BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Cathy Breen serves as the Chair of Spurwink’s Board of Directors and Chairs the Governance Committee. She has lived in the Portland area since 2000 and joined the Spurwink Board in 2013. Cathy is a former Maine State Senator and has served on the Falmouth Town Council as well as on the Board of Directors of Community Counseling Center. She graduated from the Institute for Civic Leadership’s intensive training in collaborative leadership. Her experience in organizational development, strategic planning, fundraising, policy development, writing, advocacy, and mental health care supports her commitment to improve mental and behavioral health services for children and their families.

Tari Advani, M.D. is an emergency medicine physician at MidCoast Health System. Tari estimates that about 20% of the patients she sees have mental health issues contributing to their visit. Consequently, she has developed an extensive knowledge of services available and needed for children and adults with developmental disorders, mental health issues, intellectual disabilities, and drug and alcohol addiction. These factors have created a deep commitment to improve available services and accessibility to those services.

Richard Berthy is the CEO of Foreside Financial Group, LLC. Foreside is a distribution and compliance services firm serving the investment management industry. Rich serves on the Spurwink Board because he has witnessed friends with children on the autism spectrum struggle with obtaining services.

Corrie Brown is a master-level social worker and certified prevention specialist. She received her master’s degree in social work, specializing in community organizing, program development, and program management, from Boston College in 2008 and her bachelor’s degree in social work from Regis College in 2000. Currently, Corrie works as the Executive Director for Healthy Androscoggin. Most recently, Corrie served as Board of Directors Vice Chair for Tri-County Mental Health Services. She also sits on several community groups, including the Lewiston Area Public Health Committee, 100+ Women Who Care Androscoggin County, and is the Western District Coordinating Council representative to the State Coordinating Council at the Maine CDC and Prevention. Corrie has presented at the local, state, and national levels on her work at various conferences. Previously, Corrie has worked in the areas of mental health, home health, and prevention.

Carrie Cianchette believes in supporting her community in many ways, and especially helping those with behavioral health challenges.  Carrie began her journey with Spurwink by volunteering on Spurwink’s Development Committee in 2018.  Carrie graduated from Tufts University with a BS in Human Factors Engineering and a BA in Classical Studies.  She worked in usability and web design for a number of years in the Boston area before moving to Maine to raise her family and very small farm with her husband, Jason.

Cynthia Curry has provided state, regional, and national training and technical assistance on digital accessibility since 2000. Starting her career as a secondary science teacher, she has enjoyed diverse roles in the pursuit of more accessible digital learning environments in PreK–12 and higher education. With the Maine Department of Education’s Learning Technology Initiative, she served as a Statewide Technology Integration Mentor for ten years, providing training to districts on making 1:1 technology programs accessible to learners who use assistive technology (AT). For Maine CITE, the state’s AT Act Program, she led statewide trainings during the early implementation of the National Instructional Materials Access Center and the acquisition and use of accessible educational materials (AEM). At the University of Southern Maine, Cynthia was a lecturer and director of a five-year personnel development project funded by the Office of Special Education Programs, Transforming Teaching through Collaborative Teacher Education. During this time, she founded the Maine Teacher Preparation Collaborative to help pre-service programs better prepare new general and special education teachers in the use of AT and AEM in instruction. Cynthia served as Disability Services Coordinator and an instructional designer at the University of New England before joining CAST’s technical assistance team in 2016. During seven years at CAST, she provided leadership to two OSEP-funded TA centers, the National AEM Center and the Center on Inclusive Technology & Education Systems (CITES). In 2024, Cynthia joined the Institute for Disability Research, Policy, & Practice to bridge opportunities between WebAIM and TAESE for new and innovative digital accessibility solutions for educational agencies.

Jeff D. Emerson is President of NorthEnd Group LLC, a healthcare services, technology consulting and advisory company, and has served in executive-level roles for decades. Jeff has 16 years experience in computer and telecommunications systems management, and has served on the Board of Directors of the Baltimore Symphony, the House of Ruth, Hospice of Prince George’s, and NYLCare/Mid-Atlantic. He is a Trustee of Bowdoin College. He graduated, with honors, from Bowdoin College with an AB in Theology and he has an MSTM in computer and information systems from American University.

Daniel Fishbein, M.D. is the President of Sun Life Financial U.S., and has served on Spurwink Boards for nearly twenty years. During his tenure as Chair of the Board (2009-2013), Spurwink fully utilized Dan’s experience in strategic planning, mergers, and organizational leadership. Dan currently lends his expertise to the Executive Committee. He is committed to furthering the betterment of services for children with Autism and developmental disorders in Maine.

Jim Giberson is a Maine native who moved back to the state and settled in Portland with his wife in 2012 after earning his degree in Construction Engineering and Management from Purdue University and beginning his career in the Chicago area. He serves as the Commercial Marketing Manager for Wright-Ryan Construction, supporting strategic and business development initiatives. Jim also serves on the Boards of the Society for Marketing Professional Services, Northern New England chapter, and Architalx. Growing up with two parents who were public school educators, Jim is passionate about providing access to opportunities and paths to success for all people. He developed a stronger interest in Spurwink upon completion of the Emerging Leaders program led by Lift 360 (formerly the Institute for Civic Leadership). Jim is proud to support the organization’s behavioral health and educational mission through service on the Development and Finance/Audit Committees.

