Board of Directors

William E. Birney, President

Oakland 
Director, Engineering, Procurement, and Construction Projects Stantec Power

Bill Birney joined Stantec Power in 2018 and works across the United States and Canada to manage project risk, professional standards, and quality assurance of Stantec Power’s growing EPC project portfolio. Previously, he spent 20 years at Cianbro in the Power & Energy and Industrial & Manufacturing market. As General Manager of Power Generation, he was directly responsible for the overall operations of Power Generation projects and managed projects all over the east coast. In the community, Birney served on town boards in South Paris, ME for many years.

Ronald A. Holmes, Treasurer

New Sharon
Engineering Site Manager, Jacobs Engineering Group

Ron Holmes has worked in the paper industry for over 40 years. While most of those years were spent in Maine, he now works on projects across the globe. Throughout his career he maintained a strong commitment to community service. Ron served 11 years on the Volunteer Maine commission and during six of those years held officer positions including Chair of the Commission. On a national level, he represented Maine’s interest on the public policy committee of America’s Service Commissions.

In his hometown, Ron is involved in several organizations including Girl Scouts where he and his wife, Sharon, are support leaders of the local troop. He is also a mentor in the Mount Blue School District where he is helping students exploring robotics.

Orion Breen

Pownal
Public Affairs Liaison, Global Partners

Orion Breen is passionate about improving Maine’s quality of life, be it through his MaineQuality podcast/radio show or as a South Portland/Cape Elizabeth Community Chamber of Commerce board member and Waterfront Alliance member. For two years he was an AmeriCorps VISTA at Hour Exchange Portland, a nonprofit community service exchange of neighbors helping neighbors. As a 2017 loaned executive to United Way of Greater Portland, he worked with a team to successfully surpass their $8.05 million campaign goal. He is also a founder of the Buy Local Bangor campaign.

Breen works with Global Partners to help Mainers meet their energy, heating and transportation needs. In MEMIC’s communications department he helped the company fulfill its mission of providing employers with the best safety training and workers’ compensation products through the compassionate treatment of all workers. At LincolnHealth in Damariscotta, he coordinated the creation and promotion of the Sidekicks program where teens learn active listening and motivational interviewing skills to talk to their peers about tobacco use.

Maryalice Crofton

Augusta
Executive Director, Volunteer Maine

Maryalice Crofton joined the Commission staff on April 1, 1995 and served as Grant Program Officer until she was appointed Director in 1996. Under her leadership, the Commission has fostered the growth of AmeriCorps in Maine, developed the first codified set of competencies for volunteer managers, created VolunteerMaine, brought Service Enterprise and Service Year to the state, launched online volunteer management training, developed the first online model for AmeriCorps grant management that was adopted nationally, and led the design and launch of special initiatives for other government agencies.

Before moving into government, Crofton spent 15 years as Executive Director of two Maine Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies, a year with USDA Cooperative Extension as evaluator of a national project, and five years with Univ. of Connecticut Cooperative Extension. In the community, Crofton serves with the Spiritual Care Department at Maine General and recently completed two terms on the board of Roncalli Housing in Augusta.

Christine Force

Yarmouth
Nonprofit Development

Force has extensive experience in corporate community relations, development and donor engagement, corporate and foundation relations, event planning, and more than 20 years of commitment to advancing Maine’s non-profit community.

Before joining the non-profit sector, Force spent 14 years in the marketing department at Hannaford supermarkets. There she developed the Hannaford Helps Schools program and helped raise over a million dollars for local non-profits. Force’s community work has included Vice President of Fund Development at Good Shepherd Food Bank where she managed the development and marketing strategy and helped launch the Mainers Feeding Mainers farm program.

She is currently a member of the Portland Rotary and has served on many boards including the Maine Association of Non-Profits, Volunteer Maine, Portland Salvation Army Advisory Board, and the Center for Grieving Children.

Jack A. Frost

Ellsworth
V.P., Director of Community Giving, Bar Harbor Bank & Trust

Jack has been a resident of Ellsworth since 1993. He serves as V.P., Director of Community Giving for Bar Harbor Bank & Trust. Previously, he was Director of Philanthropy for Maine Coast Memorial Hospital Foundation, where he was responsible for the organization’s fundraising initiatives, including planned giving, grant writing, annual fund, major gifts, and charity events. Prior to joining Maine Coast Hospital in 2006, he served 14 years with Training & Development Corporation as Project Manager of Department of Labor job training programs, primarily in Maine’s northeast region.

Jack is a graduate of the University of Maine at Machias (’89) and obtained a Master of Public Administration from the University of Maine (’92). Jack is past president of the Rotary Club of Ellsworth. In the past two decades, he has served on numerous boards including: Child & Family Opportunities, Ellsworth Area Chamber of Commerce; Ellsworth Business Development Corporation; Ellsworth Knowlton Park Campaign Committee; Ellsworth Sestercentennial Committee; Frenchman Bay Conservancy; Good Shepherd Food Bank’s Food For Good Campaign Advisory Committee; Healthy Acadia; Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry, Maine Volunteer Foundation; University of Maine at Machias Board of Visitors; University of Maine Black Bear Athletics; and The Bay School.