Workshop Presenters 2007
Len Bard - Saturday workshop
Perry, Maine
Len Bard was born in Fort Kent and went to high school in Waterville. He worked his way up through the ranks at SafeCo Insurance Company in California where he eventually took over responsibility for the Temple City Branch office and was responsible for 387 field agents and 65 agent support staff. Len later moved Chico where he grew a small agency specializing in smaller commercial accounts. He has been an underwriter (screening risk submitted by agents and rating accounts), and has worked in both personal and commercial lines. Len is pleased to share ideas that may help in protecting whatever assets, present and future, you may have.
Jane Bell - Saturday workshop
Tide Mill Farm
Jane Bell and Carly DelSignore are members of the Tide Mill farm family that sustainably manages their woodlands and diverse agriculture endeavors. Tide Mill Farm produces organic vegetables, fruit and berries, meat, eggs, and dairy. During November and December the farm delivers fragrant balsam fir creations to homes from coast to coast. The farm is managed for profit and the common good with goals including connecting people to healthy food; educating consumers and our community about the importance of locally farmed, organic food; strengthening our local economy; and rejuvenating agriculture as an economically viable lifestyle in Washington County.
Monique Bouchard - Saturday workshop
Independent Consultant
Monique M. Bouchard is a Maine native, with a great passion for working with small businesses and nonprofit organizations. Equally fascinating to her are graphic design and marketing, which Monique feels are two sides of one coin. As a designer with a dozen years of experience behind her, she finds herself heavily influenced by her background in public relations, marketing, and journalism, skills she calls upon to give her work a visual impact that enhances message and captivates readers.
Monique spent some of her favorite times in Down East Maine, both working for and in collaboration with the Washington Hancock Community Agency. Working with members of WHCA's resource development team, she has advised and assisted dozens of small business owners with graphic design, marketing plans and assessments, media kits and public relations strategies.
Currently, Monique is the graphic and web designer for BHC Consulting Group in their Bangor office, where she also works on public relations, donor recognition systems and media relations for clients. She has served in similar positions for Gary Friedmann & Associates, the Warren Center for Communication & Learning, Penobscot Theatre Company, and as a staff member of the Bangor Daily News.
Monique lives in Old Town with her husband Andrew. They are expecting their first child in late July.
Martha Broderick - Friday workshop
Broderick & Broderick Attorneys
Martha A. Broderick, Esq., attended Cornell University from 1976 to 1978, graduated from the University of Maine at Orono in 1980 with a BA in Political Science and Economics, and from the Western New England College/School of Law in 1983 with a Juris Doctorate.
She was admitted to the Maine State Bar in 1983 and the United States District Court, District of Maine, in 1984.
Martha Broderick is a member of the Commercial Law League of America and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Maine at Orono. She has a special interest in collaborations and has presented to small businesses about the benefits and opportunities of working together.
David and Jo-Ann Caron - Saturday workshop
Cobscook Bay Designs - Calais, Maine
David has been a physician assistant for the past 24 years working in Maine and Alaska. He is an avid woodworker and has designed and built several pieces of furniture and restored (and sailed) sailboats and ice boats including a fifty year old racing sailboat.
Jo-Ann’s background is in child development and estate gardening. She is an accomplished nature and scenic photographer and has sold work in Maine and Alaska.
Their business, Cobscook Bay Designs, is just over a year old. The Caron's specialize in high quality wooden bulletin boards, coat and hat catchers and home decor items with original photos built into each piece. They have developed their own product photos, brochures and catalog using the resources that they already had available, while learning several new skills along the way. Website: www.cobscookbaydesigns.com
Ruth Cash-Smith - Friday workshop
Women's Business Counselor - Women's Business Center at CEI, Machias
Ruth Cash-Smith provides free and confidential business counseling for Washington County individuals; in addition, she offers training on a full range of business issues, facilitates access to credit, establishes networking opportunities, and coordinates with other service providers throughout the area.
Previously, Ruth owned and operated her own writing and evaluation services business in Washington County for 14 years. She has also recently published a book on effective business writing for small business, taught business communication classes in Malaysia and Singapore for 5 years, and served as a mediator with the Maine courts. She earned her master’s degree in Intercultural/Interpersonal Communication from Fairfield University in Connecticut.