Melanie Gilligan has been a member of Spurwink’s Development Committee since 2012.  She has had a connection to Spurwink her entire life as her parents started their social service careers working at Spurwink as house parents before she was born.  As the mother of two amazing children, one who has ADHD, she is passionate about ensuring children and their families have access to the services they need.  Melanie is currently a Director, Retail Goods & Services at C Space, a customer agency.  She has over 20 years of experience in consumer insights and spent much of her career with  Hannaford.  She earned BA degrees in Mathematics and Sociology from Bowdoin College and an MBA from the University of Southern Maine.

Amanda Karomba, currently serving as the Chief Executive Officer of Happy Haven, brings with her a wealth of experience, boasting seven years of dedicated service in her current role and a remarkable decade-plus history of supporting adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/DD) and Autism. Beyond her professional accomplishments, Amanda is an active and engaged member of various community organizations, lending her expertise to multiple causes.

Amanda’s journey to her current position in the United States is a testament to her resilience and determination. She and her family immigrated to the country in 1995, seeking refuge after surviving the harrowing events of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. Today, Amanda and her husband have become successful entrepreneurs, with a mission rooted in giving back to their adopted homeland. They strive to create jobs and empower fellow New Americans to leverage their skills and talents, contributing to the nation’s economic prosperity and facilitating a path to financial independence for all.

In addition to her impressive professional and community achievements, Amanda is a certified interpreter in Kinyarwanda and Kirundi, two languages predominantly spoken in East Africa. Her linguistic proficiency extends to Swahili and Lingala, further reflecting her diverse cultural background and her ability to connect with a wide range of individuals and communities.

Amanda draws daily inspiration from her loving family, including her supportive husband and their two cherished sons. Her unwavering dedication to her work, community, and the pursuit of a better future for all is a source of admiration and motivation for those fortunate enough to know her.

Tom Magadieu is a transformational marketing leader, presently serving as Director, Global Fleet Marketing at WEX, Inc. 2018 he was the WEX United Way Loaned Executive. Early career, Tom represented the Council for Exceptional Children, the Bureau for At Risk Youth, and the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, among other organizations and publications to partnering businesses. Little did he know how valuable that background would be years later, raising his own twice-exceptional children. Tom has a passion for early intervention and broadening the impact of behavioral health services across the community.

Rose McManus has dedicated herself to addressing the challenges faced by children with disabilities. As the parent of a daughter with Down Syndrome, Ms. McManus’ efforts to improve the quality of life for her own child led her to seek out other parents who had children with special needs. She eventually became an advocate for all children with disabilities. Her mission has been to educate other parents, educators, administrators, and organizations to fully understand disabilities and bring about societal inclusion for children with disabilities. Rose served on the Board of Community Partners Inc. (CPI), and joined the Board of Spurwink after it merged with CPI in 2017. Prior to 2017, she also was the nonprofit, President of Southern Maine Parent Awareness, and is currently a part of waban children’s advocacy group and the Southern Maine Transition Council as a member.

Stephanie Peters is responsible for all aspects of primary care, specialty and ancillary services, quality improvement, information technology, and facilities at InterMed, where she’s known for her boundless energy and translating strategic priorities into operational plans as well as managing InterMed’s COVID response.

A native of Brunswick, Stephanie earned a degree in Psychology and Spanish from Washington University in St. Louis, where she played goalie on the women’s soccer team. She later received a master’s degree in Public Policy and Management from the Muskie School at the University of Southern Maine.

Stephanie joined InterMed in 2015 from MaineHealth, where she was Director of System Development. In that position, she supported the development of the system wide accountable care strategy to include a focus on Primary Care payment reform, physician compensation, and care coordination across the inpatient and outpatient settings.

In her spare time, she enjoys outdoor adventures with her wife, their three children, and their two dogs. She is fluent in Spanish and has lived, taught English, and traveled extensively in South America. Stephanie is the Board Chair of New Communities, a non-profit organization that provides safe and supportive living environments and programs for adults and also serves as an Advisor to high school girls through the Olympia Snowe Women’s Leadership Institute.

Alistair (“Al”) Raymond, Esq. is a member of the Spurwink Board of Director’s Executive Committee. Al is Vice President – Chief Compliance Officer for Avangrid, Inc., and is responsible for the company’s corporate compliance and ethics program. Avangrid is the parent company of Central Maine Power and one of the largest producers of clean energy in the United States. Prior to joining Avangrid, Al practiced as a business law attorney at Verrill Dana, LLP, one of Maine’s largest law firms. Al’s commitment to improving services in the field of children’s mental and behavioral health came in part through his pro bono legal experiences. Al has been a member of Spurwink’s Board since 2007.

Matthew Winch is an Architect with varied experience in the planning and design of educational, health care and health and human service-related facilities for the private and non- profit sectors. As the proud dad of three youngsters, Matthew is especially invested in furthering community services for children, prevention programs, and education. Matthew recently ended a 3-year term as the Board Chair, and continues to lend his expertise to the Executive, Governance, and Investment Committees.