Staff & Board
Maine Conservation Alliance’s staff and board members combine a passion for conservation, climate action, and a healthy democracy with experience, diligence, and openness to continued learning, making them compelling agents for progress and change.
CATHY BREEN
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Director of Government Affairs
Cathy Breen represented Senate District 25 in the 127th-130th Maine Legislatures. In her first term, she served as the Ranking Member on the Environment and Natural Resources Committee. In her three subsequent terms, Cathy served on the Appropriations Committee (AFA), and as Senate Chair in the 129th and 130th sessions. Some milestones from those budgets include funding climate change mitigation and community resilience grants, replenishing the Land for Maine’s Future program, starting Maine’s PFAS testing and remediation fund, funding online voter registration and other pro-democracy reforms, and staffing the Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous and Tribal populations.
From 2005-2011, Cathy served on the Falmouth Town Council, including two years as Chair. In 2007, she shepherded the passage of Falmouth’s historic Open Space Conservation referendum, one of the most ambitious municipal land and habitat conservation initiatives in Maine. She has also served on the Board of Directors of Spurwink Services since 2012, and was elected Chair in 2024.
Cathy lives in Falmouth with her husband, Jay Geller, and has two adult children who live in the greater Portland area.
Contact Cathy at cathy@maineconservation.org
GABE COLE
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Communications Manager
Gabe manages the organization’s internal and external communications and supports MCA’s mission by sharing stories that educate, empower, and create meaningful connections between people, communities, and the environment. He brings marketing and communications experience from both the private and non-profit sectors. Gabe’s passion for the natural world and environmental advocacy developed in college, where he spent time skiing and hiking in the Adirondacks of Upstate New York. He loves to ski, run, connect with people who also love the outdoors, and spend time on Maine’s many rivers and lakes in his canoe.
Contact Gabe at gabe@maineconservation.org
MAUREEN DROUIN
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Executive Director
As Executive Director, Maureen works with MCA’s board, staff, and partners to advance the organization’s interconnected goals of environmental protection, climate action, voting rights, and racial equity. Her goal is ensuring Maine’s climate and environmental movement is a powerful force for change. Before coming to MCA, Maureen worked on conservation policy, management, and organizing at the state, regional, and federal levels with several organizations including National Audubon Society, Sierra Club, and Northern Forest Alliance. Maureen graduated from Bowdoin College with a degree in geology and environmental studies and completed a one-year fellowship program with Green Corps, the field school for environmental organizing. She currently serves on the Natural and Working Lands Working Group of the Maine Climate Council, the Hallowell Conservation Commission, and the Advisory Board of Community Organizing Alliance. Maureen loves walking and hiking in all weather, drinking strong Irish tea, growing vegetables (especially garlic), collecting eggs from her chickens, and cheering at her daughter’s sports games.
Contact Maureen at maureen@maineconservation.org
PETER EIERMANN
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Bookkeeper and Finance Manager
Peter Eiermann is the Bookkeeper and Finance Manager, bringing comprehensive experience in financial management, strategic planning, and organizational leadership. He holds a Business Management degree from Hartwick College and has worked across multiple sectors, including non-profit organizations, arts management, brewing, real estate, and creative industries. Peter lives in Carrabassett Valley, where he enjoys skiing, hiking, and boating.
Contact Peter at peter@maineconservation.org
Nick Francis
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Operations Director
Nick comes over to the Operations Director position after working in the technology industry for close to 20 years. He previously worked as the head of the Information Technology department for the Penobscot Nation.
Additionally, he sits on the Penobscot Tribal Rights and Resources Protection Board, tasked with the review and oversight of research conducted by non-tribal members that involves cultural resources. His passion for working to protect these cultural resources has also led him to be appointed as a Penobscot representative to the Abbe Museum, where he sits on the Wabanaki Advisory Council, the Executive and Governance Committee, and also as a Penobscot representative working to create the Tekαkαpimək Contact Station in the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. He is very passionate about this cultural work and technology and brings that energy to his position at MCA. In his downtime, he loves hiking with his family, attending UMaine Hockey games, and golfing with his two sons.
Contact Nick at nick@maineconservation.org
STACIE HAINES
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Development Director
Stacie connects with donors whose passion and values are aligned with MCA’s mission to protect and conserve Maine’s environment through the political process. Since earning her bachelor’s degree in environmental studies at the University of Vermont, Stacie has committed her professional career to protecting the natural world. Over the last twenty years, she has worked in the environmental field in the Peace Corps in West Africa, at the Vermont Alliance of Conservation Voters, at The Food Alliance in Oregon, at Maine Audubon, and the Natural Resources Council of Maine. Stacie’s personal interests are aligned with her professional interests. When she’s not connecting with MCA supporters, she is exploring the many rivers, mountains, lakes, forests, and beaches around Maine with friends and family.
