<p> WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCIL OF MAINE DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS SLATE 2015-2016</p><p>Officers President: Maureen Hurley Secretary: Lynne Houle 1st VP: John Doughty Ass’t Secretary: Julie Nye 2nd VP: Andrea Stanley Hester Treasurer: Kimberly McLaughlin Clerk: Bill Welch Ass’t Treasurer: Gordon Erikson, Jr.</p><p>Directors Red=Nominated for Director Position Red Italics=Nominated for Renewed Director Position</p><p>The year indicates the first year of current service on the Board of Directors.</p><p>ALI AL MSHAKHEEL, 2015. Ali is an accomplished international journalist from Iraq. He has been a news producer and reporter for ABC's Baghdad Bureau, where he was nominated for two Emmy Awards in 2009. He also was a reporter for The Times of London, Japanese Daily Asahi Shimbun, an editor for Voices of Iraq News Agency and others, and most recently was the Public Information Officer for the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq. He arrived in Portland, Maine coming from Baghdad with his wife and three young children in March, 2014.</p><p>BRENNER ALEXANDRIA ALLEN, 2015. Brenner (Brie) is an attorney, practicing international, administrative, and antitrust law with Allen, Pinnix & Nichols, P.A. Brenner is licensed to practice in Washington State and Washington, D.C.; she is a native of North Carolina, having recently moved to Westbrook, Maine after living in Chicago, Austin, and the Washington, D.C. area. Prior to joining her current firm, Brenner worked for several years at the American Bar Association (ABA) Rule of Law Initiative. There, her focus was legal profession reform, judicial reform, and international human rights law. Brenner continues to consult and assist in pro bono projects for the ABA’s international programs, and has authored articles and volumes on comparative and international law topics. While in law school, Brenner clerked at the Center for International Legal Studies in Salzburg, Austria and served as the North Carolina Journal of International Law and Commercial Regulation’s Executive Editor. </p><p>ABIGAIL CARROLL, 2014. Abigail owns and operates Nonesuch Oysters, an award-winning, boutique oyster farm in Scarborough, Maine. An industry spokesperson, her speaking credits include a Sea State Lecture at Gulf of Maine Research Institute and a TEDxYouth talk. In 2014, she received a grant from Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center to participate in MCED's TopGun entrepreneur program; she recently launched a marine skincare brand.</p><p>Prior to becoming an oyster farmer, Abigail spent over a decade living in Paris, France where she traded stocks and worked in the start-up sector. A Maine native, Abigail holds an AB in French and Spanish Literature from Barnard College, as well as an MIA in International Banking and Finance from Columbia University. Former employers include the French Senate (Le Senat), Credit Suisse First Boston, and Church World Services. Abigail has been published in the UK's Daily Telegraph and she wrote features and a current events column ("Talk") for This City Paris. She has lived, studied, or worked in France, Ecuador, Spain, Poland, Germany, and Cuba.</p><p>JOHN DOUGHTY, 2012. John is Vice President and Director of Research at R.M. Davis, Inc., which he joined in 2002. Prior to that, John was a Vice President of Equity Research at Credit Suisse First Boston where he was a member of Institutional Investor magazine's top-ranked U.S. Equities Telecommunications research team from 1998-2001. Before joining Credit Suisse, John was a Vice President of Fixed Income Research at Bear Stearns. He also was a Senior Financial Analyst at Bath Iron Works from 1990-1991. John earned his B.A. (cum laude) in History and Government and Legal Studies from Bowdoin College and his MBA in Finance and Marketing from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. John also completed graduate course work in Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Chicago. He is a member of the CFA Institute, the Maine CFA Society, the Boston Security Analysts Society, and the National Association of Petroleum Investment Analysts. John has served on numerous community boards. Presently, John serves on the Pine Tree Council's Investment Committee, the Maine Historical Society's Board of Trustees, the Camden Conference Board of Directors, and the World Affairs Council of Maine's Board of Directors. John grew up in Maine and now lives in Falmouth Foreside with his wife, Wendy, and their daughter.</p><p>GORDON ERIKSON, Jr., 2009. Gordon is a graduate of the University of Maine with a BS and MBA. He has served as an Officer in the US Army which included service in Vietnam. Gordon has served for over 30 years in the Financial Services Industry with time in the Commercial Banking, Private Banking and Wealth Management sectors. He is currently with RBC Wealth Management. He is a Certified Financial Planner {tm} with a focus on family wealth creation and preservation. He is a board member of the Maine Children’s Cancer Program and on the Advisory Board Member of the Portland Stage Company. He is married to Donna Erikson and they have two adult children, Dan and Abby, both of whom are very engaged in international work. </p><p>CLIFFORD GILPIN, 2008. Clifford has held several positions in the Council since moving to Maine in 1996. He was most recently President from 2010 to 2014. Previously he had a career with the World Bank in the human resources sector, including management of the Bank's human resources program in Indonesia and the South Pacific and of the internal staff training program.</p><p>Clifford was born in Ireland. He lived for periods in Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya in the 1960's and later served in the World Bank regional office in Nairobi. Clifford and his wife, Susan, now live in Falmouth. He is a graduate of the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University and holds a Ph.D. from Columbia University. His other interests include working on environmental and energy issues and group facilitation.