After graduating from the University of Maine in 1985, I started a bicycle courier service in Portland called Intown Courier. It was my first attempt to make a living and help the environment at the same time. After a few years, I sold the company and pursued a master’s degree in Public Policy and Management which led to a job at the Maine State Planning Office. I staffed the Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment which exposed me to how Canadian policy makers were responding to Agenda 21, one result of the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. I studied how to bring sustainable development principles to the states and I helped write a booklet called Sustainable Maine. I also wrote an editorial called Earth’s Wake-up Call and another called Tribute to Donella Meadows.

In 1996 I began work at the Maine Development Foundation, a non-profit based at the state capital. I was the principal researcher and author of nine editions of Measures of Growth, an annual report of quality-of-life indicators. I prepared public policy reports on several topics and I staffed Governor King’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Health Care. In 2001 I started the Maine Downtown Center and became its first director. The annual editions of Measures of Growth continue to be a valuable resource for Maine policy makers and the Maine Downtown Center continues to help our community centers thrive.

One of my largest volunteer projects was to help start GrowSmart Maine in 2004. I served as the start-up board chair as we were finalizing bylaws and forming the organization. From 2006-2008, I chaired the board of the Merriconeag Waldorf School in Brunswick, Maine. I currently do volunteer training sessions for the Maine Association of Nonprofits and volunteer facilitation for Common Good Ventures.