Contact Stacie at stacie@maineconservation.org
LUCY HOCHSCHARTNER
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Climate & Clean Energy Director
Lucy works to help the state meet our climate and clean energy goals in a way that improves the lives of all Mainers. Her focus areas include the Mainers for Offshore Wind Coalition, expanding solar energy in Maine, and enhancing energy justice. She is so excited for the opportunity to find solutions to problems she has seen her whole life. Having grown up in rural, upstate New York, the impacts of climate change, including storms, droughts, and the loss of winters, are very familiar to her.
Prior to her role at MCV, she worked in youth climate organizing, electoral campaigns, and utility accountability efforts. When she’s not working, you can find her running around the mountains and cross-country skiing through the Maine woods.
Contact Lucy at lucy@maineconservation.org
CHLOE HOFFMAN
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Development Manager
Hailing from Central New York, Chloe is a passionate advocate for our planet and all who inhabit it! Her career began in her hometown of Syracuse, NY where she worked with the Citizens Campaign for the Environment. Chloe spent a brief year in Orlando, FL at the American Fundraising Foundation before deciding the cold was right for her and moving back to the northeast, most recently working at the Bicycle Coalition of Maine. Chloe is a self-proclaimed people person and loves connecting with donors on what is most dear to them. As Development Manager, she looks forward to working with the people who make MCV’s work possible!
Chloe is a 2019 graduate of SUNY Geneseo, where she earned a B.A. in American History. When she’s not chatting with donors, Chloe can be found knitting, biking around her Portland neighborhood, and doting on her 19-year-old (and counting!) cat Levi.
Contact Chloe at chloe@maineconservation.org
Nick janzen
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Policy & Partnerships Director
Contact Nick at njanzen@maineconservation.org
RANI SHEAFFER
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Deputy Director
Rani’s career spans over two decades of environmental and conservation work in the political arena. She currently leads MCA’s development and communications programs and has been on staff since 2008. An organizer at heart, she previously worked as Director of the Massachusetts Environmental Collaborative, Field Director for the Center for Environmental Citizenship, Field Organizer for the Sierra Club, and as a volunteer for the Massachusetts League of Environmental Voters. While raising her two young children, she worked part-time with Maine Rivers to establish a membership program. She is a 1996 graduate of Green Corps, the field school for environmental organizing and a 1995 graduate of Hartwick College with a degree in political science and environmental studies. She lives with her family in Hallowell.
Contact Rani at rani@maineconservation.org
MAGGIE SOMERS
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Program and Outreach Manager
Maggie’s dedication to advancing a just, clean energy transition and safeguarding our democracy led her to MCV’s program and policy teams. The head organizer for MCV, Maggie leads educational and advocacy programming, coordinates all related events, and represents a queer youth voice in the democracy space.
Certified in Social Justice Leadership, she brings her passion for politics, grassroots organizing, and equity to her work for the program team. Maggie graduated from the University of Maine in 2021, earning a B.S. and B.A. in marketing and mass communications.
A huge fan of disco music, Maggie can often be found throwing impromptu dance parties, trying out new restaurants with friends, and saying, “Did you hear this on NPR this morning?”. A lover of animals, big and small, Maggie lives in Portland with her rabbit.
Contact Maggie at maggie@maineconservation.org
Board
WILLIAM GINN
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MCA Board President
Bill is a business strategy consultant. He currently serves on the Board of the Davey Tree Company, a $1 billion-dollar green industry service company.
His distinguished career in conservation includes his role as Executive Director of Maine Audubon, where he oversaw the expansion onto the Gilsland Farm campus. He was campaign manager for two successful referendums establishing Maine’s Returnable Container Legislation and the first citizen chair of the newly established Pesticide Control Board. He was appointed by the governor to the committee responsible for removing Maine’s Billboards.
Bill founded Resources Conservation Services Inc, a business that manages recycling programs for industrial clients. After selling the company, he went on to work in New Zealand for the Nature Conservancy’s Asia and Pacific program. Upon returning to the U.S., he managed large forest conservation transactions for TNC which he chronicled in his book, Investing in Nature. In 2008, he was appointed Chief Conservation Officer of the Nature Conservancy and Executive Vice President in 2014. He founded NatureVest, a partnership with private investors that has brought over $200 million dollars of investment into conservation problems worldwide.
