Ben Dudley recently joined the Island Institute as the Casco Bay Community Development Officer. He will be based in Portland and will be working closely with Casco Bay islands on self-governance issues and with the Maine Islands Coalition, building its capacity as an advocacy organization. Dudley comes to the Institute with six years’ experience representing Peaks Island, Cliff Island and Long Island in the Maine House of Representatives.
Kristin Collins will staff the Institute’s new Technical Help Desk and provide computer support and web site development. She lives in Lincolnville with her husband, Dwight, and their two children, Josh and Zac.
Nicole Ouellette, originally from Fort Kent, is the new Place-based Education Officer for the Island Institute. She has degrees in geology, French and education from Bates College and the University of Maine at Fort Kent. Hired in a partnership with the CO-SEED grant program out of Antioch New England Institute and Vinalhaven School, She is helping develop and implement hands-on education projects between the school and community of Vinalhaven and currently lives on Vinalhaven with her dog, Sadie.