Team

Sean is currently a Director at the World Resources Institute, a nonprofit organization that works at the intersection of economic opportunities and natural resources -- with a goal to leave our economy and planet in better shape for future generations than we found them. Sean was previously a Director at Grameen Foundation, working to create micro-business opportunities for women in Africa and Asia. Previously, he worked to support small business and small nonprofits at the Fund for the City of New York. He managed projects for the US Department of State in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. Sean also worked in the private sector with PricewaterhouseCoopers as a Management Consultant and worked as an Industrial Engineer for Intel and the Walt Disney Company. Sean holds a BSc in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University and an MSc in Development Finance from the University of London. Sean most enjoys having fun with his wife Ranita and daughters Samaya and Simran.

"The work of 'Our Katahdin' is very personal for me", says Sean. "All my roots are in the Katahdin region. I grew up in Millinocket, have family in all three towns and worked in Medway at Terry's Texaco in high school and college. I've been involved in innovation and economic development for most of my career, and have found the most common ingredient for success to be the extent to which people are willing to pull together to make things happen. The chances of success increase dramatically. This is why we started Our Katahdin. We need to come together as a region, and we need to build stronger connections with people from the region who have moved away for various reasons, but still love the region. There is so much that can be if we band together and begin to pool our ideas, money and time to make things happen."

Stephanie is a CPA and the Assistant Controller at Bates College where she works on various financial issues and projects with constituents across campus. She is a 1995 graduate of Stearns High School, and grew up in Millinocket. She now lives with her husband Justin, also a ’95 Stearns graduate, and their children Emmett and Ainsley in Portland, Maine. Prior to arriving at Bates, Stephanie worked in public accounting and healthcare finance. She has also been the Treasurer and board member of several nonprofits in Southern Maine.

Mike is currently the Founder and VP Finance/Ops at Ready. Mike was formerly the Chief Strategy Officer at a Silicon Valley based fintech company. Prior to that Mike was the Chief Operating Officer at Standish Mellon Asset Management. Standish manages $150 billion in fixed income assets on behalf of individuals, corporations, sovereign wealth funds, and foreign central banks. Mike has 20 years of financial markets experience and previously worked at Fidelity Investments. Mike is a former director of the Green Bond Principles Executive Committee. He is a member of the Global Association of Risk Professionals and holds a Financial Risk Manager certification. He has a Masters in Financial Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology. Michael has a Masters of Science in Finance from Northeastern University and a B.S. from the University of Maine, and he holds the CFA® designation. Mike resides in Rowley, MA with his wife Stephanie and their two children, Raegan and Andrew.

Mike graduated from Schenck in 1993 and his family has called Medway home since 1860, making a living off the land as farmers and woodsmen. "It has been very hard to watch a place that gave me so much go through such difficulty", says Mike. "When asked to join Our Katahdin by Sean and Tony it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. Our Katahdin is a great platform that gives those “living away” the ability to give back to the place that gave us so much" said Faloon.

Tony is currently employed as a software engineer at Ready and lives with his wife Lisa in Portland, Maine. Previously he was a self-employed freelance software developer, and prior to that, a Senior Programmer/Analyst at L.L. Bean in Freeport. In this role he was responsible for the design, development and maintenance of software used in support of the company’s e-commerce platform and marketing initiatives. He held a similar role at Delhaize America in Scarborough, the parent company of Hannaford Bros. Tony holds an M.S. and B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Southern Maine and is using his background in technology to help drive the online platform of OurKatahdin.com.

Tony was born and raised in Millinocket and is a 1994 graduate of Stearns High School. He has deep roots in the area, and his involvement with Our Katahdin is a direct result of his relentless optimism for the future of the three towns.

"Like many people in my generation, I moved away after high school. But, having family and friends in the area has allowed me to come back often and stay connected," says Tony. "It’s been difficult to see the slow decline that’s taken place over the past few decades, but I truly believe we’re at the beginning of a new era of growth for the Katahdin region. We’re a proud, resilient community, and as we make the adjustment from letting paper mills determine our future to building our own future, I believe there is no limit to what this area can become."

Pete is a Project Manager for Cianbro Corporation in Pittsfield, Maine. In his recent experience with Cianbro, Pete has managed construction of three COVID-19 test swab production facilities in Maine and Tennessee for Guilford-based Puritan Medical Products. Other Cianbro experience includes project management for ND Paper in Rumford, module construction in Cianbro's Brewer facility and working as a Senior Project Engineer on the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge replacement between Kittery, ME and Portsmouth, NH. Prior to joining Cianbro, Pete worked as a project engineer and estimator at Kiewit Corporation and Lane Construction on projects including a new runway at O'Hare International Airport, light rail in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and MaineDOT projects closer to home. Pete graduated from Stearns High School in 2002 and holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Clarkson University in Potsdam, NY. He lives in Hampden, Maine with his wife Sarah and spends his weekends at his camp on South Twin Lake.

Mike is currently a Water Resource Manager for Brookfield Renewable Energy Group, located in Millinocket, ME. Within his current role, Mike is responsible for daily scheduling of 182 Megawatts of hydroelectric generation on the Penobscot and Union Rivers and also responsible for the management of 60 billion cubic feet of water storage on 9 Penobscot River and 2 Union River hydro dams. Mike has also recently managed a successful integration of Nextera Energy’s hydroelectric portfolio on the Kennebec, Moose and Dead Rivers, totaling 480 Megawatts of additional generation and 44 billion cubic feet of additional storage from 3 storage dams. Previous to his current role, Mike has held various roles within Brookfield, including Superintendent of the System Control Center, where he was responsible for day to day operation of over 800 Megawatts of hydro generation assets and supervised 6 control room operators. Previous to Brookfield, Mike has held multiple roles in the power business in the fields of operation, maintenance, startup and compliance. He also spent one year in the U.S. Merchant Marines aboard the S.S. El Morro as a 3rd Assistant Engineer.

Mike graduated in 1996 from Stearns High School and holds a B.S in Marine Engineering Operations from Maine Maritime Academy. He currently resides in Millinocket, Maine, with his wife Angela, and has three children, Brayden, Ella and Lily. "I am very fortunate to have been selected to join the Our Katahdin team. The group has tremendous vision, passion and drive to improve the region. For years, I have been looking for my way to help contribute to the cause of economic development in the region and have finally found that opportunity in Our Katahdin. This organization has the ability to help bring the towns together in a way that hasn’t been seen since the Millinocket Regional Hospital was built, back in 1955. Back then, they recognized the challenge, developed a viable solution and then made it happen by working together. At the turn of the 20th century, our forefathers found a way to bring economic greatness to a desolate, isolated land when they built the Great Northern Paper Company. Together, we will find a way to bring it back to greatness. The challenges have been identified and we need to work together to find viable solutions. Our Katahdin, its contributors and volunteers can help spark the necessary fires it will take to help the economic fire spread. I will gladly donate my time and effort in order to accomplish these goals and encourage others to do so as well, in whatever capacity they can,” Mike said.

Jessica is currently a Partner at Designlab, a design and marketing firm in downtown Millinocket. She and her husband John, and their two children Sunny and Ella, live in Medway, Maine. Prior to joining Designlab, she was an Information Analyst at the Jackson Laboratory, managed a research lab in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at Harvard Medical School, and was an adjunct Instructor of Chemistry at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy. Jessica is originally from Caribou, Maine.

Jessica is a founding member of Katahdin Revitalization, Vice President of the Millinocket Memorial Library BOD, a member of Our Katahdin BOD, and a member of the Katahdin Broadband Initiative.