JENNIFER BURNS GRAY
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MCA Board Vice President
Jennifer Burns Gray recently stepped down as the Executive Director of Arts are Elementary, a local arts nonprofit. Prior to that, Jenn served as the Director of Advocacy for the Maine Association of Nonprofits and the Maine Philanthropy Center. Previously, she was Maine Audubon’s Staff Attorney and Advocate for twenty years. Jenn holds a B.A. from Trinity College in CT, a J.D. from the University of Maine School of Law, and is a trained mediator. She has volunteered for multiple nonprofits including board service with Maine Conservation Voters, Friends of Merrymeeting Bay, and GrowSmart Maine. Jenn lives in Brunswick with her husband and two youngest children. She enjoys walking outside, boating, reading, traveling, and rooting for her children’s sports teams.
Erin Cinelli
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MCA Board Treasurer
After growing up in southern Maine and graduating from Middlebury College, Erin served as Executive Director of the Spannocchia Foundation for 12 years, supporting an education center and organic farm in Tuscany and splitting her time between Italy and Maine. Since 2013, she has been on the leadership team at the Rural Futures Fund, based in Portland, ME, and currently serves as Associate Director. Erin also works with the Rocking Moon Foundation, based in Washington, DC, and midcoast Maine, and moved into her current role as Executive Director in 2022 after serving as a grantmaking advisor since 2016. Erin earned a Master of Public Policy and Management degree from the Muskie School at the University of Southern Maine in 2005 and recently completed a term as Chair of the Maine Philanthropy Center board. She and her husband, Ben Slayton, have 2 children, ages 13 and 10.
KATE WILLIAMS
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MCA Board Secretary
Kate Williams has biology and ecology degrees from Tufts University and the University of Florida, and has conducted field work in marine, forest, and wetland ecosystems across North America. Kate’s research has focused on two primary topics: survey techniques and biases, and understanding the impacts of anthropogenic activities on wildlife. She is currently working at the Biodiversity Research Institute as their Wildlife and Renewable Energy Program Director.
PENNY ASHERMAN
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Penny is the Executive Director of the Chebeague & Cumberland Land Trust. Prior to this role, Penny was a member of the CCLT Board of Directors of the Chebeague & Cumberland Land Trust for many years and served as President of the Board for 13 years. Penny led the organization through a national accreditation process, and CCLT became the 12th all-volunteer land trust to receive the national award. Penny also serves on the Maine Land Trust Network Steering Committee, which sets goals and policies for the land trust community throughout Maine. As a member of the Town of Cumberland Conservation Commission for 10 years, Penny led efforts to inventory vernal pools and New England Cottontail populations in the town. She has received recognition for her environmental work from the Natural Resources Council of Maine, EcoMaine, and the Cumberland/NY Lions Club. Penny has a Law Degree and a Master’s in Environmental Studies from Vermont Law School and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bowdoin College. Penny currently lives in Cumberland with her husband and three children. Penny enjoys outdoor adventures with her family and sharing her environmental interests with the local community.
Ivan Fernandez
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Ivan J. Fernandez is Professor in the School of Forest Resources, Climate Change Institute, and School of Food and Agriculture at the University of Maine. He has received numerous honors and awards and has served on various U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Science Advisory Board committees in Washington DC since 2000. He recently chaired and continues to serve on a panel of the EPA Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) that is evaluating the Clean Air Act’s secondary National Ambient Air Quality Standards for oxides of sulfur, oxides of nitrogen, and particulate matter.
He represents the University of Maine in the USDA Northeast Climate Hub, and has been involved in leading the Maine’s Climate Future assessments in 2009, 2015, and 2020. In 2019 he was appointed to the Maine Climate Council, and also serves as co-Chair of its Scientific and Technical Subcommittee and a member of its Natural Working Lands working group. He has taught courses in soil science, forest soils, carbon and climate, and climate adaptation among others and served as a department Chair for a decade. He is a soil scientist, with a research program that focuses on the biogeochemistry of ecosystems in a changing physical and chemical climate and is actively engaged in promoting climate change solutions in Maine.
SARA FRESHLEY
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Sara is a recent law school graduate focused on building her career in environmental policy and advocacy. After growing up exploring coastal Maine, she earned a degree in marine science at the University of Maine before taking a sharp turn and moving to Bozeman, Montana. After three years of exploring the mountains, she boomeranged back to Maine to pursue law school. Sara spends her free time training her dog, singing karaoke, and sitting on porches drinking coffee.
Suzanne Lafreniere
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Suzanne Lafreniere is the Public Policy Director for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland. She earned her BA in Philosophy at Loyola University of Maryland and her Juris Doctor from the University of Maine School of Law. She lives in Scarborough with her husband Denis and daughters Lucie, Claire, and Rose.