About Us

GROWING QUALITY JOBS IN MAINE

FocusMaine seeks to accelerate the creation of quality jobs in Maine by investing in three of the state’s globally competitive and high-growth fields—agriculture, aquaculture, and biopharmaceuticals—and by strengthening Maine’s workforce capacity. To spur business growth within these sectors, FocusMaine partners with some of the most impactful nonprofits and private sector leaders in the state. Each brings valuable expertise and passion to this work and helps to catalyze sustainable growth and business confidence in Maine’s economy.

Michael E. Dubyak


FocusMaine Co-Chair

FocusMaine and our partners, in partnership with Maine’s private sector and new and existing educational institutions, can create a more resilient and prosperous state. By matching new employment opportunities with a prepared workforce, we are working together to secure a stronger, brighter future for Maine and for Mainers.

DEI STATEMENT

Everyone benefits when everyone is included. 

FocusMaine was built on a simple premise: by catalyzing job creation in high-growth sectors in Maine, we can create opportunity for people and prosperity for families and communities across Maine. To fully achieve this goal, we recognize that we must address longstanding, systemic and institutional barriers that stand in our way. This includes racism in all its forms and other patterns of exclusion that narrow possibilities and unfairly limit potential.

This is central to our mission because everyone benefits when everyone is included.

Working with FocusMaine’s Leadership Team, advisory teams and partners, we are listening and learning, and putting our commitment to a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive economy into action. This includes expanding our diversity programming, launching the EQUIP program that provides stipends to support black, indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC) students engaged in career exploration through our Maine Career Catalyst program; working with our partners on a shared commitment to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in programs funded by FocusMaine; and elevating the voices and stories of women and BIPOC leaders who are creating and finding opportunity in our sectors.

Building an economy that works for everyone is a journey not a destination. Our efforts to foster and support environments that value diversity of thoughts, perspective, and experience are ongoing. We welcome the opportunity to hear from you and invite you to join us in this important work.

LEADERSHIP TEAM

Michael E. Dubyak

FocusMaine Co-Chair
Former President, Chairman, and CEO, WEX, Inc.

Andrea Cianchette Maker

FocusMaine Co-Chair
Former Partner, Pierce Atwood LLP

Michael Bourque

President & CEO,
The MEMIC Group

Jay Dearborn

President, Corporate Payments
WEX, Inc.

Dr. John Fitzsimmons

President Emeritus,
Maine Community College System

Charles E. Hewett, PhD

Executive Director, Institute for 
Digital Engineering and Life Sciences (IDEALS)

Ed McKersie

Founder/President
ProSearch, Inc. 

Thank you to our former Leadership Team members whose efforts have been instrumental in advancing the mission of FocusMaine.

Eleanor Baker*

Co-Founder,
Baker Newman Noyes

Raymond T. (Chip) Kelley

Maine Market President,
Commercial Sales Leader, KeyBank

Karen G. Mills*

Senior Fellow, Harvard Business School
& Former Administrator, US SBA

Robert Moore*

Former CEO & Chairman,
Dead River Company

William Ryan Sr.*

Former Chairman & CEO,
TD Banknorth Inc.

David Shaw*

Founder & Former CEO,
IDEXX Laboratories, Inc.

*Executive Advisory Team and Founding Leadership Team Members
 

OUR TEAM

Andrea Cianchette Maker
President

Andrea Cianchette Maker, the Co-founder and Co-chair of FocusMaine since its inception in 2014, became the President of FocusMaine in May 2023.

Prior, Andrea chaired the Government Relations Practice at Pierce Atwood LLP, Maine’s premier law firm. A visionary and action-oriented leader known for her ability to conceptualize and advance agendas that drive growth for individuals, organizations, and Maine’s economy, she co-founded the predecessor to Educate Maine and served on the Commission on Maine’s Future and the Commission on the Future of Maine’s Paper Industry.