Grace Fuller Cleaves - Saturday workshop
President - Cleaves Marketing, Portland
Grace has designed and managed corporate and small business marketing, sales, PR and communications efforts for over 25 years. Cleaves' experience includes both consulting and executive leadership in Internet and traditional marketing, corporate communications, business development and business management. Her primary focus is on providing practical and effective ways for her clients to acquire new customers. Cleaves has presented workshops throughout New England, the U.S. and abroad on practical marketing and the strategic use of the Web. She is a native of Washington County, and now lives in Portland.
Carly DelSignore - Saturday workshop
Tide Mill Farm
Carly DelSignore and Jane Bell are members of the Tide Mill farm family that sustainably manages their woodlands and diverse agriculture endeavors. Tide Mill Farm produces organic vegetables, fruit and berries, meat, eggs, and dairy. During November and December the farm delivers fragrant balsam fir creations to homes from coast to coast. The farm is managed for profit and the common good with goals including connecting people to healthy food; educating consumers and our community about the importance of locally farmed, organic food; strengthening our local economy; and rejuvenating agriculture as an economically viable lifestyle in Washington County.
Louis J. Esposito - Saturday workshop
VP, Business Relationship Officer, Regional Manager - The First, Calais
Lou grew up in Portland and graduated from the University of Maine in 1977. He began his banking career with the Merrill Trust Company and has been a commercial lender in Washington County for 30 years. Lou manages a loan portfolio of $30 million dollars and serves on numerous boards throughout the county.
Cynthia Fisher - Friday workshop | Saturday workshop
VP of Marketing & Quality Assurance - Look's Gourmet Food Company
Cynthia Fisher, formerly of Destin, Florida, moved to Maine in 2003, with Mike Cote and a shared vision to revive an authentic piece of Down East Maine's culinary history with the purchase of the former A. M. Look Canning Company. Four years later, the Bar Harbor and Atlantic brands have undergone branding facelifts and conversion to all-natural ingredients and can be found on specialty and mainstream grocery retail shelves throughout the country. The quaint factory on Holmes Bay that was once doomed for permanent closure, now thrives with the resurgence of a growing enterprise and employs 26 Washington County residents with full-time jobs. In 2006, with the assistance of a Community Development Block Grant with the Town of Cutler, Look’s became the principle lessee of the newly redeveloped Cutler Navy base and relocated all warehousing activities to the 20,000 square foot former commissary warehouse.
Cynthia’s background of varied marketing experience includes work in the specialty shopping center, office complex, hotel, health care and financial services industries. The marketing of food, however, especially canned food, presented a completely new and truly interesting challenge. Through a comprehensive training program at Cornell University and hours of self-imposed "on the job" training in most every aspect of low-acid food production, Cynthia serves the company as Vice President of Marketing & Quality Assurance, assisting with physical plant operations, production scheduling, materials procurement, and quality control, as well as marketing and public relations. Mike originally from Auburn, Maine, drives sales and manages the expanding distribution network; together they exhibit at approximately twenty national and regional food shows annually. The perseverance to the vision along with the dedicated efforts of the entire Look’s team has resulted in positive growth every year and 2007 gross sales will more than quadruple the initial year’s figures.
Cynthia currently serves on the Small Business Administration's Advisory Council, the Mighty Women’s Advisory Council, and on the 2007 Washington County Business Conference Planning Committee. She and Mike live in Beachview Bay Estates, in one of the newly remodeled condos on the former Cutler Navy base; they also enjoy free time at their camp on Embden Lake, where they entertain family, friends, and their two Golden Retrievers, Chowda and Bisque.
Colleen Hart - Friday workshop
Compensation Specialist - MEMIC
Colleen was born and raised in Bangor. She graduated from Bangor High School in 1984 and attended the University of Maine in Orono. She began working for Casco Northern Bank and from there went on to work for Key Bank. Colleen left Key Bank to begin working for Cuso Mortgage. In 1994, Colleen changed careers and was hired by Sedgwick Claims Management Services. She began her work at Sedgwick as a Claims Technician but was shortly promoted to a Claims Adjuster. Colleen managed the workers' compensation claims for several large self-insured employers in Maine as well as Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. MEMIC hired Colleen in June of 2002. Colleen currently holds a Workers' Compensation Adjuster license since 1997.
