Infrastructure Rebuilding and Resilience Commission

The Infrastructure Rebuilding and Resilience Commission was created by Executive Order of Governor Janet Mills on May 21, 2024. It is charged with reviewing and evaluating Maine’s response to the recent storms, identifying crucial areas for near-term investment and policy needs, and developing the state’s first long-term infrastructure plan to ensure that Maine is ready for the harsh storms ahead.

The Commission will engage with communities, industries, and organizations to understand challenges following storms, identify and bridge gaps in resources like funding, financing, and insurance, how to improve the resilience of energy systems and propose new approaches to improve disaster recovery and response and strengthen resilience supports at the state, regional, and local levels.

The Commission is comprised of 24 individuals, including State and local officials, representatives of affected communities, businesses, and industries, and experts in infrastructure, construction, engineering, electrical utilities, floodplain management, financing, philanthropy, emergency response, and climate science. A full list of commission members is below. 

The Commission will be supported by staff from the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future and the Maine Emergency Management Agency.

Per the Governor’s executive order, the Commission will deliver its first report on near-term rebuilding and resilience priorities by November 2024, followed by a long-term resilience plan for Maine in May 2025.

Infrastructure Rebuilding and Resilience Commission

Co-chairs

Linda Nelson

Linda L. Nelson is the Economic and Community Development Director for the Town of Stonington. A graduate of Bowdoin College, she has been a member of the Stonington Economic Development Committee since its founding in 2004. Nelson first came to Stonington in 1998 as a co-founder of the nonprofit Opera House Arts to restore and revive the 1912 Stonington Opera House, listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a central community organization and professional theater. She is also an author, editor, and nonprofit consultant, and in 2024, she became the facilitator for Leadership Hancock County.

Dan Tishman

Dan Tishman is a Principal and the Chairman of Tishman Realty & Construction. Dan began his career as a contractor in the mid-coast region of Maine, building residential housing and light commercial properties. He also owned a property development company specializing in Maine's affordable housing. Over the years, Dan has served on numerous not-for-profit and corporate boards, including The Jackson Laboratories, the Natural Resource Council of Maine, and the Island Institute. He is the Chairman of the Board of Montefiore Medicine, one of the largest healthcare systems in the Northeast; is a founding member and Vice Chairman of the World Trade Center Memorial and Museum; is the former Chairman of the Natural Resources Defense Council; is the current Chairman of the Conservation Fund and chairs the Compensation Committee of AECOM, a NYSE company. Dan and his wife Sheryl established the NorthLight Foundation, which works on environmental justice, land conservation, and climate-related issues in Maine and around the country. Dan and Sheryl live in Port Clyde, Maine.      

Members
  • A representative with expertise in hazard mitigation
    • Sam Roy, Supervisory Physical Scientist, United States Geological Survey
  • A leader from Maine’s philanthropic sector 
    • Deborah Ellwood, President, Maine Community Foundation
  • An expert in climate science and related storm events:
    • Pete Slovinsky, Marine Geologist, Maine Geological Survey 
  • A representative with expertise in infrastructure finance and planning: 
    • Charlie Colgan, Center for the Blue Economy, Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey and Professor Emeritus, University of Southern Maine.
  • A representative with expertise in insurance:  
    • Bob Carey, Superintendent, Maine Bureau of Insurance
  • A representative of populations facing disproportionate impacts from storm events:
    • Noël Bonam, State Director, AARP Maine
  • A representative of an electrical utility: 
    • Joseph Purington, President & CEO, Central Maine Power
  • Representatives from the construction industry: 
    • Dan Tishman, Principal and Chairman, Tishman Realty & Construction 
    • Jack Parker, Chairman & CEO, Reed & Reed
  • A representative of the engineering industry: 
    • Lissa Robinson, Senior Civil Engineer and Hydrogeologist, GEI Consultants 
  • Representatives from impacted industries: 
    • Curt Brown, Marine Biologist, Ready Seafood; Lobsterman; Co-Chair, Coastal and Marine Working Group, Maine Climate Council
    • Jim Murton, Owner, North Country Rivers; Registered Maine Guide
  • Two representatives from municipal government: 
    • Shiloh LaFreniere, Town Manager, Town of Jay
    • Linda Nelson, Director of Economic and Community Development, Town of Stonington
  • A representative from a regional council or county government: 
    • Emily Rabbe, Lincoln County Regional Planning Commission
Members from State agencies
  • Bruce Van Note, Commissioner, Maine Department of Transportation  
  • Patrick Keliher, Commissioner, Maine Department of Marine Resources  
  • Heather Johnson, Commissioner, Maine Department of Economic and Community Development
  • Amanda Beal, Commissioner, Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry 
  • Melanie Loyzim, Commissioner, Maine Department of Environmental Protection
  • Dr. Puthiery Va,  Director, Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention
  • Peter Rogers, Director, Maine Emergency Management Agency
  • Hannah Pingree, Director, Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future 
  • Dan Burgess, Director, Governor’s Energy Office
Lead Commission Policy Staff
  • Brian Ambrette, Senior Resilience Coordinator, GOPIF
  • Anne Fuchs, Director of Mitigation & Recovery, MEMA