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Congrats to the Forty Under 40 winners!
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Forty Under 40 is an award designed to recognize talented individuals in Maine - under the age of 40 - who are making a difference. They are the emerging generation of leaders who are bound to make a memorable mark in the business community and beyond.
Each year, we ask our readers to submit nominations describing who they think deserves to be highlighted. All of the nominations (which totaled more than 100 this year) are reviewed by our internal selection committee, scored, and then reviewed. Once the final list is compiled, we celebrate the honors with a fun networking event.
The event this year will be held on May 25 in partnership with the Portland Sea Dogs. All honorees will be recognized on the field, and some of them may even throw a pitch! We will continue to celebrate their successes with a networking picnic at the game.
The 40 individuals who were selected as the class of 2012 are featured below.
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Meet the 2012 Forty Under 40
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El-Fadel Arbab, 28
Lecturer and Secretary
Darfur Community Center of Maine
El-Fadel Arbab's life ambition is to travel to all 50 states, stopping in as many towns as possible to talk about the horrors of the Darfur genocide in a way so personal that it can't help but capture the hearts and minds of the American people. El-Fadel has known more than his share of hardship and hard work in his 28 years. He was 12 years old when the Janjaweed, militias backed by the Sudan government, began terrorizing villages like his, killing indiscriminately to discourage popular revolutions.
> Read more about El-Fadel
James Beaudoin, 37
Regional Manager/VP Sales for Portland Pirates
Front Row Marketing Services
Jim BeaudoinâÂÂs professional sports work in Maine began in 1996 with
the Portland Sea Dogs, for whom he held a number of roles before
eventually becoming Assistant General Manager. In 2004, he left the
Sea Dogs to become general manager of the Columbus Catfish, becoming
one of the youngest GMs in minor league baseball, and helping turn the
organization around by immediately increasing attendance.
> Read more about James Beaudoin
Joshua Bodwell, 37
Executive Director
Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance
Joshua Bodwell became executive director of the Maine Writers &
Publishers Alliance (MWPA) in August 2010, since which time the
37-year-old organization has nearly doubled in paying membership,
to more than 1,200 people. He has revitalized the MWPA in many
ways, as his Forty Under 40 award nominator, board president Sibyl
Masquelier, notes.
> Read more about Joshua Bodwell
Eric Boucher, 38
Chief Financial Officer
Avesta Housing
Avesta Housing is MaineâÂÂs largest non-profit affordable housing agency,
owning or managing 1,800 apartments and an assisted living facility in
southern Maine. As AvestaâÂÂs chief financial officer since October 2010,
Eric Boucher plays a key role in the steady growth of the 100-employee
agency, which has more than $140 million in assets and an annual
operating budget exceeding $25 million.
> Read more about Eric Boucher
Rebecca Darr, 38
Senior Fellow, Corporate Programs
The Aspen Institute
By day, Forty Under 40 Award winner Rebecca Darr, 38, of
Brunswick, is a senior fellow at The Aspen Institute Business &
Society Program, working for systems change in capital markets
and business education. By night, sheâÂÂs a âÂÂJill of all tradesâ as cofounder
and co-owner of Atayne, an apparel company that makes highperformance
outdoor and athletic gear from trash.
> Read more about Rebecca Darr
Gavin L. Engler, 27
Intern Architect
Carol A. Wilson Architect
âÂÂAn exceptionally talented young
architect, totally committed to
the practice of architecture, to
the quality of the work, and more
specifically, to seeing Maine
architectural design compete
on a national level.â So writes
nominator Carol A. Wilson of Forty
Under 40 award-winner Gavin L.
Engler, intern architect at WilsonâÂÂs
architectural firm in Falmouth.
âÂÂHis work and dedication has
turned the heads of PortlandâÂÂs
established design community,â she
adds.
> Read more about Gavin L. Engler
Richard Fortin, 26
Library Director
Charles M. Bailey Public Library
Since becoming director two years ago, Richard Fortin has
âÂÂtransformedâ the Charles M. Bailey Public Library in Winthrop.