Jill Culver Jameson - Friday workshop
Mediator, Workers' Compensation
Jill Culver Jameson has long been associated with Washington County. She was a Probation-Parole Officer for Northern Washington County in the early eighties, and an Assistant District Attorney for Hancock-Washington County in the late eighties. She has worked as a mediator for the Workers' Compensation Board since 1993 and her territory for the Bangor Regional Office includes monthly mediations in Machias and Calais. She also does mediations for small claims in Machias for CADRES. She is a graduate of Michigan State University and Suffolk Law School.
Georgiana Kendall - Friday workshop
Washington County Coordinator - Women, Work & Community
Almost four years ago Georgiana Kendall opened the eighteenth office for Women, Work & Community here in Washington county and since then has been helping individuals in transition by providing them with support, guidance, and the tools they need to take the next steps toward a more promising future in microenterprise, career, leadership and workforce development. Visit Women, Work & Community at www.womenworkandcommunity.org
Ms. Kendall grew up in Washington County and returned home five years ago to her family’s farm on the shores of Boyden Lake in Perry where they operate summer cottage rentals, www.kendallfarmcottages.com Ms. Kendall was a Peace Corps volunteer in South Africa where she assisted women’s groups with sustainable innovative business ventures. Ms. Kendall has a M.S. in Adult Education from the University of Southern Maine.
Kryston Lemay - Saturday workshop
RHR Smith - Buxton , Maine
Kryston is the manager of the small business practice at RHR Smith in their Buxton office. She is a Certified Public Accountant and a QuickBooks Pro Advisor and has over 5 years experience in small business accounting. Kryston specializes in small business and QuickBooks consulting for both commercial and non profit clients and consults about all levels of tax preparation for individuals and businesses. She is a graduate of University of Southern Maine.
Nancy Marshall - Friday workshop
Nancy Marshall Communications - Augusta, Maine
Nancy started her career in public relations at Maine Public Television in 1982, as production assistant and then public information manager. One of her first public relations successes was a national award for best press kit in the PBS system for a television series called "House Warming with Charlie Wing."
A passionate skier and outdoorswoman, Nancy moved to Sugarloaf/USA to become Director of Communications. She played a vital role in the marketing of the resort, gaining an understanding of the big picture of promoting and selling a business, and how public relations plays a vital role in the marketing mix.
In 1991, Nancy started her agency with a focus on the resort and recreation industries. In 16 years since starting the agency, she has grown the business to a staff of nine people serving a select list of clients in tourism and economic development. The agency specializes in media relations, but also provides an array of marketing services. Nancy is a member of the Society of American Travel Writers, serving currently as the elected representative of the industry members in the Northeast Chapter which encompasses all of New York and the New England states
Nancy is an experienced public speaker and trainer and has presented numerous workshops on how to do public relations for tourism industry groups and other industry conferences. She has also taught public relations at the college level, and she conducts seminars for advertising agencies on how to incorporate public relations into their service offerings.
Joseph Migliaccio - Saturday workshop
Program Manager, Maine Technology Institute
Joe joined MTI in 2000 and is responsible for project oversight and technology evaluation for the MTI Development Award program. He has his Master of Business Administration degree from Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, N.H.
Joe attended the University of Maine and the University of Southern Maine, graduating with a Bachelor's Degree in Biology. He had worked in commercial shell fishing for 4 years while earning his undergraduate degree. He has formal and practical training in Immunology, and Bioassay development. During his ten years at IDEXX Laboratories in Westbrook, Maine, he worked as an Assay Development Project Leader in R&D, a Supervisor of Global Technical Support, and in marketing as the manager of a $4 million product-line of veterinary tests with primary responsibility for product-line strategy, customer satisfaction, and achievement of revenue goals. Joe and his wife Rhonda have two daughters. He lives in Freeport where he owns a small business with his wife and serves on Town Council.
Heather Perry - Saturday workshop
Heather Perry Fine Jewelry - Calais, Maine
Heather Perry has had a love for creating with her hands as long as she can remember. Introduced to working in metal in a high school jewelry class, she pursued that passion by earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in sculpture from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, MD.
She aspires to establish authenticity in her life and her art wherein each of her creations embodies this balance. Based on texture, form, and beauty, Heather combines elements of sculpture with the wearability and scale of jewelry. She watches trends in lifestyle and adapts them into realistic and functional pieces of art that can be worn easily and comfortably while above all, remaining fun. Heather has been making jewelry for 17 years and has operated her own studio, Heather Perry Fine Jewelry, in Calais, Maine, since 2003. Heather's work is featured at select, high-end galleries and several fine art craft fairs in New England, the Mid-Atlantic states, and Canada. Website: www.heatherperryfinejewelry.com.
