Making It Work is a live interactive series that brings together executives and entrepreneurs offering insight and advice to Maine’s business community.

After more than a year of scrambling to accommodate a remote workforce, companies are now opening their doors. But will it be business as usual? Who goes back to the office? What are the cultural impacts of a hybrid workforce? How do managers retain employees, assess productivity and maintain confidentiality and security with a hybrid workforce?

Join moderator Carol Coultas and a panel of insightful executives on June 24 at noon as they look at how COVID has changed the way we work and strategies for managing that change.

On the panel:

Matt McGrath, president and CEO:  Systems Engineering

Matt McGrath is the President & CEO of Systems Engineering. He has worked in the IT industry for over 20 years, beginning in Boston, Massachusetts. A native of Maine, Matt returned in 2000. Matt spent the next 13 years with WEX, Inc., holding various leadership positions, including leading the CRM application practice, heading up the Project Management Office, directing the New Zealand development arm of the company, and leading the software development branch for the Americas. Matt joined Systems Engineering in 2013 and was promoted to Director of Engineering a year later. In 2017, Matt became the company’s third President in its 33-year history.

Matt received his B.A. from Clark University, majoring in Spanish, and his Master of Education from the University of Maine, Orono. Matt is an avid outdoorsman who enjoys fishing, biking, boating, hiking, and camping. A weekend warrior, he runs, plays squash, and can be seen on the sidelines coaching his children’s sports teams. Matt lives in Yarmouth with his wife, Sonia, and their four children.

Kim Anania, president and CEO: KMA Human Resources Consulting

Kim founded KMA Consulting LLC in 2007 to provide businesses with practical HR advice and guidance, helping them to eliminate areas of risk.

Her distinguished career with New England-based companies has covered all aspects of Human Resources and organizational development. Kim has supported, managed, and led company-wide initiatives such as human resource information systems conversions, federal and state compliance, benefit management, recruiting, retention, safety, workers compensation, employee relations, coaching, and training.

Kim earned a certificate in Organizational Development through the National Training Labs in Alexandria, Virginia, and a Bachelor of Arts in History and American Studies from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania. She is also a member of the Society for Human Resource Management.

Kim lives in Cumberland, is the proud mother of two sons, and has an awesome, supportive husband. She loves traveling and doing anything outside, particularly in the summers by the ocean in Maine, and in her home state of Connecticut.

Michael Buescher, employment attorney, Drummond Woodsum

As a Labor and Employment attorney at Drummond Woodsum, Michael Buescher has extensive experience advising private and public entities on the full spectrum of employment matters, often leveraging his experience as a negotiator and litigator to deliver valuable insights to his clients. Michael regularly represents employers in connection with compliance with federal and state employment laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Maine Human Rights Act, and the Whistleblowers’ Protection Act.

Michael has developed specific expertise advising cannabis-related businesses on a wide range of employment matters including compliance with industry-specific rules and regulations, employment agreements and contracts, confidentiality agreements, handbooks, and policies.  A skilled negotiator and litigator, Michael is routinely consulted by employers of all sizes for help tackling difficult employment situations including discrimination, wrongful discharge, restrictive covenants, wage/hour issues, and discipline. Michael represents employers in arbitration, before federal and state administrative bodies such as the EEOC, the Maine Human Rights Commission, the Unemployment Compensation Commission, and the Maine Labor Relations Board, and before federal and state trial courts.

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