Circulation and attendance have nearly doubled, and 500 new
members joined in FortinâÂÂs first year, notes Margy Burns Knight, an
author who nominated him for the Forty Under 40 award.
âÂÂThanks to Richard the library is, once again, a central part of
our rural community,â Knight continues.
> Read more about Richard Fortin
Charles Friedman, 23
Owner/Founder
Flowfold
âÂÂCarry The Futureâ is the motto
of Flowfold, the Peaks Island
manufacturer of wallets made from
high-tech racing sailcloths.
âÂÂItâÂÂs a play on words, certainly,âÂÂ
says 23-year-old Charles Friedman,
Flowfold founder and co-owner.
âÂÂAll the things we make are used
to carry something â money, or an
iPad, or whatever.
âÂÂWe try to do everything locally
and sustainably, to help âÂÂcarryâÂÂ
the future. So the motto alludes to
sustainability, keeping things good
for future generations.âÂÂ
> Read more about Charles Friedman
Aron Gaudet, 38
Film Director & President
Sunny Side Up Films
Old Town native Aron Gaudet and his fiancee
were visiting AronâÂÂs mother, Joan Gaudet, in Bangor in 2004. They accompanied her to Bangor International Airport, where she and friends Jerry Mundy and Bill Knight had been
greeting U.S. troops being deployed to or returning from Afghanistan
and Iraq. Deeply moved by the greetersâ dedication, and intrigued by their day-to-day lives, the couple
and cameraman Dan Ferrigan (a Winslow native) created âÂÂTheWay We Get By,â an independently filmed documentary.
> Read more about Aron Gaudet
John Hatzenbuehler, 34
Associate Director of Sports Medicine
Maine Medical Center
In the growing field of sports medicine, Dr. John Hatzenbuehler
is a rising star, both locally at Maine Medical Center â where he
has been instrumental in creating and sustaining a research program
â and nationally, as illustrated in his recent acceptance as Fellow
of the American College of Sports Medicine. Hatzenbuehler, who lives in Portland with his wife, Stephanie,
and young children Miles and Eva, volunteers as a team physician
and/or consultant for local teams â including the Portland Pirates...
> Read more about John Hatzenbuehler
Matthew Hoidal, 39
Executive Director
Camp Sunshine
Matthew Hoidal discovered Camp
Sunshine in 1999, when he and his
brother Dave were planning to run
the Disney Marathon and wanted
to fund-raise for a worthy charity. Inspired by the Sebago Lake campâÂÂs
mission and by his visits there,
Hoidal in 2001 organized the Miracle
Marathon, in which he and nine other
athletes combined to run 1,600 miles
from Florida to Maine. Their 12-day, tagteam
odyssey brought in more than
$90,000. That same year Hoidal became Camp
SunshineâÂÂs executive director.
> Read more about Matthew Hoidal
Sarah Holmes, 39
Assistant Director of Student Life & Diversity
University of Southern Maine
Sarah Holmes, 39, has polysyllabic
job titles at the University of
Southern Maine â not only Assistant
Director of Student Life and
Diversity, but also Coordinator of the
Center for Sexualities and Gender
Diversity. But HolmesâÂÂs work extends well
beyond her alma mater, as her
MaineToday Media Forty Under 40
Award nominators make clear:
âÂÂSarah Holmes is a statewide and
regional leader in her field of higher
education administration in student
life and diversity..."
> Read more about Sarah Holmes
Matt Hutton, 36
Associate Professor
Maine College of Art
Matt Hutton co-founded the
Woodworking & Furniture Design
department at the Maine College
of Art soon after arriving at the
college in Portland a decade
ago. The nationally recognized
program was launched with the
conversion of a menâÂÂs bathroom into
a woodworking studio; last summer,
Hutton led the construction of the
departmentâÂÂs new 5,000-squarefoot
studio/work space. âÂÂThe
department was a natural fit for
Maine, with its rich history of
wood products,â says Hutton, an
Associate Professor at MECA.