</p><p>ANDREA STANLEY HESTER, 2014. Andrea serves as chair of the World Affairs Council of Maine’s Program Committee and chair of Academic WorldQuest. She is a former editor/writer for the President of Harvard University and administrator of the International Visitors Program in the Office of the University Marshal at Harvard. She has a bachelor's degree in modern European history from Tufts University and a master's degree in government from the Harvard University Extension School. In addition to her work with the World Affairs Council, she currently serves on the board of directors of the Harvard Club in Maine. Andrea and her husband reside in North Yarmouth with their two daughters.</p><p>TIM HONEY, 2011. Tim Honey has over 35 years of professional experience working locally and globally - including state and local government management, international non-profit management, intergovernmental relations, international development, citizen diplomacy, university teaching and administration, and private sector consulting. From 2000-2006 he served as Executive Director of Sister Cities International in Washington, DC. Prior to this he served as city manager of Portland, Maine and Boulder, Colorado, as well as Executive Director of the Rhode Island Mortgage and Finance Agency. He has also been a legislative lobbyist for the National League of Cities. Tim is an internationalist in both his personal and professional life. He has worked throughout Africa, as well as in Hungary, Lebanon, and the Republic of Georgia. His areas of expertise include urban revitalization, local governance, fiscal decentralization, local government association development, housing, technology, non-profit management, and leadership development. He is a passionate advocate of citizen diplomacy as an essential element to international security, peace and development. Tim holds a BA in American Diplomatic History from Cornell University, and an MA from Georgetown University in Political Science. He is an elected Fellow at the National Academy of Public Administration.</p><p>LYNNE HOULE, 2010. A member of Bernstein Shur's Business Law Practice Group since 2006, Lynne's legal practice focuses on general corporate and securities law. Lynne worked as an attorney with Brobeck, Hale and Dorr in Prague, Czech Republic for several years. While there, she represented clients in diverse areas of international corporate law, including joint ventures and acquisitions as well as transactions related to the privatization of formerly state-owned entities. She also served as editor for Czechoslovakian Business Law in 1992. Lynne and her family resided in Belgium, Hungary and The Netherlands prior to moving to Maine in 2002. A graduate of Ohio University and Stanford Law School, Lynne lives in Cape Elizabeth.</p><p>MAUREEN HURLEY, 2007. Maureen is the Director of the Council's International Visitors Program. Maureen retired from the Air Force in 2003 in which she served as a human resources and protocol officer. She has resided in and traveled throughout the United Kingdom and the Azores, and also traveled and/or worked in France, Germany, Italy, Norway and the West Indies. Since returning to Maine, Maureen has been an active volunteer with the World Affairs Council of Maine, Habitat for Humanity/7 Rivers, and the Pejepscot Historical Society in Brunswick. She has served as the volunteer Director of the International Visitors Program since 2006, chairs the Council’s Nominating Committee and has chaired the planning committees for the Council’s two statewide summits on citizen diplomacy held in 2011 and 2014. Maureen received her B.A from Hillsdale College and M.Ed. from Vanderbilt University. She is a 2012 (Tau Class) graduate of the Institute for Civic Leadership.</p><p>KIMBERLY A. MCLAUGHLIN, 2013. A native of New York, Kimberly relocated to Yarmouth, Maine in 1997. She joined the Maine council in 1998 and was selected to serve as a delegate to the World Affairs Councils of America Leadership Mission to Azerbaijan in 2011, to China in 2014, and to Taiwan in 2015. Kimberly holds a M.S. in Community Economic Development with an International Concentration. Applying her passion for economic justice and world affairs, Kimberly is expanding her scope of work to communities in the developing world. As the executive director of a consumer advocacy organization, Kimberly draws from more than twenty-five years of technical risk analysis and experience in lending, securities and investments. She contributed to legislation targeted at financial industry reform and was a contributing author of a U.S. Department of the Treasury research paper, The Role of CDFIs in Addressing the Subprime Mortgage Market: A Case Analysis of New England (Dickstein: 2008). Kimberly serves as treasurer on the volunteer board of Rubia Handwork and has served on several volunteer boards and community organizations. Kimberly has two grown sons and two granddaughters.</p><p>CHARLES H. NORCHI, 2010. Charles Norchi, J.S.D., is Professor of Law at the University of Maine School of Law and Fellow in the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation in the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Dr. Norchi is Visiting Professor in the City University School of Law in Hong Kong, and Professor in the Xiamen Academy of International Law in China. His expertise and publications are in international law, oceans law, law and development, and comparative law. Dr. Norchi has extensive consulting experience in Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He has counseled the World Bank, UNDP, WHO, UNIDO, the US government agencies and law firms. Dr. Norchi is Co-Chair of the Institute for Law and Development Policy in Geneva, Switzerland; Fellow of the Explorers Club, Member of the Board of the Policy Sciences Center, Inc., and the Advisory Committee of the Hong Kong Centre for Maritime and Transport Law. Professor Norchi holds an A.B. from Harvard University, a J.D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Law, an LL.M. and a J.S.D. from Yale Law School. He was born in Dublin, Ireland and resides in Portland, Maine.