UMA Board of Visitors

Current BOV Membership

Shenna Bellows

(2021-2024 1st term)
Manchester ME, 04351

Secretary of State Shenna Bellows is Maine’s 50th Secretary of State, sworn into her first two-year term in the position on Jan. 4, 2021. Secretary Bellows is Maine’s first female Secretary of State.

Secretary Bellows previously served two terms in the Maine Senate from 2016-2020, representing 11 towns in southern Kennebec County. In the Maine Senate, she served as Senate Chair of the Labor and Housing Committee and served on the Judiciary Committee.  She was a 2020 presidential elector in the Electoral College.

Secretary Bellows most recently led the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine as executive director from 2018 to 2020. Previously, she owned Bellows & Company, a non-profit consulting business, where she worked with organizations such as the Sierra Club’s Maine Chapter, Consumers for Affordable Healthcare and the Maine Women’s Lobby. She also served as interim executive director of LearningWorks. In 2014, Secretary Bellows was the Democratic nominee for United States Senate in Maine.

From 2005 to 2013, Secretary Bellows was executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine. She was a member of the first Right to Know Advisory Committee and the Maine Freedom of Information Coalition. She served on the Executive Committee of the 2009 and 2012 ballot campaigns to pass marriage equality in Maine, and co-chaired a successful 2011 statewide ballot campaign to restore same-day voter registration. She was an original member of the Committee for Ranked Choice Voting.

Currently, Secretary Bellows is serving on the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) Elections Committee, Business Services Committee, Cybersecurity Committee, Awards Committee and International Relations Committee.

Secretary Bellows grew up in Hancock and is a graduate of Ellsworth High School. She holds a B.A. in International Politics and Economics from Middlebury College. She volunteered with the Peace Corps in Panama and AmeriCorps VISTA in Nashville, Tennessee.

Secretary Bellows lives with her husband, Brandon, in Manchester, where she serves on the Manchester Conservation Commission.

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David Cloutier

(2021-2024 2nd term)
Veazie ME, 04401

Dr. David Cloutier has been a veterinarian at Veazie Veterinary Clinic since 1992 and he became an owner in 1994. He graduated from the University of Maine undergraduate program and Tufts Veterinary School. He passionately believes in providing the best possible experience for both clients and their pets.

Dr. Cloutier’s passion for excellence, compassion for animals, and empathy for their owners are well known amongst pet owners. His vision and leadership have created a staff culture of kindness and service that can be felt when you walk through the door.

His professional interests include surgery, particularly orthopedic and thoracic, cardiology, and rehabilitation. He is often called the “dog whisperer” because of his ability to work with fearful and aggressive dogs. Dr. Cloutier believes that before treatment can begin he must first understand owners’ concerns, perform a thorough evaluation, and make an accurate diagnosis.

He is a graduate of the University of Maine pre-veterinary program and Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine where he received two prestigious awards for his clinical skills. He is a lifelong learner, frequently attending continuing education seminars, and an avid reader on the subjects of leadership and compassion.

Dr. Cloutier has appeared on over five hundred episodes of Pet Connection on Channel 7 and can now be heard on WVOM-FM radio bringing information to pet owners. He believes in giving back to the community; he serves on the Bangor Humane Society’s board and participated with other area vets to help create the emergency clinic and currently serves on the board. He lives in Orono with his wife, Janet, a Labrador Retriever, Tuukka, and a Maine Coon Cat, Zdano (lovingly called Meow).

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Laura Fortman

(2021-2024 1st term)
Nobleboro ME, 04555

Commissioner Fortman is responsible for labor standards enforcement, employment and training programs, unemployment insurance, labor market information, and vocational rehabilitation services. Fortman brings more than 20 years of public policy and advocacy experience to the Department of Labor, which she also led under Governor John Baldacci from 2003 to 20011. Fortman also served as Deputy Administrator for the Wage and Hour Division at the U.S. Department of Labor from 2013 to 2017, where she was responsible for enforcing our nation’s most fundamental labor standards, including requirements for minimum wage, payment of overtime, prohibitions on child labor, the right to take leave under the Family Medical Leave Act, worker protections in immigration-related programs, such as our H-visa programs, and government contracting programs.

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Tom Keller

(2021-2024 2nd term)
Augusta ME, 04330

Thomas E. (Tom) Keller is Founder and Director of STEM Education Strategies LLC. He was a Senior Research Scientist at the Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance in Augusta, Maine, leading projects in K-12 computer science education, and in school and out of school science learning. He has been principal investigator or co-principal investigator on several grants from the National Science Foundation and Maine Department of Education. He was the first Executive Director of the Maine STEM Council.

Tom was a senior program officer with the National Research Council’s (NRC) Board on Science Education where he co-directed development of the Framework for K-12 Science Education. In 2007, while a program officer at the NRC, he directed the development of the award-winning Surrounded by Science: Learning Science in Informal Environments report. In addition, he has held several positions in K-12 education in Maine, including high school teacher, director of instruction, university faculty, and eighteen years as state science supervisor for the Maine Department of Education. He served a term as president of the National Council of State Science Supervisors and of the Maine Curriculum Leaders Association. He has an Ed.D. in science education from the University of Massachusetts and a B.S. in zoology from Texas A&M University.

Tom’s interests in education today include advocating for Early College, expanding opportunities for learning for all students, and improving teaching and learning from PreK through college.

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Craig Larrabee (Vice Chair)

(2019-2022 2nd term)
Augusta ME, 04330

Craig Larrabee has over 25 years of leadership experience in the nonprofit, education, and workforce development sectors. Throughout his career, Craig has championed innovative student-centered approaches through public/private partnerships to achieve results-driven outcomes. A sought after thought leader in large scale initiatives aimed at systems-level change, Craig has been an appointed member of the Maine Department of Labor State Workforce Board and served on a governor’s transition team. He is currently a coalition member of MaineSpark. Craig was also the first recipient of the Weston L. Bonney Education Leadership Award awarded annually by Educate Maine.

