Yellow Light Breen is this year’s keynote speaker
PRESQUE ISLE — A keynote address by the CEO of the Maine Development Foundation, along with a review of economic development in Aroostook County, are on tap for the Aroostook Partnership’s annual meeting at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 16, at the Edmunds Conference Center at Northern Maine Community College.
“It is important to have an annual meeting to reinforce to all the Partnership investors the focus and priorities we share under the Mobilize Northern Maine economic strategy,” said AP President Bob Dorsey. “The main points I want to hit is that our challenges are not going away, in fact they are building. But I also want to focus on some of the successes of the past year.
“The continued growth and influence of the Forest Products Industry Cluster will be touched on and efforts to connect educators with business leaders to discuss opportunities in the region for students who possess the right skills,” Dorsey said.
Yellow Light Breen, CEO of the Maine Development Foundation (MDF), will be the featured speaker.
Breen became CEO in August 2015. He develops strategic direction, integration and partnerships across MDF’s mission and programs. He is a sought-after public speaker with a diverse background in business, public policy, and law. He spent twelve years as an executive with Bangor Savings Bank, overseeing strategic planning, marketing, online banking, community development, and charitable activities. Prior, he was a senior official at the Maine Department of Education and an adviser to Independent Governor Angus King.
Breen was born and raised in rural central Maine, a product of Maine public schools, and earned undergraduate and law degrees from Harvard University.
MDF is assisting with an integrated, multi-agency Economic Development Assessment Team, known as an EDAT, established by the U.S. Department of Commerce to assist Maine’s forest products industry in the wake of several mill closures. The MDF is working with local community and business leaders to facilitate a series of meetings to address the economic development challenges facing the state’s forest-based economy.
Breen will touch on that work and discuss some of the more positive things happening around the state.
The breakfast is free, but pre-registration is required. To register contact Judy Dinsmore at Northern Maine Development Commission, jdinsmore@nmdc.org or by phone at 493-5752.
