Board of Directors

Sector Represented – Advanced Technologies for Forestry and Agriculture

Melissa Lacasse is the CEO and co-founder of Tanbark Molded Fiber, a manufacturing start-up focused on replacing single use plastic with bio-based solutions. She is passionate about developing new markets and opportunities for Maine heritage industries. Melissa co-founded Tanbark in 2021. She is happy to change the face of manufacturing by challenging the status quo. She wants to arrest the plastic epidemic and believes in shared prosperity. Tanbark allows her to use her skills in B2B Sales and Business Development. She is also skilled in Fundraising and Content Syndication from a career in public radio.

Melissa is Chair of the Board for Maine Technology Institute, where she serves as the Sector Representative for Advanced Technologies for Forestry and Agriculture, and also serves on the Board of Trustees for Maine Public.

Sector Represented – Composite Materials Technology

Sector Represented – Aquaculture & Marine Technology

Meredith Mendelson has served as Deputy Commissioner for the Maine Department of Marine Resources since May 2012, with a focus on the interface of state and federal marine resources policy.  The agency has a broad mission that includes conservation of marine and estuarine resources, conducting research, and promotion and development of coastal fisheries and aquaculture.  In prior work, Meredith staffed Senator Olympia J. Snowe on the Senate Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coast Guard, managed a groundfish sector, and worked for the Community Program at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute.

Meredith is a graduate of Bates College and Maine Law, and resides in Camden with her husband and daughter.

Sector Represented – Finance/Lending/Venture Capital

Amberlynn Esperanza is a Commercial Loan Officer for Mascoma Bank, a Certified B Corporation committed to the people, businesses and communities of Maine. In her role, she works with commercial clients to create a package of banking services that best help their business grow and flourish. In 2022, she was recognized as one of the Mainebiz top 40 Under 40 most dynamic individuals changing Maine’s economy. She started her career in Retail Consumer Banking in 2011, and previously was Assistant Vice President, Relationship Manager for Bangor Savings Bank focused on small business lending. Her hometown is Old Orchard Beach, Maine and she attended the Biddeford Regional Center of Technology for Accounting. She is a graduate of the University of Southern Maine where she holds a B.S. in Business Administration and Accounting.

Additionally, Amberlynn serves on the Board of Directors for the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center as the Secretary and Fundraising Chair and is the Past President of PROPEL Portland. She is also a part of the Leadership Maine Program class of 2023-24 hosted by the Maine Development Foundation where leaders from all sectors across Maine learn about critical issues facing our state by exploring Maine’s diverse regions, assets, economies, issues, and people through direct interaction.

As a volunteer, she enjoys serving as a mentor for Junior Achievement, United Way of Southern Maine’s Campaign Cabinet, Spurwink’s Humanitarian Event Committee, and partnering with the USM Foundation’s Women in Leadership event series. Amberlynn resides in South Portland and loves to golf in the summer.

University of Maine System Designate

James S. (Jake) Ward IV is the Vice President for Strategic Partnerships, Innovation, Resources, and Engagement (SPIRE) at the University of Maine. SPIRE links businesses and communities to university experts and first-class facilities to solve problems and innovate Maine’s future. UMaine is the state’s hub for bringing research to the real world. SPIRE works with students, faculty and staff, as well as startups and established organizations, to commercialize innovations that move Maine (and the world) forward. UMaine is fundamental to Maine’s economic, workforce and community development. SPIRE is the front door to UMaine resources and expertise, and we build strategic partnerships between public-and private-sector groups and individuals to advance prosperity in our state.

Vice President Ward has been the Assistant Vice President for Research, Economic Development and Government Relations since 2006. He has served UMaine in various roles within the Department of Industrial Cooperation and the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship since joining the University in 1990.

Prior to joining the University of Maine, Vice President Ward worked in the private industry in software development and manufacturing. He is a member of national organizations, including the Association of University Technology Mangers and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He also serves on the boards of many state organizations including the Maine Technology Institute. Originally from Saco, he holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering and an M.S. in ocean engineering from the University of New Hampshire.

Sector Represented – Environmental Technology

Mike Cassata is a co-founder and Chief Development Officer (CDO) of Biofine Developments NE, a leading circular economy development company headquartered in Maine. As CDO, Mike is actively engaged with numerous public and private entities to advance policies and technologies that enable large-scale industrial conversion of waste biomass into carbon-negative bioproducts. This effort has seen development and industry acceptance of a carbon-negative biofuel (EL100), high-value renewable chemicals, and permanent carbon sequestration methodologies.

Mike holds a BS in Economics from Bentley University and a MBA from Babson College and currently serves on the Maine Technology Institute (MTI) Board of Directors, the FOR/Maine Emerging Technology Committee, and the National Energy & Fuels Institute Government Affairs Committee.

Sector Represented – Information Technology

Ian Swanberg leads strategic initiatives for Lumen Technologies, a global network technology and solutions provider. He previously served as the Associate Vice President of Finance at the University of Southern Maine and Associate Commissioner for Policy and Finance for the Maine Department of Administrative and Financial Services. Before returning to Maine, he worked for five years as an equity analyst with FBR Capital Markets in Arlington, Virginia. Earlier in his career, he served five years as a legislative assistant and press secretary for U.S. Senator Susan Collins.

A native of Caribou, Ian holds an MBA from Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management and a BA in Economics and Political Science from McGill University in Montreal. He and his wife, Jill, reside in Cumberland.