> Read more about Matt Hutton
Jonathan LaBonte, 31
Executive Director
Androscoggin Land Trust & Mayor of Auburn
Jonathan LaBonte, the youngest
mayor in the AuburnâÂÂs history and
the first executive director of the
Androscoggin Land Trust in almost
five years, is well known for his
efforts to improve AuburnâÂÂs quality of
life and economic climate.
Originally a volunteer group
working to save 1,900 acres of river
land in Turner, the Androscoggin
Land Trust (ATL) now has three staff
members and a downtown office.
> Read more about Jonathan LaBonte
Ryan Lilly, 36
Associate Medical Center Director
VA Maine Health Care System
Ryan LillyâÂÂs dedication to public
service is as apparent as his strong
work ethic.
He first worked at the Department
of Veteran Affairs Health
Administration Center in Denver in
1999, became Chief Financial Officer
there in 2000, and in 2002 became
Chief Financial Officer at the VA
Medical Center at White River
Junction, Vt., âÂÂat an age when most
peers were not yet in supervisory
roles,â notes one VA Maine HCS
official.
> Read more about Ryan Lilly
Emma Lishness, 26
Manager of Marketing and Communications
Tilson
Nearing graduation from Cape
Elizabeth High in 2004, Emma
Lishness undertook an ambitious
Senior Transition Project â promoting
the creation of bike lanes on narrow
Mitchell and Shore roads.
The lane idea didnâÂÂt come to fruition, but
Lishness succeeded in raising awareness
of an alternative form of transportation
and of biking safety issues. The project is
an early example of the drive and talent
that contributed to LishnessâÂÂs selection as
a Forty Under 40 honoree.
> Read more about Emma Lishness
Jeremy Litchfield, 34
CEO/Founder
Atayne
Jeremy Litchfield founded
Atayne LLC, which makes highperformance
outdoor and athletic
apparel, exactly five years ago.
After finishing an 8-mile run in
Washington, D.C., one hot day, he
was disturbed to see his legs and
shorts incarnadined by red dye from
his shirt.
The next day, Litchfield left his job
at a marketing firm and launched
Atayne, whose gear âÂÂis safe for
people and for the planetâ and all
made from 100 percent recycled
materials â recycled polyester,
recycled cotton, activated carbon,
and Chitosan.
> Read more about Jeremy Litchfield
John Lowery, 32
Resident Physician, Family Medicine
Central Maine Medical Center
Being the first student to pursue and
complete a dual D.O./Ph.D. program
from the University of New England
College of Osteopathic Medicine is
one of many reasons Dr. John Lowery
of Falmouth is being recognized as a
Forty Under 40 award winner.
A dedicated husband and father
of two, Lowery has spent the past
several years balancing family,
education, and volunteering efforts
in pursuant of his Ph.D. and medical
residency. It was in his second
year at UNECOM when the idea of
combining both research and clinical
medicine began.
> Read more about John Lowery
Jamee Luce, 35
Teacher- Math and Computer Science
RSU 18
ItâÂÂs one measure of Jamee LuceâÂÂs
teaching gifts that Messalonksee
High School was recently named to
the College BoardâÂÂs second annual
Advanced Placement Honor Roll
â the only school in Maine to be so
recognized. A math and computer science
teacher at the Oakland school since
2004, Luce has taught AP calculus
and AP computer science, plus
other math classes and geometry at
the middle-school level.
> Read more about Jamee Luce
Glen Marquis, 36
Project Development Manager
Ocean Renewable Power Company
âÂÂPretty cool.âÂÂ
Co-workers rarely hand out such
high praise, but Glen Marquis
surely earned it.
Marquis, 36, works for Ocean
Renewable Power Co. as project
development manager for the
Cobscook Bay Tidal Energy Project
being installed off Lubec and
Eastport. When completed and
connected to the Bangor Hydro grid,
it will be the first commercial-scale
project of its kind in North America.
