The Working Waterfront Advisory Council was established by the legislature in June 2025 (Title 5, §3208) to address issues facing the state’s working waterfronts. The Council is housed within Maine Office of Community Affairs and staffed by the Maine Coastal Program. A primary goal of this Council will be to identify and seek solutions to challenges facing working waterfronts in Maine and to submit annual recommendations to the Legislature on potential policy changes and support for addressing those identified challenges.
The Council consists of 15 appointed members. Membership will rotate every three years with initial staggered terms of one, two, and three years in length.
All Council meetings and materials are available to the public and can be found on this webpage.
Upcoming Meetings
- Tuesday, February 24, 1-3 p.m. - Hybrid in Augusta (Marquardt Building, 32 Blossom Lane, Room 118) and on Zoom (https://mainestate.zoom.us/j/86258917146?pwd=kJQwBsW2kuYj52fFaH5bT1ldmgjb7p.1)
Council Members
One-year term
- Bob Carey, Superintendent of the Maine Bureau of Insurance
- Shey Conover, Owner of Islesboro Marine Enterprises
- Mitch Lench, Founder & CEO of Ocean’s Balance
- Hugh Cowperthwaite, Senior Program Director of Fisheries & Aquaculture at Coastal Enterprises, Inc.
- Boe Marsh, Owner & CEO of Community Shellfish
Two-year term
- Bob Wood, Director of Planning & Resilience for the Passamaquoddy Tribal Government
- Chad Strater, Founder & Co-Owner of Sea Meadow Marine Foundation
- Rhiannon Hampson, Vice President for Economic Development at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute
- Casey O’Hara, Co-Owner of O’Hara Corporation
- Dan Bookham, Senior Vice President for Business Development and Commercial Lines at Allen Insurance & Financial
Three-year term
- Stacey Keefer, Executive Director for the Maine Marine Trades Association and Working Waterfront Coalition liaison
- Tora Johnson, Co-Director of the Sustainable Prosperity Initiative at Sunrise County Economic Council
- Linda Nelson, Economic & Community Development Director for the Town of Stonington
- Rachel Bizarro, Town Administrator for the Town of Bristol
- Heather Moretti, Waterfront Coordinator for the City of Portland
Contact
For questions about the Working Waterfront Advisory Committee, contact Harriet Booth, Working Waterfront Coordinator, at harriet.booth@maine.gov.
For media inquiries, contact samantha.schipani@maine.gov.