NEW HIRES

Christopher Allen

Partners Bank has announced the hiring of Christopher Allen as senior vice president and chief risk officer. Allen’s work history includes both private industry and financial institutions, and he has held numerous senior leadership roles in various capacities including enterprise risk manager, chief risk officer, auditor, CPA and consultant. His most recent positions include management consultant in enterprise risk management, internal audit and compliance at Vertex11 and as chief risk officer at Patelco Credit Union. He is a graduate of Ramapo College in New Jersey. Allen and his wife are recent empty nesters and look forward to relocating from California to Maine.

Hannah Levesque

Fontaine Family Real Estate is pleased to announce the addition of Hannah Levesque to the team at its Auburn location. Levesque grew up in Monmouth and graduated from Monmouth Academy. Her previous experience in the food industry has enriched her customer service skills and allowed her to realize her love of helping people. As a sales agent, she will be able to continue serving the people in her community, while guiding them through the entire real estate process. Levesque resides in Wales and in her free time, you’ll find her enjoying the Maine outdoors with her family, hiking, or working out.

Quintin Pringle

Kate LaCombe

Coffee By Design is proud to announce recent hires Quintin Pringle and Kate LaCombe. LaCombe has more than five years of barista, retail and management experience in Maine and Vermont. Pringle, a resident of Portland, brings more than five years of food service and hospitality experience to the position from Olympia Companies and Sedexo.

AWARDS & HONORS

Dr. Elissa Charbonneau

Encompass Health is proud to announce that its chief medical officer, Dr. Elissa Charbonneau, has been recognized by Modern Healthcare as one of this year’s 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives, marking her second consecutive year on the list. The recognition program acknowledges clinicians working in the health care industry who are deemed by their peers and an expert panel to be the most influential in terms of demonstrating leadership and impact. As chief medical officer, Charbonneau oversees the medical operations for 140 inpatient rehabilitation hospitals across the country. Charbonneau lives in Freeport.

Dr. Mark Zajkowski, who practices in South Portland, has been recognized by the Maine Dental Association with inclusion on its Honor Wall. The MDA’s Honor Wall highlights those who have given extraordinary service to the Maine Dental Association and is displayed at the MDA office in Manchester. Zajkowski was acknowledged during the association’s annual business meeting in June. A past president of the Maine Dental Association and current chair of the Maine Board of Dental Practice, Zajkowski has been practicing at Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Associates in South Portland since 1999.

BOARD APPOINTMENTS

Valerie Laure Bilogue

The Maine Community College System has welcomed Valerie Laure Bilogue of Presque Isle as the new student trustee on the board of trustees. Laure Bilogue is a computer and networking technology student at Northern Maine Community College who worked as an IT instructor in her native Cameroon before coming to Maine in 2018 to join her husband, who is currently a nursing student at NMCC. She is a member of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society and plans to work while pursuing a bachelor’s degree. Laure Bilogue graduated from NMCC in May and was nominated for the board position by Gov. Janet Mills.

Gov. Janet Mills has sworn in the board of directors for the Maine Connectivity Authority, a new state entity charged with achieving universal availability of high-speed broadband in Maine. The board is charged with governing the authority and has seven members. The commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development also holds a seat. Carlos Javier Barrionuevo of Georgetown, Daniel P. Belyea of Vassalboro, John Chandler of Falmouth, Danielle Louder of Augusta, Michael C. Reed of Palermo, Timothy R. Schneider of Falmouth and Robert J. Souza of Durham were all appointed to serve on the board.

Readiness Associates has announced that Shaun Gagnon has joined the company’s advisory board. Gagnon currently serves as president and managing partner of Cambridge Insurance Advisors based in New York City, and he is also the founder and CEO of Cambridge Risk Advisors, headquartered in Westport, Connecticut. He has dedicated his career to solving the challenges employers face involving human resources, risk management, compliance and employee benefit cost containment.

PROMOTIONS

Lauren Carpenter

Katahdin Trust has announced the promotion of Lauren Carpenter to branch manager and retail services officer. She will be responsible for retail lending, business development and the daily branch management of the bank’s Scarborough location. Carpenter joined Katahdin Trust in 2020 as a community banker. In February, she was named interim manager, a position she held until this most recent promotion. A Standish resident, she is an active member of her community, serving on the board for the Standish Sno-Seekers Snowmobile Club.

Jeremy Rävar

Coffee By Design recently promoted Jeremy Rävar to director of operations. Rävar joined Coffee By Design in February 2019 and brings more than a decade of related experience to the role.

Nicole Ganem has been promoted by Bangor Savings Bank to mortgage loan associate. A lending professional with over 13 years of experience in mortgage operations, Ganem’s roles have included that of processor, closing coordinator, MLO liaison and construction administrator. Ganem has worked for five years at Bangor Savings, where she has overseen and helped expand its construction loan program. She resides in Gray and is a snowmobile and outdoor enthusiast. Ganem’s office is located at Bangor Savings’ Marginal Way location in Portland.

Farm Credit East recently announced the promotion of Shannon Webber to branch manager of its Auburn office. She joins Ghent Holdsworth, who assumed the branch manager role of the Presque Isle office in 2020.

A native of Topsham, Webber’s family owns and operates a 75-acre vegetable and fruit farm in Topsham and Bowdoinham. She began working for Farm Credit as a loan officer in 2005 and has managed a growing loan portfolio while taking on increasing leadership responsibilities.

Holdsworth grew up on his family’s potato farm in Caribou before joining Farm Credit in 2001. Prior to becoming branch manager, he was a commercial loan officer and then a senior loan officer serving customers in northern Maine.

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