Board
Rev. Joseph Beardsley, United Methodist Church,
Waldoboro, ME
Peter Titcomb, (Board Clerk) First Universalist
Church, Yarmouth, ME
Christopher Pottle, (Board Treasurer) Maine
Council of Churches, Portland, ME
Rev. Mark Wilson, Phippsburg Congregational
Church, Phippsburg, ME
Sam Saltonstall, (Board President) Williston-West
Church, UCC, Portland, ME
Ann Adams, Portland, ME
Beth Valentine, Gorham, ME
Joel Leak, Falmouth, ME
Peter Dugas, Sacred Heart Roman Catholic
Church, Portland, ME
Paul Womer, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church,
Brunswick, ME
Ben
Haymen, Portland, ME
Laurie Osher, Congregation Beth El in Bangor,
ME
Staff
Harry Brown, Executive Director
Jessica Moore, Congregational Outreach Coordinator
and Office Manager
Rev.
Joseph Beardsley, Waldoboro United Methodist Church
Joe
serves as the minister for the United Methodist Church. Since coming
to Maine 30 years ago, Joe has brought the message of environmental
stewardship to the pulpit and into his congregation. Joe has also
provided valuable insight into the thinking and attitudes of Maine
parishioners toward the environment which has been invaluable in
shaping Maine Interfaith Power & Light’s mission and goals.
Joe enjoys walking and biking, which helps him stay in shape to
keep up with his 2 grandchildren. Joe would like to see Maine Interfaith
Power & Light develop into a faith-environment think tank as
he believes that this would “cover a multitude of issues proactively
and holistically.”
Peter
Titcomb (Board Clerk), First Universalist Church, Yarmouth, Maine
Peter
is a retired computer communications and software engineer who moved
to Maine in 2005 but has been visiting family in Maine all his life.
He and his wife drive a Prius and chose to live in the village of
Yarmouth as it allows them to walk to many businesses and services
– thereby reducing their use of fuel. Peter joined the board after
becoming a Maine Interfaith Power & Light Green Power subscriber
and then hearing more about the organization from a member of his
church.
Christopher
Pottle (Board Treasurer), Christ Church, Norway, Maine & Maine
Council of Churches Representative
From
the time Chris read the book, First Radio Book for Boys by Alfred
Morgan in 5th grade, his professional interest in electrical engineering
was born. He spent his professional career as a professor of electrical
engineering at Cornell, and retired in 1998. His research area was
in computer applications to circuit theory, much of that in power
system simulation. Upon retiring, he moved to western Maine where
his parents were born and raised. Chris is a life-long member of
the Episcopal Church and his home parish is now Christ Church, Norway.
His general interest in social concerns led him to apply for, and
be elected as, the Episcopal representative to the Board of Directors
of the Maine Council of Churches in 2005. Chris applied for the
MCC position on the board of Maine Interfaith Power & Light
in 2007 as it brings together his faith-based concerns for the environment
and his expertise as a power systems engineer.
Rev. Mark Wilson, Phippsburg Congregational Church, Phippsburg,
Maine
Mark
Wilson is a native of Bath. His education includes, but is not limited
to: Morse High School, Union College, Colby College, University
College Cork, Ireland, and Bangor Theological Seminary. He's an
Ordained Minister in the United Church of Christ. He has served
the Phippsburg Congregational Church (UCC) as Pastor and Teacher
for 10 years. Mark's wife, Erin, is a Pharmacist with CVS in Bath.
They've been married for 18 years and have three daughters (Kiera,
16; Pearl 11; and Sophie, 9) and one Bassett Hound, Scooter, who
is 6. They own a camp on Thompson Lake in Casco. Mark drives a "Pre-historius,"
shops local and organic, composts his kitchen waste, recycles everything
but his sermons, wears his Birkenstocks all winter long, buys his
power from Maine Interfaith Power and Light, and has no feelings
of shame around being a walking cliche. Currently, he's involved
with Cool Communities - Bath and Beyond, the Bath Safe Schools Program,
the Phippsburg Affordable Housing Committee, the Executive Committee
of the Lincoln Association and the Witness Life Commission of the
Maine Conference of the United Church of Christ.
Sam
Saltonstall (Board President) Williston-West Church, UCC, Portland,
Maine
Sam
is a retired school teacher who lives on Peaks Island, where he
has been working on an effort to get the wind resource tested for
a possible wind project. He spearheaded a successful project at
his church to insulate the attic and upgrade lighting, and was involved
in a grass roots effort which called attention to the need for energy
conservation in Portland's buildings. Sam served last year on the
energy conservation subcommittee of the Governor's Pre-Emergency
Task Force.
Ann
Adams, Portland, Maine
Ann
comes to the board with enthusiasm to help others take positive
action to address their moral, religious and philosophical concerns
raised by the implications of global warming. She is mindful of
being a steward of the earth and follows a vegetarian diet, drives
a Prius, walks to work, supports local farmers, recycles, and powers
her home with Green Energy. She volunteers with the Maine Sierra
Club on its energy committee to advocate for the reduction in CO2
emissions through improved public policy, personal and community
action and the adoption of sustainable transportation systems.
Ann now works for Old Republic National Title Insurance Company
and enjoys walking, hiking, kayaking and skiing with her husband.
