Board of Directors
Jerry McQueeney - Board chair
Jerry is President at Boost Employee Benefits Corporation and has over 20 year's of experience in the industry. After working for industry leaders such as Hub International, UNUM, Sun Life and PMA, Jerry started, grew and sold a Maine employee benefits operation. He has a strong record of service, leadership, innovation, and resourcefulness. His success with local, regional, and national businesses has allowed him to identify market opportunities and ensure resources are available to meet them. Jerry went to the University of Maine, graduating with a degree in Business Administration. Jerry has been active within his community serving on the local School Board as well as coaching multiple sports.
charrisse kaplan - vice Chair
Charrisse Kaplan has experience in business management, communications and community relations. She is the Managing Partner in her family owned commercial real estate business in South Louisiana. An owner/manager of the company since 1995, she is the liaison among the business partners, and the on-site General Manager, accountants, attorneys, and brokers, playing a pivotal role in developing strategies for maintaining the health and viability of over 200,000 square feet of retail space in challenging times for brick and mortar retail stores. She and her family prioritize community needs when making management decisions. Prior to working in the family business, she was a staff member in the United States Senate, working as Press Aide and as Executive Assistant to the Chief of Staff. Charrisse has served as a Board Member of Schoodic Arts for All, a community non-profit in Hancock County dedicated to building community through the arts in Downeast Maine. She also served as Secretary and Board Member of the summer community homeowners association in Hancock County, where she and her husband have owned a home for 23 years. For the past six years, she has mentored women in the Portland area through the McAuley Women’s Residence Program. When Charrisse’s three daughters were in school, she volunteered in numerous capacities, as a classroom volunteer, a Parent Association officer, and a Parent Representative to the Admissions Committee for the Washington International School (WIS). She also fundraised for WIS and Waynflete School in Portland. She served as the student member of the Admissions Committee at Tulane University, where she earned her degree in Communications. Charrisse, her husband and three daughters moved to Portland from Washington, DC in 2008.
David Vickrey - Treasurer
David is Managing Principal of Seabridge Advisors LLC, a corporate finance advisory practice with a focus on educational technology and services. He studied at Boston University, the Universities of Freiburg and Cologne, and earned a PhD at Harvard University where he taught German and was a Teaching Fellow for the History and Literature honors program. David then worked in international finance at Deutsche Bank AG and other global investment banks in Frankfurt and New York. In 1996 he moved his family to Maine and became involved in the launch of SkillSoft, a global online corporate training platform where he was head of mergers & acquisitions. Since 2008 David has served on the board of Friends of Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland where he oversees the funding and curriculum for the “Creek-to-College” program, providing college-level credit courses to incarcerated youth. David also serves on the board of the Portland Center for Restorative Justice.
WENDELANNE AUGUNAS - Secretary
Wendelanne is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor with extensive experience in women and family health, individual/family counseling, clinical supervision and community outreach. She holds a B.A. in English and Education from The University of Montana and a M.S. in Counseling Psychology from Dominican University. Since 1997 she has worked for Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport, Maine. She is the mother of three grown children who live in Brooklyn, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Wendelanne loves to travel, visit family and is an avid gardener.
Kaitlin Callahan
Kaitlin Callahan, a 2003 Passages graduate, is an avid harm reductionist, community advocate and stakeholder, who works on a multiple disciplinary team as part of a substance use disorder treatment program. As a Certified Intentional Peer Support Specialist, Recovery Coach and person who has 8 + years in long-term recovery, she uses her own lived experience to support folks from York to Waldo County. Kaitlin is mom to 4-year-old Fiona and 20-year-old Austin. Kaitlin and her husband, Jacob, live in the heart of Rockland with little Fiona. In her free time, Kaitlin enjoys fiber art and traveling with her family.
BARBARA JOHNSON
Originally from South Boston, Massachusetts, Barbara married into a Maine fishing family and resides with her husband and three children on Long Island in Casco Bay. She has served multiple positions with the Town of Long Island including director of the Recreational Department and Tax collector. Barbara is currently the administrator and operations coordinator at the island's two-room schoolhouse focusing on budgeting, grant writing and fund raising among other responsibilities. She is also a certified EMT and serves on the Town's Fire and Rescue Department. Barbara enjoys travelling, cooking and catching tuna on her family's lobster boat.
Lateef o’connor
Lateef O’Connor lives in Hampden, ME, with his wife and their three beautiful daughters. He is a graduate of the University of Maine with a B.S. in Elementary Education. He is currently pursuing his Master's Degree in Adult and Higher Education at the University of Southern Maine. Lateef spent the early part of his career in education and counseling working with youth as a residential staff advisor in a dual diagnosis transition home, a teacher for the Maine Department of Juvenile Corrections, and a Job Program Preparation Manager for Jobs for Maine’s Graduates. For the past 16years, he has worked in Admissions and Recruitment for the University of Maine. He enjoys cheering for UMaine Athletics, the New York Yankees, playing golf, reading, and spending time with his family in his free time.
JESSICA O’ROURKE-SUCHOFF
Jessica O’Rourke-Suchoff is an Attorney Investigator at Aleta Law. Previously, Jessica was an attorney in the Investigations and Resolutions Practice Group at the Portland-based law firm Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer and Nelson, P.A. Her practice focuses on civil rights enforcement, implementation of Title IX policies and procedures at schools and universities, and investigations into claims of sexual misconduct and discrimination. Jessica grew up in Freeport, Maine, and completed her undergraduate education at the University of California, Berkeley. In her lifetime before becoming an attorney, Jessica studied literature, receiving a Ph.D in Comparative Literature from Princeton University. Jessica lives in Alna, Maine, with her wife, daughter, three dogs, and a handful of sheep, goats, and chickens.
steven yuen
Steven Yuen is the founder and principal of the Portland based marketing and management consulting firm, Park Street. Prior to founding Park Street, Steve led marketing for the Rock Row development in Westbrook, Maine and held marketing executive roles for national brands such as Zipcar, Slice and Starry Internet. Steve received his B.A in Mass Communications from Franklin Pierce University and has called Portland, Maine home for a number of years. In his free time, Steve enjoys boxing, trying new local restaurants, cooking and exploring Maine's coast. Steve graduated from Sparhawk High School, a school focused on alternative education based in Salisbury, MA and has first hand appreciation for programs like Wayfinder.