> Read more about Glen Marquis
Nat May, 39
Executive Director
SPACE Gallery
As the executive director of Space
Gallery, the downtown Portland arts
venue, Nat May "supports emerging
artists by presenting 220 events
annually to forward contemporary
art, artists, and ideas from all over
the country," says his MaineToday
Media Forty Under 40 award
nominator, Jessica Tomlinson. "NatâÂÂs innovative programming
earned him recognition from
the Americans for the Arts as an
Emerging Leader. He was selected
as a presenter at the Andy Warhol
Foundation for Visual Arts..."
> Read more about Nat May
Justin McIver, 29
Founder, President
Main Eco Homes
âÂÂConscience With A View,â is
the motto of Justin McIverâÂÂs Main
Eco Homes, which builds âÂÂcustom
homes that support healthier
living, are more energy efficient,
environmentally friendly, and
less expensive to maintain,â in the
words of the companyâÂÂs mission
statement.
Or, in the words of McIverâÂÂs
MaineToday Media Forty Under
40 award nominator, Deanna
Miller, the firm âÂÂdemonstrates that
people can live in comfort and still
not create a negative impact on the
environment.
> Read more about Justin McIver
Liz McMahon, 39
Director
Lucid Stage
âÂÂCreative, warm, bright,
enthusiastic, and committed,âÂÂ
in the words of her Forty under
40 nominator, Liz McMahon of
Portland is co-founder of Lucid Stage
on Baxter Boulevard. Lucid, which opened in October
2010, is a multi-use, nonprofit
performance, rehearsal, educational
and gallery space for many local arts
organizations, including theaterin-
residence Mad Horse. As LucidâÂÂs
director, McMahon is indeed âÂÂa
mainstay of PortlandâÂÂs creative
community,â says Ellen Murphy,
who has known McMahon for
several years.
> Read more about Liz McMahon
Bill McQuaid, 39
Chief Information Officer
Parkview Adventist Medical Center
Why have IT personnel from
hospitals in England, the Bahamas,
Australia and elsewhere visited
Parkview Adventist Medical Center
in Brunswick, checking out the
facilityâÂÂs scanning and archiving
medical records procedures?
The short answer must be
Bill McQuaid, ParkviewâÂÂs chief
information officer, and a winner of
the MaineToday Media Forty Under
40 award.
> Read more about Bill McQuaid
Stacy Mitchell, 39
Senior Researcher
Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Stacy Mitchell, 39, is one of the
founders of Portland Buy Local,
as the Portland Independent
Business and Community Alliance
is generally known. She is Senior
Researcher at the Institute for Local
Self-Reliance, a national group
based in Minneapolis, (Mitchell
telecommutes) and a published
author whose âÂÂBig Box Swindle,âÂÂ
(Beacon Books, 2007) was one of
BooklistâÂÂs top 10 business books of
the year.
> Read more about Stacy Mitchell
Stuart (Tuck) OâÂÂBrien, 36
Project Development Manager & Associate General Counsel
Ocean Renewable Power Company
Stuart "Tuck" O'Brien ("Tuck",
as he is invariably known, "is a
family nickname") notes that âÂÂmy
career path has taken different
turns but I have always been
fascinated by the development
process and that has evolved into
a focus on sustainability issues
in infrastructure and economic
development...So ORPC and the renewable
energy industry are a really
good fit for me, personally and
professionally.âÂÂ
> Read more about Tuck OâÂÂBrien
Heather Parent, 37
Policy Director
Maine Department of Environmental Protection
As policy director of the state
Department of Environmental
Protection, Heather Parent âÂÂsets
and implements the environmental
policies of the entire state,â writes
her award nominator, Jennifer
Eastman. âÂÂShe is using her 12 years of
experience in environmental law,
and her love of her native state of
Maine, to set policies on the diverse
areas of environmental protection
for the state.âÂÂ
Parent explains that she knew
while in high school, at Mountain
Valley in Rumford, that she wanted
to be a lawyer.
> Read more about Heather Parent
Gita Pullapilly, 34
Film Producer & CEO
Sunny Side Up Films
Gita Pullapilly of Bar Harbor
produced the Emmy-nominated
independent 2009 documentary
âÂÂThe Way We Get By,â about the
troop greeters of Maine at Bangor
International Airport. PullapillyâÂÂs is
also the voice of the multiple-awardwinning
film, written and directed
by Aron Gaudet, also a Forty Under
40 award winner.