Beth
Fuller Valentine, Church of St. Anne, Gorham, Maine
Beth
led development and implementation of the Maryland Clean Marina
Initiative: a program to foster and certify environmentally-responsible
facilities. Subsequently, she lent her expertise to the development
of similar programs in Rhode Island and Mexico. She also developed
the current management plan for Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research
Reserve (WBNERR) on Cape Cod. WBNERR’s mission is to improve stewardship
of the region’s estuarine and coastal watershed ecosystems. Her
involvement in coastal management has led her to the inescapable
conclusion that climate change is real and must be addressed now.
She tries to minimize her personal carbon footprint and hopes, through
her work with MeIPL, to contribute more substantially to a societal
shift away from fossil fuel.
Joel
Leak, Falmouth, Maine
Joel has been interested in alternative energy since he was in high
school in the mid 1970’s when the energy crisis hit. He went to
college and received his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering
in order to pursue a career in alternative energy. He worked briefly
for Cambridge Solar Enterprises but as opportunities were limited
at the time, he had to leave the field. He cites working with MeIPL
as the opportunity of fulfilling that dream. Joel has focused on
marketing for MeIPL due to his belief in the clean power products
and has set a goal of expanding the customer base. His background
is in analytics which he has been employing through data analysis
assistance at MeIPL.
Peter
Dugas, Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church, Portland, Maine
Peter
is a musician and an engineer who lives in Portland. He owns an
historic apartment building in which he has made significant energy
efficiency improvements. He worked with Sam Saltonstall to create
a coalition of organizations to increase the energy efficiency in
buildings in the greater Portland area. Peter also worked last year
on the energy conservation subcommittee of the Governor's Pre-Emergency
Task Force.
Paul
Womer, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Brunswick, Maine
Paul
is a double-retiree, having retired from the Foreign Service, and
also from the U.S. Army Reserves. Paul continues to work part-time
as a consultant for a firm headquartered outside of Washington,
DC. Paul recently finished a term as a vestry member at St. Paul’s
Episcopal Church in Brunswick where, as Chair of the Buildings and
Grounds Committee, he worked to improve the church’s environmental
posture and reduce its carbon footprint. During that time, Paul
worked closely with MEIPL when it held a day-long interfaith meeting
at St. Paul’s. Paul remains active at St. Paul’s on these and other
issues. Paul and his wife, Abbie, actively promote an environmentally-friendly
lifestyle through recycling, bicycle riding, and the installation
of a solar-powered hot water system on their home. Paul is also
active as a mentor under the auspices of Sweetser.
Ben
Haymen, Portland, Maine
Ben
has spent countless summers living on Peaks Island but has only
recently become a full time resident of Maine. Prior to moving to
Portland he spent several years living in New York City working
in account management for one of the world’s largest ad agencies.
However he has recently decided to make a career and lifestyle change.
Trading the tall buildings and busy streets of New York for the
mountains and ocean of Maine. As an avid outdoorsman, the environment
has always been important to him. Over the past few years he has
become more and more convinced that we, as a society, must make
a serious commitment to combat climate change and to promote a sustainable
way of life. So he is currently pursuing a new career in environmental
sustainability. Ben graduated from the University of Vermont in
2005 and recently completed a graduate program in Business Sustainability
from Green Mountain College.
Laurie
Osher, Congregation Beth El in Bangor, Maine
Laurie
is a member of Congregation Beth El in Bangor, Maine and serves
on its Board of Directors (Beth El is an affiliate of the Union
of Reform Judaism (URJ)). Laurie brings to this work her enthusiasm
for organizing and educating people, as well as her extensive experience
as an educator. Her professional experience is as an academic scientist
(UM Faculty from 1999 to 2008) and her research over the last 15
years focused on the role of soils in; and the impact of land use
changes on the global C cycle (the biogeochemical cycle by which
carbon is exchanged among the biosphere, pedosphere, geosphere,
hydrosphere, and atmosphere of the Earth).
Staff
Harry
Brown, Executive Director, South Portland, Maine
Harry
has worked in the non-profit sector since the late 1980’s as an
organizer for social justice and environmental campaigns as well
as an advocate for expanding health care access to the low-income
and uninsured of Maine. Harry earned a Master’s degree in public
policy from the Muskie School of Public Service in 1998 and continued
work within the social services policy sector as a researcher for
the Muskie school and later as a policy analyst for a Maine based
consulting firm. Subsequent to this Harry pursued an interest in
renewable energy by starting his own solar thermal product distribution
business and then assuming directorship of Maine Interfaith Power
and Light. Harry drives a car fueled by 100% biodiesel and is completing
work on a “green” addition to his home that features environmentally-friendly
building materials, solar thermal and solar hot air panels.
Lisa
Cutlip , Intern (UCC, Bath, Maine)
Lisa joined Maine Interfaith Power and Light in August, 2009 to
assist congregational outreach. Lisa is currently enrolled as a
graduate student at Bangor Theological Seminary.
Jessica
Moore, Bookeeper (Christian Education Coordinator at State Street
Church, Portland, ME)
Jessica
provides bookkeeping support. Jessica is a graduate student at Bangor
Theological Seminary and teaches Sunday school at the State Street
Church (United Church of Christ) in Portland.
P.O. Box 4834 - Portland, ME 04112-4834 / (207) 721-0444 / info@meipl.org
