Three new trustees appointed to Maine Community College System Board

March 11, 2020

AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine Community College System welcomes three new board members, nominated by Governor Janet Mills and confirmed unanimously by the Maine Senate.

The newest trustees are: Anna “Anne” Eleanor Roosevelt, former president and chief executive officer of Goodwill Northern New England; Kathie Leonard, president and CEO of Auburn Manufacturing; and Peter DelGreco, president and CEO of Maine & Co.

“Each of these new trustees brings unique perspectives and strengths to the board, and I look forward to working with them in charting a strong, vibrant future for our colleges to best serve the people of Maine,” system President David Daigler said.

Roosevelt, of Embden, is active on multiple boards, including a presidential appointment to the Campobello International Park Commission, board chair of the Roosevelt Institute and secretary of the Embden Pond Association. She also serves on the boards of the Maine Community Foundation, Maine Grains and The Jim Browne Foundation.

Roosevelt retired from Goodwill Northern New England in 2019. Before that, she was vice president of global corporate citizenship for The Boeing Company. Earlier in her career, she spent more than seven years teaching museum studies at Western Kentucky University.

Roosevelt earned a master’s degree from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University.

Leonard co-founded Auburn Manufacturing in 1979 and began creating new heat-resistant fabrics to replace asbestos. The company has also patented an insulation kit for use in institutional and commercial HVAC systems to save energy and meet sustainability goals. Today, Auburn Manufacturing has 50 employees and manufactures heat- and fire-resistant textiles in Auburn and Mechanic Falls.

In 2019, she was named the Maine Exporter of the Year by the Maine International Trade Center.

Leonard serves as vice chair of the Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Textiles for the U.S. Department of Commerce, and serves on multiple boards, including the National Council of Textile Organizations and the Export–Import Bank of the United States.

Leonard said graduating from a community college is one reason she wanted to serve as a trustee. She earned an Associate of Arts degree from St. Petersburg College, with special classes in technical writing and general business courses. She furthered her studies in business administration at the University of Maine.

In addition to leading Maine & Co., DelGreco, of North Yarmouth, is vice chairman of the board of the Maine Rural Development Authority. He also serves on the boards of the Maine Development Foundation, Maine Venture Fund and the Portland Community Chamber of Commerce.

Maine & Co. works to attract companies to Maine and helps them establish successful and profitable operations within the state. Most recently, those companies include athenahealth, Grand Rounds, Grove Collaborative, Sun Life Financial, Wayfair, Carbonite, Nordic Aquafarms, and Kingfish Zeeland.

DelGreco is a graduate of Colby College and earned his MBA from the University of Southern Maine.

The Board of the Maine Community College System consists of 13 appointed voting members, one ex-officio voting member, and one ex-officio non-voting member.

MCCS is Maine’s comprehensive two-year college system offering nearly 300 career and transfer programs of study, customized training for business and industry, and continuing education. The MCCS consists of seven colleges with nine campuses, five off-campus centers, and a centralized System office. Each fall, MCCS enrolls some 17,000 students. Annually, the seven colleges serve more than 27,000 individuals through degree programs, customized training, and opportunities for lifelong learning.