Craig is a Maine native, who grew up working on his grandparents’ farm, and is a graduate of Belfast High School. As a first-generation college student, he attended the University of Maine at Farmington (UMF) and graduated with a degree in secondary education in 1992. Twenty years later, in 2012, he served as the Co-Chair for UMF’s 150th Anniversary Celebration and was the recipient of the University’s Alumni Achievement Award.

Under Craig’s leadership, JMG has successfully implemented an aggressive expansion plan growing the company from serving 1,500 students per year, to its current reach of more than 11,000 students served annually. Originally limited to high school programs, Craig led the charge to create a JMG middle school program; and, in recent years, launched the design of the JMG College Success Program. JMG is the only statewide nonprofit offering a continuum of support to students from middle school through post-secondary education and career pathways.

During his tenure, JMG has garnered several awards of recognition, including being named an Economic Champion by the Maine Development Foundation, a Giraffe Award from the Maine Children’s Alliance, and the Kenney Award for Outstanding Community Service. Most recently, JMG was named as one of Maine’s Best Places to Work based on employee acknowledgment and appreciation of JMG’s strong culture, accountability, and transparency.

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Randall Liberty

(2021-2024 1st term)
Clinton ME, 04927

Commissioner Randall Liberty was hired by the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office in 1989 as a Deputy Sheriff. Over twenty-six years, he served as a Sergeant, Staff Sergeant, Major, Chief Deputy and as the elected Sheriff for nine years. During his tenure as Sheriff, he focused his efforts on Justice Involved Military Veterans, Drug Enforcement, and the treatment of Addiction. He assisted Military Veterans in their transition from the battlefield through advocacy, programming and Veterans Court. He served as the President of the Maine Sheriffs Association, as the Chairman of the Maine Drug Enforcement Advisory Board and on the Board of Visitors at the University of Maine (Augusta).

In addition to his active duty service as a Military Policeman in Korea, Warden Liberty performed an additional twenty-one years in the Army National Guard and Army Reserves. During this time, he served as a Mountain Infantryman in Italy, as a Drill Sergeant, and as an Instructor at the U.S. Military Academy, West Point. Liberty’s last assignment was in 2004 as the Command Sergeant Major of a Military Transition Team, imbedded with 772 Iraqi Infantryman in the City of Fallujah.

Liberty is a three time State of Maine Law Enforcement Officer of the year. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, the National Sheriffs Leadership Institute and the New England Chiefs of Police Command Course. He earned a Masters in Management and Leadership from Liberty University and a B.S. in Public Administration from the University of Maine (Augusta). Liberty formerly served as the Warden of the Maine State Prison. He was appointed as the Commissioner of Corrections for the State of Maine, by Governor Janet Mills in 2019.

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Jennifer Riggs

(2021-2024 2nd term)
Augusta ME, 04330

Jennifer L. Riggs, MSN, RN, is the Chief Nursing Officer for MaineGeneral Medical Center and the CEO for MaineGeneral Community Care. She spearheads the organization’s nearly 1,600 nursing team members, overseeing nursing practice across all of MaineGeneral Health with responsibility for Nursing, Care Management, Radiology, Cardiology, Emergency and Surgical Services, HomeCare & Hospice, and Behavioral Health Services.

As a member of the health system executive team, she supports and facilitates an interdisciplinary team approach to the delivery of care. This includes creating a nursing environment in which collaboration is valued and excellence in clinical care is promoted and achieved.

Jennifer holds a master’s degree in nursing and healthcare administration from Saint Joseph’s College. She is involved in several industry organizations and non-profits. She is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), the Association of Nurse Executives (AONE); the Association for Medical Imaging Management (AHRA), and the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetrical and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN). She also serves on the Board of Directors for Delta Ambulance and Maine Dartmouth Family Practice Residency.

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Richard (Dick) Thompson (Chair)

(2020-2023 2rd term)
Oakland ME, 04963

Dick spent most of his life living and working within the central Maine area. He served as Maine State Government’s Chief Information Officer from 2003 to 2010, responsible for the consolidation and operation of Executive Branch information technology. The organization consisted of 480 employees and an annual IT spend of approximately $155 million. Dick served state government for 34 years, including over twelve years as the State’s Director of Procurement.

He joined the University of Maine System Executive Team on April 1, 2011, as the Chief Information Officer. His responsibilities included the management of information technology across Maine’s 7 public university campuses.

Dick served on the ConnectME Authority, charged with expanding broadband capacity in Maine, serving as Chair under appointment by Governor LePage. He continues to serve as a Commissioner on the Maine Library Commission working with Libraries in support of their important role in citizen access to literacy and use of information technology. Dick also serves as a member and current vice-chair of the Board of Literacy Volunteers of Augusta.

Most recently, Dick was appointed by Commissioner Figueroa to serve as Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Administrative and Financial Services with Governor Mills administration, recently returning to retirement, his family, and his volunteer work in the community.

In March 2010, Government Technology Magazine selected Dick as one of the Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers in the U.S. for his accomplishments in delivering technology and government services to the citizens of Maine. He was awarded the National Association of Chief Information Officers meritorious service award in 2009, and in 1999 the Public Administrator of the Year award by the Maine ASPA and the Giulio Mazzone Distinguished Service award in Public Procurement by the National Association of Procurement Officials.

Dick joined the UMA BOV in 2018, citing his appreciation for and the importance of UMA to the community and his family. Several members of his family have attended and graduated (or will very soon) from UMA!