Board of Directors
Meet HCCA’s board of directors.
BOARD CHAIR
Sara Grant, LMSW, CES, MHRT/C
Director of the AmeriCorps Senior Companion Program, University of Maine Center on Aging
Sara is the Director of the AmeriCorps Senior Companion Program at the University of Maine Center on Aging. She has focused her studies and professional career on working with older adults and community-based initiatives to create lasting social change on many fronts. As the Chairperson of the Augusta Age Friendly Committee, Sara manages the Clear Paths volunteer shoveling program and the Sand Buckets program in collaboration with the City of Augusta to benefit older and disabled residents of the capital city. She has also worked with caregivers for persons with Alzheimer’s disease and Related Dementias for over five years and loves her work as Master Trainer for the Savvy Caregiver educational series. Another of Sara’s greatest passions is working to identify and collaborate with various community resources in Central Maine and across the state to assist older and disabled adults with filling gaps in service provision – both before and throughout the pandemic. As a lifelong learner, she is constantly seeking ways to improve processes, promote volunteerism in Maine, and advocate for vulnerable populations within the state. Sara is the proud mother of two smart, beautiful girls and Nonna to her handsome grandson. Sara has yet to formally partner with HCCA, but believes the work of many hands makes challenging tasks that much easier to accomplish and would like to help with age friendly and livable initiatives that benefit people of all ages and abilities.
BOARD VICE CHAIR
Ashley Tetreault, MBA
BOARD SECRETARY
774.230.3382 • ashley.l.tetreault@gmail.com
MaineGeneral Proposals & Grants
A native of Massachusetts, Ashley holds a Bachelors in Business Economics from the University of Maine at Farmington and an MBA with a concentration in Project Management from Southern New Hampshire University. Ashley is qualitative researcher who is well-versed in culturally and linguistically appropriate health communication. As a former athlete and director of youth sports programs, Ashley believes in working with partners to build their internal capacity to do evaluation and share their program successes by taking on more of a coaching role. Additionally, Ashley has a wealth of knowledge of the Maine public health infrastructure and related state government agencies. Over the years Ashley has presented at local and national conferences on innovative evaluation methodologies and the benefits of integrating evaluation and communication strategies.
Zachary Roth, PhD
PhD Assistant Professor of Psychology at University of Maine at Augusta
BOARD TREASURER
zachary.roth@maine.edu
Zach moved to Maine from the Midwest in the fall of 2022. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Maine at Augusta where he also serves as the Faculty Coordinator for Civic Engagement. His academic and service interests intersect at issues surrounding stereotyping & discrimination and health equity. In his spare time, he enjoys running, sci-fi and fantasy, and tabletop games.
Jodi Beck, RN
PAST CHAIR
Senior Program Manager, MCD Global Health
207.251.96260 • jbeck@mcd.org
Jodi spent the last 25 years working in primary care practices in various roles. She is a passionate advocate for bringing awareness of affordable and accessible community resources to healthcare providers to improve the health of patients and families. Jodi developed a community care management program that consisted of a team of care managers who work with patients with complex medical and social needs. This work involved visiting patients in their homes or communities to assess and address the barriers that prevent them from being successful in caring for themselves. Jodi has extensive experience in quality improvement activities with a focus on chronic conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and preventative care. Jodi is married and has two adult children. When her children were young, she was instrumental in helping to rebuild a school playground for her home community and was active in sports boosters. She enjoys gardening and cooking healthy meals with fresh, local ingredients.
Cathleen Dunlap, MEd, MSW, LCSW
Clinical Director, Paramount Behavioral Services, Inc.
Cathleen Dunlap is a licensed clinical social worker who serves as the Clinical Director for Paramount Behavioral Services, Inc., based in Waterville, with an outreach office in Hallowell. Cathleen is married and has three adult children and four grandchildren. Cathleen has lived in Augusta all of her life and can trace ancestors to the area pre-Revolutionary war. She is one of five daughters born to parents who loved all of their “girls” joyously until the days of their deaths; Cathleen notes that supporting them on their last journeys was a challenging and humbling experience—and a great honor.
Cathleen previously worked as an educator for local Adult Education programs in Gardiner, Hallowell, Turner, and Augusta as well as for the University of Maine at Augusta and Kennebec Valley Community College. She is also a Coach for WW of Maine (formerly known as Weight Watchers). Cathleen has provided support to and advocacy for victims of sexual assault and interpersonal violence as a past employee for the Sexual Assault Crisis and Support Center as well as for the Family Violence Project. Other paid employment experiences included working as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor for the Maine Department of Labor and as a social worker assisting veterans newly home from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Cathleen has served on a number of local boards and committees including ones for Motivational Services, Inc., the Augusta Bicentennial Committee, and the Maine Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers–elected twice as their president. Cathleen’s interests include reading, gardening, canoeing, camping, taking care of her small flock of chickens, and watching her grandchildren play baseball, softball, soccer, basketball, and compete in gymnastic events.
