Meet The Team
President's Office
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Dana Connors
President As the leader of the state's largest and most diverse business association, Dana oversees a broad range of activities, including advocacy efforts, economic and workforce development initiatives, and a wide variety of member services for the business community. A Maine native, he received a bachelor's degree in public management from the University of Maine in 1965. He began his career as the city manager of Presque Isle and later served as Commissioner of Transportation under 2 governors and as leader of Governor Angus King's transition team before becoming president of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce in 1994. He has received numerous awards for his service and leadership to the state of Maine throughout his career. Most recently, he was inducted into Junior Achievement's Maine Business Hall of Fame (2014) and received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Maine, Orono (2015). Contact Dana: Email: dana.f.connors@mainechamber.org Phone: (207) 623-4568, Ext. 103 |
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Angela Ouellette
Executive Assistant to the President As Executive Assistant to the President, Angela's duties vary from day to day. Her main objectives are helping to coordinate the President's schedule, planning our Board of Directors events, maintaining our Membership database, and overseeing Social Media marketing for the Chamber of Commerce. She serves on various committees including Maine's Best Places to Work and the Maine Bicentennial Commission.
Angela attended the University of Maine at Augusta where she studied art, graphic design, and communications, graduating cum laude in 2010 and obtaining a bachelor's degree in liberal studies. After UMA she also completed a 500 hour Corporate Leadership program, attended Massasoit College for Human Resources, and has completed a 200 hour yoga teacher training certification program at Seaside Yoga. Prior to her career with the Chamber of Commerce Angela worked as Office, Marketing, and Social Media Manager for a successful Luxury Kitchen and Bath Sales Representative firm located in the Greater Boston area. Furthermore Angela spent years in hospitality, working as a Human Resources Manager. While within the hospitality industry her concentration was training, hiring and staff retention. Contact Angela: Email: angelao@mainechamber.org Phone: (207) 623-4568 - Ext. 101 |
Advocacy
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Peter Gore
Executive Vice President Peter has been with the Maine State Chamber of Commerce since 1994, serving initially as the Senior Governmental Affairs Specialist, and since 2008, as the Vice President for Advocacy and Government Relations. In this capacity, Gore represents the Chamber's network of more than 5,000 business members before the Maine Legislature, the Office of the Governor, and the public in the specific areas of workers' compensation law, labor/management issues, and healthcare/health insurance and economic development topics. Peter is a graduate of the University of Maine at with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and a minor in Sociology.
Contact Peter: Email: pgore@mainechamber.org Phone: (207) 623-4568 - Ext. 107 |
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Linda Caprara
Senior Government Relations Specialist Linda joined the Maine State Chamber of Commerce in January 2008, and serves as the Senior Government Relations Specialist in Taxation and the Director of Grassroots Advocacy. Previously, she held the position of director of Government and Public Affairs at the Maine Pulp and Paper . She is a graduate of Saint Anselm College, with a Bachelor's degree in Sociology. Linda attended Central Connecticut State University for additional studies in taxation and accounting and is a graduate of Connecticut School of Broadcasting.
Contact Linda: Email: lcaprara@mainechamber.org Phone: (207) 623-4568 - Ext. 106 |
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Ben Lucas
Government Relations Specialist Ben Lucas comes to the Maine State Chamber of Commerce after serving as the first ever Executive Director of the Maine Jobs Council. Prior to the Maine Jobs Council, Ben served as a member of Senator Susan Collins’ successful 2020 re-election campaign staff. He was also an adviser to Marty Grohman’s Independent Congressional Campaign in Maine’s First District, and worked in the Energy, Environment & Municipal Practice Group at the law firm of Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer, and Nelson. As an Augusta native, Ben has considerable experience with Maine political campaigns and public policy. Ben has been active in several public policy and campaign efforts, both at the state and federal level. These experiences have allowed Ben to develop an understanding of the Maine economy and business community. He has become an expert in effective advocacy efforts and coalition building. Ben has great experience working on issues with both sides of the political spectrum and brings competence, energy, passion, and intelligence to this important work.
Contact Ben: Email: blucas@mainechamber.org Phone: (207) 623-4568 - Ext. 111 |
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Ben Gilman
Consultant, Maine State Chamber Education Foundation Ben is an attorney with the law firm Drummond Woodsum in Portland and serves as a consultant to the Maine State Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation. Ben founded the MSCC Education Foundation during his 10 years with the Maine State Chamber of Commerce as General Counsel. Before working for the Chamber, he brought a unique combination of experience in environmental and energy lobbying and, since 1995, politics. His legislative focus areas while at the chamber included utilities and energy, natural resources, and business regulation issues. Prior to joining the Chamber, he was Director of Government Affairs for the Maine Energy Marketers Association and Director of Economic Development of US Senator Olympia Snowe. Ben also currently serves as Co-Chair of the Maine Children’s Trust.
