BIO
A graduate of College of the Atlantic and the University of New Hampshire, Sue has worked in public policy for over 25 years. As Deputy Director of the State Planning Office, she conducted research, designed and led public engagement processes, and lobbied on behalf of the Governor. Her key achievements include: establishing Maine’s Uniform Building and Energy Code, establishing Current Use Taxation for the Working Waterfront, and writing legislation to establish Efficiency Maine, a state agency. Prior to this Sue worked with the fishing, aquaculture and seafood processing industries as a Director at the Department of Marine Resources.
Sue also Chaired the Board of Coastal Enterprises, a Community Finance Development Corp providing funding to low income areas in Maine and nationally. The annual budget was $10MM, and assets under management $800MM. She also served on the Maine Technology Institute Board for seven years. This agency provided over $100 million in funds to start up companies during her tenure.
Sue now works as an author, consultant, teacher and advocate with a focus on the environment and climate change. She developed and teaches a course called Advocating for the Environment at several colleges, and offers public workshops on the same topic. She also provides strategic planning, advising and communications services to clients.
Sue holds a BA in Human Ecology from College of the Atlantic and MBA from the University of New Hampshire.
Her Personal Story
I’ve always envisioned a world that is compassionate, inclusive and environmentally aware. This vision has guided my journey since high school, where I was President of the Ecology Club. Since then, I’ve continuously studied and applied my skills to facilitate change.
I decided to earn a Bachelor’s degree in Human Ecology from the College of the Atlantic, based on my vision. Later, in order to understand change at the systems level, I trained and studied self-organizing systems and Open Space Technology with Harrison Owen. Following that, I received a Certificate in Facilitation from the University of Southern Maine.
In order to supplement my knowledge of Human Ecology and facilitation with a practical understanding of business, I earned an MBA degree at the University of New Hampshire. This served me well when I joined Maine’s Department of Marine Resources and worked to support the fishing, aquaculture and seafood processing industries.
Later, I accepted an appointment as Deputy Director of the State Planning office. There I put my facilitation, communications, and process skills to work. I functioned as a Policy Director responsible for staff and a portfolio of environmental issues including land use planning, solid waste, building and energy codes, and energy.
After I left state government, I continued my community planning work with a focus on housing , rural broadband and renewable energy. Currently I’m organizing and facilitating a planning process for the North Atlantic Institute at the University of Southern Maine. My positive energy, depth of understanding, and strong organizational skills are appreciated by my clients.
My most recent and best work to date is a new college course, book, and series of workshops based on the theme Advocating for the Environment: How You Can Make a Difference. This new work builds on the years I’ve spent as an advocate. It reflects my desire to help people find their power, and provide tools and methods for being effective advocates.
My new book, Advocating for the Environment: How You Can Make a Difference is coming soon!
A few other things…
I‘m also an avid outdoors person. You might find me running, hiking, skiing, kayaking or gardening.
I live in Maine on a small farm with my husband Bob.