Jennifer Peters - Saturday workshop
Program Manager, Sunrise County Economic Council
Jennifer Peters, a graduate of the University of Maine at Machias (UMM), has worked with Sunrise County Economic Council (SCEC) since 1996 as the organization's Program Manager. Jennifer has been a Certified Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Administrator since 2001 and has provided valuable technical assistance to many of our small communities, including Beddington, Cutler, Harrington, Steuben, Perry, Deblois, Machias and Machiasport.
Steve Richard - Friday workshop | Saturday workshop
Business Counselor, Coastal Enterprises, Inc.
Steve is a full time business counselor focused in Washington and Hancock Counties. He holds a BS in Chemical Engineering and an MBA from the University of Houston. He has worked in International operations management, and as a manufacturing consultant.
Paul H. Sighinolfi - Friday workshop
Partner, Rudman-Winchell
Paul was born in Chicopee, Massachusetts and is a graduate of St. Anselm's College, Trinity College and Columbus School of Law at Catholic University of America. Paul heads Rudman & Winchell's workers' compensation practice group. He co-authored Maine Employer's Guide: Worker's Compensation. He is a member of the board of editors and contributes to Maine Business & Employment Law, a publication of Northern New England Law Publishers. Paul serves as chair of Panel A of the MaineBoard of Bar Overseers Grievance Commission.
Shawn Savage - Friday workshop
Small Business/Self Employed (SB/SE) Division of the Internal Revenue Service
Shawn is currently a Senior Stakeholder Liaison in the Communications, Liaison and Disclosure organization within the Small Business/Self Employed (SB/SE) division of the Internal Revenue Service. Shawn’s career with the IRS has spanned approximately 17 years. He has spent his entire IRS career working in the State of Maine at various offices throughout the state. For approximately 12 of these years he has held the positions of Tax Auditor and Internal Revenue Agent gaining extensive knowledge in federal income tax law.
During the last four years, while being a Senior Tax Specialist and Senior Stakeholder Liaison, he has been responsible for establishing and maintaining stakeholder and taxpayer relationships, communicating SB/SE messages and informing and educating SB/SE customer segments to improve taxpayer service, enhance enforcement of tax law and reduce taxpayer burden. Working with a variety of internal and external stakeholders including, but not limited to tax professionals, small businesses, professional associations, and service and trade organizations.
Shawn has been a presenter several times at the Maine Tax Forum, Maine Tax Practitioner Institutes, Maine Employment Tax Seminar and many other professional and business organizations. He is a graduate of the University of Maine at Orono receiving a Baccalaureate of Science in Business Administration with concentrations in Accounting, Finance, and Marketing.
Elizabeth Sprague - Friday workshop
Small Business Coordinator - WHCA/Down East Business Alliance (DBA)
Elizabeth provides free consulting, training, planning, and implementation assistance to a range of small business clients including those involved in experiential tourism, agricultural and value-added food producers, and retail operations.
Elizabeth grew up in Washington County and moved back in 2005. During her time "away" her professional career included twelve years with a major commercial and workers' comp insurance company. She has managed new business startups, has participated in corporate process re-engineering projects, and edited commercial underwriting guidelines and company web sites. She has been a independent technical writing consult on several projects for several other major insurance companies and with non-profits in Chicago and Washington, DC. She earned a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at Mills College in Oakland, California and a grant writing certificate from Northern Maine Community College.
Tracy S. Michaud Stutzman, Ph.D. - Friday workshop
Executive Director, Maine Highlands Guild - Dover-Foxcroft, Maine
Tracy is a native of rural Maine. In 2002 she earned her Masters and Ph.D. in Anthropology/Archaeology from the University of Pittsburgh. She returned to Maine and began research into the cultural heritage and home-based businesses of rural Maine. During this time she moved back to her hometown of Dover-Foxcroft and coordinated and created numerous community development programs such as a cultural heritage directory, map, video and website for Piscataquis County.