Contact Ben: Email: bgilman@mainechamber.org Mobile: (207) 838-7564 |
Membership & Marketing
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Mark Ellis
Membership Specialist For more than 30 years, Mark helped businesses like Douglas Dynamics, Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp., and Hewlett-Packard add value to their business endeavors through information technology. In the public sector, he has held leadership positions in statewide and national political campaigns, political party operations, and legislative communications.
Contact Mark: Email: mellis@mainechamber.org Phone (207) 623-4568 - Ext. 109 |
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Melody Rousseau
Sponsorship & Advertising Sales Manager Melody Rousseau serves as Advertising and Sponsorship Manager for the Maine State Chamber of Commerce. Hired as our receptionist in 1996, she was quickly promoted and has been responsible for the organization's advertising and sponsorship sales since 1997. Among her diverse responsibilities are advertising sales for all of our various events, publications, and websites, as well as providing many support functions for our finance department. In addition, Melody has held several leadership roles for the Waterville High School's Girls Basketball Boosters, as well as serving on the Athletic Council.
Contact Melody: Email: melodyr@mainechamber.org Phone: (207) 623-4568 - Ext. 102 |
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Angie Arno
Director of Events & Programs As an independent marketing consultant and former director of a small chamber, Angie joined our team in March of 2019 with 10 years experience in event and program management. Her duties include managing all aspects of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce events and programs, as well as serving as Administrative Director of the Maine Alliance of Chamber of Commerce Executives, where she manages their activities and semi-annual conferences. Angie is the producer of OneVoice Maine, the official magazine of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, Angie assists with marketing and social media campaigns for all of the Chamber's needs.
Contact Angie: Email: aarno@mainechamber.org Phone: (207) 623-4568 - Ext. 104 |
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Tae Chong
Director of Multicultural Markets and Strategies Tae Chong is Director of Multicultural Markets and Strategies for the Maine State Chamber. He specializes in market research and strategies with multicultural and people of color communities in Maine and the Northeast. Tae has over twenty years’ experience working with the immigrant and refugee and people of color populations in Maine in economic development, business counseling, workforce development, education, and multicultural programming. He has consulted with Hannaford to expand their product lines to attract more immigrant, refugee and people of color to shop at their stores and he also assisted them with community outreach and with employee recruitment and retention strategies. In his role as Director of Multicultural Markets and Strategies, his goal is to educate, advocate and outreach to Maine businesses interested in increase sales and services to People of Color in Maine and Northern New England as well as businesses interested in hiring and retaining more People of color.
Contact Tae: Email: tae.y.chong@gmail.com Mobile: (207) 632-9719 |
Communications
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Melanie Baillargeon
Director of Communications Melanie Baillargeon serves as the Director of Communications for the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, a position she has held there since late 1999. Hired by the Chamber in March 1995, she initially served as its Communications Assistant. With a major in commercial art and a minor in communications, Melanie received her bachelor's degree from Notre Dame College. In addition to a lengthy role in the Calumet Educational Foundation, she recently concluded multiple terms on the Friends of Lithgow Library board and served in three officer roles for the board of the Augusta Downtown Alliance. Melanie has previously served on the board of directors for the Maine Public Relations Council, and participated in several professional groups.
Contact Melanie: Email: melanieb@mainechamber.org Phone: (207) 623-4568 - Ext. 110 |
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Jen Webber
Media Contact | Communications Consultant Jen Webber has been a communications consultant to the Maine State Chamber since 2011. She brings more than two decades of experience in strategic communications and media relations, specializing in public affairs, advocacy, crisis communications, executive communications, and more. Jen’s political experience also is extensive, having worked on numerous statewide candidate and referendum campaigns and three U.S. presidential campaigns. In addition to managing external communications and serving as the Maine State Chamber’s primary media liaison, Jen produces the Chamber’s livestream program, The Maine Take with Dana Connors, and manages various projects and initiatives for the Chamber.
Contact Jen: Email: jwebber@mainechamber.org Mobile: (207) 939-0213 |
Finance & Operations
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Scott Samson
Financial Coordinator Scott Samson serves as the Financial Coordinator for the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, a position he has held since 2010, after working on a contract basis since 2003. A graduate of the University of Maine-Augusta with a BA in Accounting, he also received his MBA from the Keller Graduate School. In addition, Scott is currently the treasurer and membership director with the Pilgrim Henry Samson Kindred, and assistant historian with the Society of Mayflower Descendants in the State of Maine. He has previously served as treasurer for several non-profit organizations.
Contact Scott: Email: ssamson@mainechamber.org Phone: (207) 623-4568 - Ext. 114 |
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Simon West
Human Resources Director Simon West joined the Maine State Chamber of Commerce in January 2019. Simon completed his undergraduate at the University of Maine Augusta and received an MBA from Thomas College. Simon has worked in banking and finance since 2010. Aside from his position with the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, Simon serves as Treasurer for the Pine Grove Program, a non-profit organization aimed at serving Veterans and First Responders.
Contact Simon: Email: swest@mainechamber.org Phone: (207) 623-4568 - Ext. 117 |