</p><p>JULIE NYE, 2013. Julie is Director of Specialty Underwriting at Unum, including responsibility for international group life and disability insurance and multinational pooling solutions. Julie has held a variety of roles at Unum since 1993, predominantly in the international insurance area. Julie earned her BA (French and German) in 1993 and MBA in 2001 from the University of St. Andrews and the University of Southern Maine. Originally a native and citizen of the United Kingdom, Julie has lived in the United Kingdom, Germany, and the US, currently residing in Poland, ME with her husband and three dogs.</p><p>ADAM RUBIN, 2007. Adam is the Executive Director for Program Development and Evaluation at CIEE (Council on International Educational Exchange). During his nearly twenty year tenure with CIEE, Adam has served as the Senior Program Director for Africa, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Eastern Europe, Director of Campus Relations, and Resident Director of the CIEE Study Center in Tokyo, Japan. While in Japan, Adam held adjunct faculty positions at both Meiji University and Sophia University. A global explorer since the age of five, Adam has visited all 50 US states and has traveled to more than 60 countries in various corners of the world. He received his B.A. in Economics from Whitman College and his M.A. in East Asian Studies from Stanford University. He resides in Portland with his wife and two children.</p><p>LUCY SOMMO, 2013. A native of Maine, Lucy lived and traveled extensively in Europe and Central Asia before moving back to her home state in 2012. She currently works as an International Trade Specialist at the Maine International Trade Center. While living in Europe, Lucy obtained her Master’s Degree in East European Studies from the University of Bologna, and worked as an editor for the leading English-language newspaper in south-east Europe, Balkan Insight. Before returning to Maine she and her husband completed a fantastic six- month self-supported bicycle trip through Russia and Central Asia. Lucy travels whenever she can, and speaks fluent French and German and conversational Serbian.</p><p>MATTHEW WARNER, 2015. Matt is an attorney at Preti Flaherty in Portland and works in the firm's Litigation, International Commerce, and Data Security Groups. Before joining Preti Flaherty, Matt worked for years in government and public affairs around the world. He has owned and managed a speechwriting and political communications company since 2007 working with clients ranging from West Africa to Europe to Washington, D.C. to New York City. He also served as Speechwriter for the U.S. Ambassador to NATO in Brussels, Belgium. Matt is also an adjunct professor at Maine Law teaching international law and cyber security. </p><p>Matthew is a graduate of Boston University and holds a J.D. from Columbia Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, and an LL.M. from the London School of Economics. Matthew lives in Portland, Maine with his wife Bri and enjoys kayaking, cross country skiing, and mountain biking in his spare time.</p><p>GAIL WITHERILL, 2015. Gail began her career as a clinical dietitian and nutrition educator after obtaining her degree in Dietetics at Michigan State University. Volunteerism has been a primary focus and Gail has served in various capacities for a number of organizations, including the Portland Symphony Orchestra, MSAD 51, Project Vote Smart, and for the Congregational Church in Cumberland, where she currently is serving as Moderator of the Church Council. She was also a former member and chairperson of the Board of MSAD 51. Past involvement with the World Affairs Council of Maine includes the Leadership Committee of 2008- 2010, Great Decisions Dinners Coordinator, Chair of Academic WorldQuest, member of the Development, Program and Executive Committees, as well as an eleven month stint behind the scenes running the office. Gail returns to the Board after a 'sabbatical' that included sailing to the Bahamas. She lives with her husband in Cumberland, has two children and a grandchild. </p><p>MICHAEL WYGANT, 2011. Mike Wygant and his wife, Lee, moved to Maine in 1990 after a 31 year career in the US Foreign Service. They served on three continents, and in the Micronesian islands, including a two year assignment at the US Embassy in Moscow, 1968-70. Since coming to Maine, Mike has been active with the World Affairs Council and has done much public speaking in Northern New England. He developed a second career with the Vienna-based Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), having accepted numerous OSCE assignments, mostly of short duration, in the former Soviet Union and in Eastern Europe.</p><p>CLERK WILLIAM M. WELCH. Bill is a former two-term Board Member and the current Clerk of the World Affairs Council of Maine. He is a shareholder at the Portland law firm of Bernstein Shur, where he concentrates his practice on real estate and business law. Bill is a member of the firm’s management committee and a Vice President of Monument Title Company, the firm’s in-house title insurance company. He is listed in Best Lawyers in America for his work in real estate law. Prior to joining Bernstein Shur, Bill served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy where he was awarded Navy Achievement and Navy Commendation medals. After completing his military service, Bill joined Grumman Aerospace in Houston, Texas where he was a business planner and cost analyst for the NASA Space Station and other aerospace-related government projects. Bill is a cum laude graduate of the University of Houston Law Center where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Houston Journal of International Law. Bill also holds an MBA and BA from Tulane University. Bill is a long-time Junior Achievement volunteer and coaches youth hockey and little league baseball.</p>