She’s a former Board of Trustees member for Maine Public, Maine Community Foundation, Susan L Curtis Foundation, and Maine Coalition for Excellence in Education. A passionate advocate for positive change, Andrea’s core strengths lie in strategic, civic-minded leadership, achieving outcomes, and a remarkable ability to connect people and resources.

She has been honored with the Crystal Heart Award by the American Heart Association (Maine Chapter), named one of four “Women to Watch” by Mainebiz in 2016, and featured in Maine magazine’s “50 Mainers” list. Andrea received a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Maine and holds a Bachelor of Science degree from UNH Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics.

Leo Waterston
Program Director

Leo Waterston serves as FocusMaine’s Program Director, working closely with statewide partners to oversee programs, grants, and initiatives to grow Maine’s food economy and bioeconomy, and a thriving workforce to support them.

Leo brings diverse experience within healthcare, scientific research, and public health settings to his work in economic development. Prior to joining FocusMaine in early 2022, Leo served as the Program
Director for the Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation (CORE) at Maine Medical Center Research Institute (now MaineHealth Institute for Research). While in that role, Leo also served for 5 years as the Project Director for the Maine Lung Cancer Coalition, a grant-funded, statewide, multi-sector initiative focused on reducing the burden of lung cancer in Maine. Prior to coming to Maine, Leo held various roles at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

Leo holds a Master’s degree in clinical psychology from Fordham University and a Bachelor’s degree from Clark University. Leo is a graduate of Leadership Maine (Damariscotta Class). He currently serves
as Vice President on the Board of the Maine Public Health Association and is on the Steering Committee of SEA Maine (Seafood Economic Accelerator for Maine).

Courtney Crossgrove
Food and Agriculture Manager

Courtney Crossgrove brings an enthusiasm for and background in food system sustainability and equity to FocusMaine.

Courtney comes to FocusMaine following a year as a ResilienceCorps fellow working on various community-based sustainability and climate resilience programs in the greater Portland region, including a craft beverage technical assistance and recognition program. Previously, Courtney worked at USAID on supply chain sustainability and track and traceability.

Diverse experiences in nutrition education, food service management, food security policy, supply chain sustainability, humanitarian assistance, food waste programs, and producer technical assistance have helped Courtney cultivate a holistic approach to food systems work. Programs, processes, and relationships have been central to her career.

She earned an MS in Sustainability Science with a focus on Food and Agriculture from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a BS in Nutrition and Dietetics from the University of New Haven.

Mikayla Sweet
Grants and Finance Manager

Mikayla Sweet has over 8 years’ experience in full lifecycle grants management for both grant-seeking organizations and a grant-making foundation, as well as 5 years’ experience in nonprofit program and operations management across the sectors of education, healthcare, and legal aid.

Most recently, Mikayla served as a Grants and Contracts Administrator for the University of Virginia managing an everchanging $50+ million postaward research portfolio. In this role, she oversaw each project from start to completion ensuring contract to scope, schedule, and budget while training other postaward managers on policy, procedural, and system updates, maintaining compliance and audit excellence, and analyzing complex financial data to ensure project success.
Prior to joining UVA, she worked in Dublin, Ireland developing operations and staff for a healthcare organization’s new fundraising initiative and in Washington, DC overseeing the grants department for an education organization and managing the grant-making cycle and database for a civil legal aid org.

Throughout it all, her top professional goal remains the same: to reflect how effective and seamless internal operations lead to mission-driven decision-making and the most successful programs, services, and partnerships.

She holds a Master’s in Nonprofit Administration from LSU Shreveport and a Bachelor’s in Sociology from Appalachian State University and resides in Northeastern Vermont with her partner and their two dogs.

PARTNERS

FocusMaine works in strategic partnership with established and tested Maine organizations that are interested in aligning their work with our ultimate goal: creating quality jobs in Maine.

ADVISORY TEAMS

During its formative years, FocusMaine engaged a number of Maine leaders to assist in identifying its focal areas and developing its first set of strategies. We wish to acknowledge those individuals with gratitude.