An award-winning television
journalist and film producer,
Pullapilly has produced stories
in the United States, India, and
Jordan (she was the first filmmaker
selected as a Fulbright Senior
Scholar to Jordan).
> Read more about Gita Pullapilly
Kavita Pullapilly, 39
Founder & Executive Director
The Center for International Training, Education, & Development
Even a brief summary of 39-yearold
Kavita PullapillyâÂÂs career to
date reveals an amazing record of
accomplishment, in the for-profit
and non-profit sectors, in the United
States and around the world.
As her Forty Under 40 award
nomination details, Pullapilly from
1994 to 2000 was a senior manager
in marketing and managing at
General Mills, handling operational
budgets exceeding $300 million,
and then âÂÂworked in the financing
and management of international
development projects in Eastern
Europe, Asia and South America.âÂÂ
> Read more about Kavita Pullapilly
Erin Tucker Rice, 35
Director of Marketing and Development
Pine Tree Society
Last summer, Pine Tree Camp âÂÂ
which serves roughly 650 Maine
children and adults with disabilities
â opened a fully accessible, airconditioned
dining hall for campers
to great acclaim and applause. But
that new dining hall would not have
been built without the efforts of
Forty Under 40 Award winner Erin
Rice. Erin, 35, is the director of marketing
and development for the Pine Tree
Society. Her hard work
resulted in a substantial grant from
the Alfond Foundation to build the
dining hall.
> Read more about Erin Tucker Rice
Ry Russell, 22
VR Marketing Consultants, LLC
Pine Tree Society
The Saco Drive-In is the place to
be on Friday and Saturday nights
in Saco, in large part because of
the efforts of Forty Under 40
Award winner Ry Russell, 22,
who revitalized and rebranded
the theater to appeal to a younger
audience.
What once was a fading memory
for many older Mainers is now a
popular venue again, this time for a
younger generation who can enjoy
the movies with family and friends
in a more social setting than regular
theaters.
> Read more about Ry Russell
Jeff Shaw, 35
Executive Director/Founder
Maine Academy of Modern Music
Jeff Shaw was nominated by a Falmouth mom
whose young son, Jackson, attends
the nonprofit Maine Academy of
Modern Music (MAMM) which
Shaw founded five years ago. âÂÂWhat really impresses me,
and also led me to volunteer at
MAMM, is how amazing Jeff is
with the children, and the impact
that he makes on them,â Suzanne
Quinn explains. âÂÂKids who might
otherwise be playing by themselves
at home are playing with other, likeminded
kids, and the result is that
their music is really brought to life,
played for live audiences.âÂÂ
> Read more about Jeff Shaw
Joshua Shea, 36
Editor/Publisher
Lewiston Auburn Magazine
There are several reasons for
Joshua SheaâÂÂs selection for a
MaineToday Media Forty Under
40 award. As his nominator,
Chip Morrison, president of the
Androscoggin County Chamber of
Commerce, notes: âÂÂJosh created a spectacular, fullcolor
local magazine, Lewiston
Auburn Magazine, which highlights
the dramatic transformation of
the Lewiston/Auburn area. The
magazine began publishing in April
2010 as a bi-monthly 48-page issue.
It currently is published 10 issues
per year â and each issue is 96
pages.âÂÂ
> Read more about Joshua Shea
Bodhi Simpson, 32
Program Manager
Maine ChildrenâÂÂs Home for Little Wanderers
Bodhi Simpson is the director and
clinician of the Teen Parent School
Program at the Maine ChildrenâÂÂs
Home for Little Wanderers in
Waterville. The program is open
to pregnant and parenting teens
statewide, and provides prenatal and
parenting instruction, and academic
and life skills courses.
Simpson, who has worked at the
agency for seven years, brings special
talents to her job.
âÂÂBodhi is unique in the clinical
therapy world because of her
knowledge and expertise in the
wonderful combination of art therapy
expertise and gifted ability with
adolescents,â writes her supervisor,
Elizabeth Dostie.
