New trustees appointed to Maine Community College System Board

AUGUSTA, ME — The Maine Community College System (MCCS) welcomed five new members to the MCCS Board of Trustees at the June 22 board meeting.

They are:

• Margaret Angell, of Cape Elizabeth. Angell is the head of partnerships and strategic initiatives at The Roux Institute at Northeastern University, based in Portland. She previously was deputy director for the Institute for Digital Engineering and Advanced Life Sciences, and has 20 years of experience in education. Angell serves on the board of directors for The Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Maine & Co.
• Jane Gilbert, of Augusta. Gilbert retired in 2009 as Maine’s deputy commissioner of labor, and returned recently as special assistant to Labor Commissioner Laura Fortman. Gilbert is a mediator for the Maine Labor Relations Board, and is an active member of the retiree chapters of the AFL-CIO and MSEA. She previously served on the board of directors of the Family Violence Project, the Children’s Center, Maine Children’s Alliance and Equality Maine, and served on the Maine State Civil Service Review Board.
• Elizabeth Neptune, of Indian Township. Neptune is an independent consultant and previously worked as interim health director for the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Pleasant Point, and at the Maine Center for Disease Control. She serves on the Maine Health Access Foundation (MeHAF) Community Advisory Committee, the American Public Health Services Association Leadership Council, is a delegate for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (U.S. HHS) Secretary’s Tribal Advisory Committee and sits on the tribal advisory committee for the U.S. HHS Administration for Children and Families. She is a member of the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Indian Township Tribal Council. She has received multiple awards and honors for her leadership in advocating for, improving, and providing Indian health care.
• Kate Rush, of Newport. Rush is vice president of corporate development at Tilson, and previously held multiple senior leadership positions at Bangor Savings Bank. She is on the board of Good Shepherd Food Bank and serves on the steering committee of Working Communities Challenge; she has served as a mentor with Olympia’s Leadership Institute; and is currently chair of the Newport Select Board.
• Cherie Wendelken, of Portland. Wendelken is director of the Brooks Family Foundation. She previously worked as an associate professor of art and architectural history at Harvard University. She has served on the board of trustees for Waynflete and Mayo Street Arts in Portland; and Ithaca City of Asylum, Ithaca Waldorf School and Sciencenter of Ithaca, all in New York.

The new trustees were nominated by Governor Janet Mills and confirmed by the Maine Senate. Their first board meeting was Wednesday, June 22.

“I’m looking forward to working with this group of distinguished and talented trustees,” MCCS President David Daigler said. “Their guidance and unique perspectives will help us as we look ahead to a very busy fall – welcoming the first wave of Free College students, expanding nursing and short-term workforce training, celebrating our 20th anniversary as a community college system, and continuing to manage the impact of the pandemic on our communities.”

The Maine Community College System’s Board of Trustees is the policy-making authority for the system and consists of 13 appointed voting members, one ex-officio voting member, and one ex-officio non-voting member.