget management, and he is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, the Maine Hospital Association (Public Policy Council), and the United Way of Eastern Maine.

Gini King (Vice Chair)

For the past nine years the Reverend Gini King has been the pastor of Centre Street Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, in Machias. Recently retired, she continues to serve the community as the Coordinator of the Washington County Food and Fuel Alliance. Working collaboratively with others, the Alliance is building networks to strengthen programs, and services for all families in the County. Gini also serves on the Advisory Board of the Maine Seacoast Mission-Downeast Campus and the Board of Visitors of the University of Maine at Machias. She lives with her husband, Felix Davis, in Jonesport where they enjoy boating, photography and star gazing.
giniking@mgemaine.com

Ernestine “Ernie” Reisman

Ernie serves as Human Resources Director at the Down East Community Hospital in Machias. From southern Maine, she graduated from Marshwood High School in 1975 and in 1979 from Colby College, where she earned her B.A. in Human Development and Sociology. She and her husband Jon moved to Washington County in 1985. Since coming to the area, Ernie has managed programs providing services for young children and their families, and for children and adults with disabilities. She has been active on statewide boards and committees that advocate for the needs of these individuals.
ernie@maineline.net

Kathleen Shannon

Kathleen has been Executive Director for the Machias Bay Area Chamber of Commerce since moving to Washington County in 2007.  Prior to that she worked for nearly 20 years in Early Childhood Special Education and Early Intervention in various positions on the local and state level.  Kathleen has served on various boards of directors, committees, and groups for two decades, currently including Washington County: One Community, Machias Downtown Revitalization, Child Development Services, and Sunrise Trail Coalition.  Kathleen is Vice President of the Machias Rotary Club and Treasurer of Downeast and Acadia Regional Tourism.  She is actively involved in promoting collaboration between UMM, the Town of Machias, and the Machias Bay Area Chamber of Commerce.

Sandra L. Sparrow

Sandra Sparrow retired in 1999 from a distinguished 38 year career as teacher and administrator in elementary education. She taught in elementary schools in Ohio and Michigan and in 1970 began her tenure at Swarthmore-Rutledge School were she served as teacher for multiple grades and in 1987 was appointed principal of the school, responsible for the faculty and staff of 65 and a student body of 750 until her retirement. In 1997 she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities Degree from Swarthmore College in recognition of her dedication to the children in the Wallingford Swarthmore School District. Retiring to Roque Bluffs, Maine, Sandy has served as adjunct professor at the University of Maine at Machias and recently exhibited her extraordinary collection of textiles gathered from around the world in the UMM art galleries. Sandy received a BA in Education Degree from the University of Cincinnati; a Master of Educational Leadership, Elementary Administration from Villanova University and additional graduate coursework at the University of Pennsylvania, University of Cincinnati, and Michigan State University.
sparrowsandy@hotmail.com

James Thompson (Chair)

Jim earned a B.A. in Social Sciences and History from California State University, Northridge, a Certificate in Newspaper Management from the National Press Institute in Reston, Virginia, and a Certificate in Human Factors Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Throughout his career he worked at communications in a number of venues including executive director of the Maine Publicity Bureau, and director of public information for the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development.  Jim was owner and publisher of the weekly Piscataquis Observer, Dover-Foxcroft, and editor of daily newspapers in Brunswick, Maine, and Barre-Montpelier, Vermont.  Jim served as executive director of the Downeast Heritage Museum, and as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Maine and Washington County Community College.  He also is chair of the board of Charlotte County Museum, and vice chair of the board of Ganong Nature Park, both in St. Stephen, N.B.
twojaysthompson@roadrunner.com