> Read more about Bodhi Simpson
Steven Trockman, 38
Director of Community Relations & Outreach
Mid Coast Health Services
Steve Trockman
sees himself helping to transform
MaineâÂÂs healthcare system.
HeâÂÂs already well on his way.
In just 16 months as director
of community relations and
outreach at Mid Coast Health
Services, Trockman âÂÂhas quickly
become recognized throughout
the community and organization
as a positive force for changing
and transforming the way health
care is delivered toward the goals
of improving the health of the
population, improving the access
and quality of healthcare, while
also working to decrease the cost of
healthcare,â says Mid Coast CEO
Lois Skillings.
> Read more about Steven Trockman
Annie Tselikis, 29
Education Coordinator
Maine LobstermenâÂÂs Association
Growing up in Cape Elizabeth,
Annie Tselikis was naturally drawn
to the ocean. That love of the Maine
coast, and of the people who live
there and make a hard-won living
from it, was reinforced when she
worked as a deck hand at Casco Bay
Lines on the Portland waterfront.
Today, she is the Education Coordinator for the
Maine LobstermenâÂÂs Association
(MLA). Tselikis is an impassioned
advocate for the MLA, most of whose
1,200 members are lobstermen, and
whose mission is âÂÂto maintain a
sustainable lobster resource and an
economically viable fishery.âÂÂ
> Read more about Annie Tselikis
Alicia âÂÂLeeâ Smilowicz, 38
Medical Director
HealthCalls, LLC
Alicia Smilowicz is an osteopathic
physician who is distinguishing
herself as an associate clinical
professor at the University of New
England, where sheâÂÂs worked for six
years.
In the past 12-18 months, sheâÂÂs
completed a fellowship for the
American Academy of Osteopathy,
which is the highest academic honor
of her specialty. There are only 70
AAO fellows in the U.S., and Alicia,
at 38, is the youngest, having earned
the honor on her first attempt,
according to her husband, Jose
Peralta, who nominated Alicia for
the Forty Under 40 Award.
> Read more about Alicia âÂÂLeeâ Smilowicz
Christopher Thompson, 37
President
Parallax Partners, Inc.
What now is an unsightly
amalgam of warehouses slowly
deteriorating on an arm of land
jutting into the mouth of the Fore
River will, in the not-to-distant
future, be transformed into a $105
million mixed-use real estate
development, due in large part to
the efforts of Chris Thompson.
He is one of three partners
leading the project known as The
Forefront at ThompsonâÂÂs Point,
considered the gateway to Portland.
Chris, 37, is president of Parallax
Partners, which also is developing
a downtown riverfront hotel in
Lewiston and a large, mixed-use
project in Portsmouth, N.H.
> Read more about Christopher Thompson
Chris Tyll, 34
Owner
PatâÂÂs Pizza - Old Port
Chris Tyll began coming to
Maine when he was 18, visiting
with Annapolis roommate and
good friend David Williams of
Cumberland. Michigan-born Tyll
fell in love with the state, and today,
age 34, he remembers that âÂÂIt was
always in the back of my mind, that
if I ever had a chance to move here
and raise a family ...â The opportunity arose following
TyllâÂÂs four tours in Iraq and
retirement from the Navy. His Naval
Academy grad wife, Jen, left her
high-powered job in D.C., and they
âÂÂkinda followedâ Williams, a fellow
Navy Seal, to Maine.
> Read more about Chris Tyll
David Whitehill, 34
Executive Director
Bangor Symphony Orchestra
In his four-plus years with the
Bangor Symphony Orchestra,
executive director David Whitehill
has guided the ensemble from
debt into the black, and helped
deliver rapt and record-breaking
audiences to hear one of the nationâÂÂs
oldest continuously performing
orchestras.
âÂÂDavidâÂÂs leadership, sacrifice,
resourcefulness, creativity, and
commitment to the art above all
else have been instrumental in our
success,â says BSO board member
Joyce Clark-Sarnacki.
> Read more about David Whitehill