Research Advisory Team

Charles Lawton, Ph.D.
Team Chair
Formerly with Planning Decisions Inc.

Stephen Adams
American Institute for Economic Research

Timothy Agnew
Masthead Venture Partners

Betsy Biemann
Coastal Enterprises Inc (CEI)

Charles Colgan, Ph.D.
Maine Center for Business & Economic Research

John Dorrer
Independent Consultant

Business Associations Advisory Team

Dana Connors
Team Chair
Maine State Chamber of Commerce

Yellow Light Breen
Maine Development Foundation

Robert Clark
Northern Maine Development Commission

Peter DelGreco
Maine & Company

Quincy Hentzel
Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce

Academic Advisory Team

Dr. Joan Ferrini-Mundy
Team Chair
University of Maine

Dr. James Dlugos
Saint Joseph’s College of Maine

Dr. David Greene
Colby College

James D. Herbert, Ph.D.
President, University of New England

Laurie Lachance
Thomas College

David Daigler
Maine Community College System

Government Advisory Team

The Honorable John E. Baldacci
73rd Governor of Maine

The Honorable John R. McKernan Jr.
71st Governor of Maine

The Honorable Peter Mills
Former Maine State Senator

The Honorable Richard (Dick) Woodbury
Former Maine State Senator

Agriculture

Betsy Biemann
CEI (Coastal Enterprises, Inc.)

John Burns
Maine Venture Fund

Steve Culver
Two Lights Group & Blue Ox Malthouse
(formerly with Hannaford)

Andrea Cianchette Maker
Pierce Atwood LLP

Mark Dvorozniak
Marketing Strategy Decisions
(formerly with Barber Foods)

Sue Hanson
Maine Center for Entrepreneurs

Gray Harris
CEI (Coastal Enterprises, Inc.)

Kristin Miale
Good Shepard Food Bank

Tristan Noyes
Maine Grain Alliance

Tom Rainey
Maine Center for Entrepreneurs

June Sleeper
Cultivating the New Economy

Stewart Smith
Lakeside Family Farm

Linzee Weld

Noah Winslow
UMPI & Irving Potatoes

Aquaculture

Sebastian Belle
Maine Aquaculture Association

Keith Bisson
CEI (Coastal Enterprises Inc)

Christian Braden
Maine Aquaculture Association

Peter DelGreco
Maine & Company

Glen Flanders
Marine Harvest

Bill Keleher
Kennebec River Biosciences Inc.

Jonathan Labaree
Gulf of Maine Research Institute

Bill Mook
Mook Sea Farm

Dave Morang
Cooke Aquaculture Inc.

Matt Moretti
Bangs Island Mussels

Don Perkins
Gulf of Maine Research Institute

Sara Radamaker
American Unagi

Bri Warner
Ocean Approved

Chris Vonderweidt
Gulf of Maine Research Institute

Biopharmaceuticals

Kathy Biberstein
SVP, Chief Compliance and Legal Officer, Alkermes

BJ Bormann
VP, Translational Sciences and Network Alliances, Jackson Laboratory

Agnieszka Carpenter
Director, BioMaine

Peter DelGreco
President, Maine & Company

Claire Deselle
VP, Innovation, Northern Light / Eastern Maine Healthcare

Michael E. Dubyak
WEX Inc.

Jodi Gernon
Director, Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship, Harvard Business School

Karen Houseknecht
Professor of Pharmacology, Assoc. Provost for Research & Scholarship, University of New England

Amy Leshure
Investment Officer, Maine Technology Institute

Chris Mallet
Chief Administrative Officer, Roux Institute

Tom Rainey
Director, Maine Center for Entrepreneurs

Doug Sawyer
Chief Academic Officer, MMCRI Interim Director, MMCRI, Maine Health

Kristy Townsend
Associate Professor, University of Maine System