NEW FACES

• David Wacker was hired as a safety and health consultant/trainer at Life Safety Specialists Inc.

Wacker recently retired as director of the workplace safety and health division of the Maine Department of Labor.

• Southern Maine Community College has hired award-winning journalist Clarke Canfield as its director of communications.

Canfield, of South Portland, will manage the school’s internal and external communications and serve as the college spokesman. He has more than 30 years’ experience as a writer and editor at daily newspapers, magazines and Internet sites. He comes to SMCC from The Associated Press, where he worked for more than 12 years. He previously worked for the Portland Press Herald.

BOARD APPOINTMENTS

• Thomas Keller was appointed executive director of the Maine STEM Council, a group established by the Legislature in 2011 to “develop strategies for enhancing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education from prekindergarten through postsecondary education.”

Keller is currently co-director of the Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance and its reach center. He was also recently senior science adviser with Achieve Inc., a Washington, D.C.-based organization leading the national effort to implement the Next Generation Science Standards.

After teaching science at Cony High School, Keller served for 19 years as the science specialist in the Maine Department of Education. He has since worked on science education topics with the National Research Council and the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C.

AWARDS

• Brenda Fontaine, owner and broker with Fontaine Family – The Real Estate Leader, was honored with the community service award from Make-A-Wish Maine.

The award was presented to Fontaine during a community celebration for her 30th year in the real estate industry.

The Fontaine Family has raised over $20,000 for Make-A-Wish since 2008.