Sector Represented – Precision Manufacturing Technology

Rob Pierson is currently the owner of Twist Consulting, LLC. His focus has been Private Equity turnarounds. His last role was CEO of Grover Precision, a premier manufacturer of medical implants and materials. Rob is highly skilled at Lean implementation and has held several senior level positions in operations, continuous improvement, and product management. Rob has a Master in Business and a Master in Industrial Engineering degrees with certifications in Six Sigma, Innovation, and supply chain. Rob resides in Auburn, Maine with his wife Linda.

Sector Represented – Finance/Lending/Venture Capital

Colin March is the head of commercial banking for KeyBank in Maine.  He and his team support businesses in Maine of all size with their credit and treasury management needs.  Prior to working in banking in Maine, Colin worked for banks in London and Houston.  He serves on the advisory boards of CEI Ventures and North Atlantic Capital and on the boards of Maine & Co and Waynflete School. He has degrees from American University and Columbia University.

DECD Commissioner designate

Charlotte Mace is Director of the Office of Business Development at the Maine Department of Economic & Community Development. The Office of Business Development is responsible for assisting Maine businesses in addressing challenges and identifying resources to pursue opportunities. The Office engages in investment attraction, offers business assistance and ombudsman support, provides site selection services, manages tax incentive and economic development incentives, promotes domestic trade, and supports entrepreneurship and business resilience. Charlotte also serves as State Program Manager for the Northern Border Regional Commission. She has an undergraduate degree in Biochemistry from Bowdoin College, a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Southern Maine, and experience in the private and non-profit sectors in consulting, business development, and sustainable economic development. Prior to joining DECD, Charlotte was Executive Director of Biobased Maine, a manufacturing trade association working to advance Maine’s biobased economy.

Community College Designate

Liz Love is the Director of Sector Partnerships at the Maine Community College System’s Harold Alfond Center for the Advancement of Maine’s Workforce. The mission of the Maine Community College System (MCCS) is to provide associate degree, diploma and certificate programs directed at the educational, career and technical needs of the State’s citizens and the workforce needs of the State’s employers. The primary goals of the System are to create an educated, skilled and adaptable labor force that is responsive to the changing needs of the economy of the State and to promote local, regional, and statewide economic development. The Harold Alfond Center for the Advancement of Maine’s Workforce was launched in 2021 and coordinates all short-term workforce training programs for Maine’s community colleges, working closely with business and industry leaders statewide.

Liz holds an MBA from UNC Kenan-Flager Business School, and a BA in American Studies from Wesleyan University. Prior to joining MCCS in September 2024, she had 15 years’ experience leading education, economic development, and workforce training programs within state government, public adult education, and domestic and international nonprofit organizations. Born and raised in Maine, Liz now lives in Cumberland with her husband and two young children.

Director of Office of Innovation Policy and the Future or Director’s designate (non-voting)

Scott Kleiman is Policy Director, Economy and Workforce for the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future. He provides interagency leadership for Governor Mills on workforce development, regional innovation, and Maine’s long-term economic prosperity. In this role, he directs a policy team supporting implementation, communications, and evaluation of Maine’s flagship $1 billion economic recovery initiative, the Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan. He also serves on the Board of the Maine Technology Institute.

Prior to joining Governor Mills’ administration, Scott was Managing Director at the Harvard Kennedy School Government Performance Lab, where he helped state health and human service agencies design, implement, and sustain critical reforms. His work has helped communities strengthen protections for children, improve access to behavioral health treatment, and revamp supports for jobseekers. Scott has trained hundreds of government officials on data-driven management techniques and authored numerous publications on performance improvement strategies for public sector leaders.

Scott previously led strategic projects in the CEO’s office at Ceres, a national nonprofit organization partnering with investors to strengthen corporate sustainability practices and analyzed municipal infrastructure investments at Bain & Company. He was appointed a Senior Fellow with Casey Family Programs and served on the Invest in What Works State Standard of Excellence advisory committee for Results for America. Scott earned an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University and graduated from Middlebury College with a BA in Political Science.

Sector Represented – Advanced Technologies for Forestry and Agriculture

Jed Beach has been helping Maine farmers and food producers hone their business skills through his practice, FarmSmart, since 2014. In that time, he has worked with over 100 small farms and food producers, helping them to establish and reach their business goals. Jed and his wife own and operate 3 Bug Farm, a diversified organic vegetable farm in Lincolnville, Maine. They raise 4 sons on their farm as well. Jed knows how important it is to balance family and farming life, and he takes this lens to every one of his client meetings. He also has an M.B.A in organizational and environmental sustainability, as well as years of bookkeeping and financial experience.

Sector Represented – Biotechnology

Bio coming soon!

MTI President (non-voting)

Brian Whitney is President of the Maine Technology Institute, a publicly financed, private, nonprofit organization established to stimulate research and development activity leading to the commercialization of new products, processes and services in the state’s seven targeted technology sectors.

He has extensive experience in economic development and legislative matters at both the state and federal level and has worked with innumerable companies, private and public sector research organizations, and entrepreneurial leaders throughout the State of Maine during his professional career. He served previously as a private sector manager and in the public sector as Maine’s Director of Business Development & Innovation, the Director of Outreach and Economic Development for U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine), a Business Development Specialist for the State of Maine, and as Chief of Staff to Maine’s Senate President.

He has served on, or staffed, a number of statewide boards including the Maine State Workforce Investment Board, the Maine Economic Growth Council, Maine Innovation Economy Advisory Board, and the Maine Rural Development Authority. He is currently a board member of the Maine Venture Fund, Maine Center for Entrepreneurial Development, Maine & Company, and the Economic Development Council of Maine.

Brian is a graduate of the University of Southern Maine (USM) and lives in Augusta with his wife and two daughters.