She also co-authored a live music and slide show curriculum that teaches local history to students, and an award-winning middle school curriculum, "Teaching Sense of Place Through the Arts". With the support of local economic development corporations, Tracy founded and is now the Executive Director of The Maine Highlands Guild, a non-profit organization that helps rural artisans build their businesses and access new markets while at the same time preserving cultural traditions and providing arts education to the community. The Guild has received State and National recognition as the winner of the 2003 National Social Venture Competition sponsored by Columbia University, Hass Business School at Berkeley, and the Goldman Sachs Foundation.
Tracy sits on Maine's Governor's Council for the Creative Economy and is a leader in the Realize!Maine Youth Initiative. She was recently chosen for Maine Biz magazine's "NEXT" list. Tracy is an adjunct professor of Anthropology at USM and represents Maine on the Northern Forest Sustainable Economy Initiative, and as the STAR from the National Center for Civic Education. She is involved in her community on the board of directors of the Center Theatre in Dover-Foxcroft, and as a member of The Cultural Heritage and Eco-Tourism Committee of the Piscataquis County Economic Development Council.
Herb Thomas - Saturday workshop
Senior Area Manager, U.S. Small Business Administration, Bangor
Herb Thomas has been with the SBA for twenty years, with 18 years as a processing loan officer. Herb is responsible for all SBA finance and contract programs delivered through publications, one-on-one counseling and public events. He also manages and informs ten commercial banks about SBA programs and compliance. He has organized and delivered Business Resource seminars to the Chambers of Commerce, Universities and other local organizations.
Janet Toth - Friday workshop
Business Development Specialist, Eastern Maine Development Corporation
Janet Toth is a Business Development Specialist employed by Eastern Maine Development Corporation (EMDC), in conjunction with the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) and the Maine Procurement and Technical Assistance Center (MPTAC). She provides assistance throughout Washington and Hancock Counties.
Toth holds a Bachelor’s Degree in business administration from the University of Maine at Machias, has 14 years of experience in banking, and 7 years of experience with small businesses.
Toth establishes and maintains relations with public agencies, local community groups, and businesses and manufacturers; develops and administers economic and community development programs; represents federal, state and regional business development resources to the region’s employers; assesses client needs and develops plans and projects in response to those needs; organizes, establishes, and fosters groups or networks of companies and/or public agencies with shared interests.
Toth has served as an associate councilor for the Small Business Development Center, works on projects with the Downeast RC& D, North Star Alliance, Sunrise County Economic Council (SCEC), Washington/Hancock Community Agency (WHCA), and conducts business visits across Washington and Hancock Counties weekly, reporting directly to the Governor, referring any concerns to the appropriate divisions of EMDC, DECD, SCEC, WHCA, and the Small Business Administration.
Eloise Vitelli - Friday workshop
Director of Program and Policy
Maine Centers for Women, Work, and Community
In 1984, Eloise designed New VenturesTM, a comprehensive entrepreneurship training program for women that focuses on the development of a written business plan. Over 1200 individuals have benefited from this hands-on training in getting a small business off the ground. She was instrumental in establishing the Maine Enterprise Option program, an innovative collaborative project that allows qualified unemployment insurance recipients to start small businesses while receiving UI. She helped in establishing Family Development Accounts, a matched savings and asset development program, and the Maine FDA Coalition.
Eloise was appointed by the Governor, Senate President and Speaker of the House to the Maine Economic Growth Council, and is a member of the Entrepreneurship Working Group of the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development, the Family Development Account Advisory Council, the Association for Enterprise Opportunity, the national trade association for microenterprise practitioners, and chairs MicroNet, an association designed to promote and advocate for microenterprise opportunity in Maine.
Eloise and a colleague made two trips to Slovakia in 1998-99 where they provided training and consultation to the Rural Women's Leadership Project around microenterprise and community development. In 1997, Eloise received the Small Business Advocate of the Year, Women in Business Advocate from the Maine Small Business Administration and was the 2006 recipient of the SBA’s Thomas McGillicuddy Award for Excellence. She holds a Masters degree from the University of Southern Maine and a Bachelors degree from the University of Pittsburgh.
Jim Wilfong
Conference Keynote Speaker
A small business entrepreneur from Maine, Jim has more than 30 years experience in international trade, marketing, small business management, and public policy. He was President Clinton's SBA Assistant Administrator for International Trade in 1999-2001. Jim teaches small business/small farm business planning, marketing, finance, and international trade for USM's Center for Entrepreneurship.
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