Annie Fox, MHA
SHIP/SMP/MIPPA Director for Maine, Office of Aging & Disability Services
Annie Fox, MHA is the SHIP/SMP (Senior Medicare Patrol)/MIPPA State Director for Maine. She holds a Master of Health Administration degree from Saint Joseph’s College of Maine. Annie currently works in the Office of Aging and Disability Services within Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services. She partners with the Area Agencies on Aging and Legal Services for Maine’s Elder to grow the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP), Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP), and Medicare Improvement for Patient and Provider Act (MIPPA) programs for Maine. Prior to her current role, Annie worked for a non-profit organization with a focus on broad range of health care quality improvement initiatives for Northern New England. Annie has worked in Healthcare and Healthcare Quality Improvement initiatives for over 18 years. Annie also enjoys spending time caring for her mini farm of dogs, goats, and chickens.
Patricia Clark, MS, CAS
Director of Early Childhood Studies, University of Maine at Augusta
Pat is the Director of Early Childhood Studies and a professor at the University of Maine at Augusta, specializing in teaching teachers and social work majors in early childhood, special needs, and family courses. Previously, Pat was an elementary school teacher in grades pre-k through 5 (mostly kindergarten). She works closely with Head Start, served on their board and as a national Head Start Fellow, having worked in the training and technical assistance area for a year in Washington D.C. Pat lives in Readfield and is active in St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Winthrop, is a Readfield Community Library Board Member and Story Time co-coordinator, as well as director of the Playgroup partnership between the Library and elementary school. Her education includes a BA in French and Journalism, BS in Education, MS in Special Education, and higher degrees in Early Intervention and Special Education and Public Policy. Pat connected with HCCA by borrowing and using the Let’s Go! Story Walk at various sites in Readfield, and by having HCCA’s Nan Bell as a guest speaker for her UMA students.
Tekia Cox
Academic Programs Coordinator, Mid-Maine Regional Adult Community Education
Tekia is the Academic Programs Coordinator at Mid-Maine Regional Adult Community Education, where she is dedicated to enhancing the lives of those in the greater Waterville area through adult and community education. She specializes in connecting learners with resources that promote healthy community living, particularly for marginalized residents in Kennebec County. Tekia holds a Bachelor’s degree in Cultural Anthropology with a minor in International and Global Studies from the University of Maine at Farmington and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Adult and Higher Education at the University of Southern Maine. Her undergraduate research centered on resource inaccessibility in Maine. This background informs her current role, where she focuses on identifying and meeting the educational needs of the community. Tekia’s work involves collaboration with various local organizations, including HCCA, to ensure that educational programs are accessible and beneficial. Her commitment to community education drives her efforts to create inclusive and supportive learning environments for all residents.
Patricia Hart, MS, CPH
Principal Consultant, Hart Consulting, Inc. and Mayor, City of Gardiner
Patricia has over 30 years of experience conducting program evaluation, facilitating groups, writing grants, and analyzing data for a variety of organizations covering a range of topics. Patricia is well versed in management consulting, evaluation design, methods, data collection, analysis, reporting, and presenting findings. She has owned and operated her firm, Hart Consulting, for more than 20 years consulting on public health, healthcare, economic development, and education program evaluation. Active in community work, Patricia served four terms on the Gardiner, Maine City Council and is currently serving her first term as Mayor. She is a past President of the Gardiner Rotary Club, past Chair of the City of Gardiner Planning Board, a trustee to the Robinson Trust, and a returned Peace Corps Volunteer/Nepal.
Ranae L’Italien
Ranae and KVYMCA are longtime partners with HCCA helping to implement youth obesity prevention and nutrition education programs. Ranae brings a background in early childhood education and organizational management as well as experience planning and implementing fundraising events and building community connections.
Executive Director, Kennebec Valley YMCA
Martha Poliquin
Martha Poliquin is a retired school nutrition director with 26+ years experience providing meals for Maine students. Having always been a lover of good food made with fresh ingredients and having 3 children who would come home talking about their school lunch experience, it was a natural move for her to jump into the school lunch world to see how it could be improved for all children. It didn’t take long to see that a Maine grown apple and potato is far superior nutritionally and has a much smaller impact on the environment than produce shipped to Maine from across the country. Other leaders in the farm to school movement inspired and influenced her and Martha was fortunate to work for school districts that also valued local food for our local children. It is a world she finds great community in, a opportunity for self-improvement, and a movement in Maine that can contribute to making sure no child goes hungry. Matha has partnered for several years with HCCA’s farm and sea to school efforts and was instrumental in launching the Maine Farm and Sea to School Institute.
Make a Donation.
HCCA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that is funded through charitable donations from people like you. Thank you for your generous support as we work to better local communities in Maine.