The Unity College Board of Trustees has four new members to help steer America’s Environmental College into its next half-century.
The college, celebrating its 50th year, selected Marc Bane ’73, Keith Martin, J. Michael Pierce, and Sharon Reishus as trustees.
The new trustees will start their tenures beginning in July, replacing Robert Kelley, Arlene Shafer and Travis Wagner `83 who had finished their terms and were lauded for their service.
“Our four new trustees bring a portfolio of financial, strategic, marketing and management expertise across a wide array of public and private enterprises,” said Unity College President Dr. Stephen Mulkey. “We’re grateful for their service and look forward to bringing their talents to the board.”
“All of our trustees were selected for their dedication to public service, success in private enterprise, and top-of-the-line skill sets in an array of functions needed to guide America’s Environmental College well into the next era,” said Dr. Melik Peter Khoury, executive vice president and chief academic officer. “We are grateful for their involvement and look forward to their dynamism.”
Board members ratified the selections at a Board of Trustees meeting on May 8, and re-affirmed Bruce Nickerson to continue to serve as chairman through June 30, 2016.
They also ratified the selection of John Newlin as vice chairman, Doug Sensenig as treasurer, and P. Andrew Hamilton as secretary.
Profiles of the new trustees follow:
Marc Bane `73
For more than 25 years, Bane has been helping companies in startup to post IPO position their products, build their brands, attract investors, and grow their sales pipelines, specializing in energy technology and services, clean tech, and enterprise software, resulting in numerous industry awards for his clients, including: The Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Award in Energy; Platts Global Energy Award; Power & Gas Marketing Premium Product Award; Frost & Sullivan Technology Innovation of the Year Award; Energy Central “Knowledge 2000′′ CIO of the year Award, and Platts Award for Excellence in Sustainable Technology.
“Marc’s ability to uniquely position a company’s product or service and articulate its value proposition will be a great asset to Unity College as we continue to position ourselves as America’s environmental college,” said Dr. Melik Peter Khoury, executive vice president and chief academic officer.
Keith Martin
Martin is a senior engineer in the Fish Passage Group of Kleinschmidt Associates in Pittsfield, Maine, leading an interdisciplinary team of engineers, biologists, and regulatory specialists who develop solutions for improving access to habitat by ocean migrating species of fish. Martin has helped design and commission upstream and downstream fish passage facilities in the landmark Penobscot River Restoration Project, including state-of-the-art fish elevators at dams in Milford and Orono.
He received his MS in structural engineering from the University of Maine in 2004, following a BS in civil engineering in 2002 and a BA in Physics and Environmental Studies from Bowdoin College in 1998.
“Keith knows a lot about Maine and its environment and is a perfect choice to help guide Unity College,” Khoury said.
J. Michael Pierce
Pierce is president of the Allen Financial Group who has designed and implemented employee benefit programs and 401(k) plans for businesses throughout New England. Pierce also was a financial consultant at Coopers & Lybrand in its Boston-based tax and financial planning division.
Pierce is a Certified Financial Planner professional, Accredited Investment Fiduciary®, and past president of the Penobscot Bay YMCA, past trustee of the Camden Public Library, past president of the West Bay Rotary Club in Camden and past director of the Mooney Athletic Foundation.
He is a graduate of Boston College and obtained his law degree at Suffolk University Law School in Boston.
“Financial planning is key in any organization, and we believe Michael will help Unity continue its forward-looking posture in terms of remaining solvent and increasing our endowment,” Khoury said.
Sharon Reishus
Reishus has 25 years in the energy sector experience, providing strategic advice, concise insights and forward-looking analysis to senior leaders across North America.
Among her qualifications, Reishus has served as senior research director at IHS Energy; as a commissioner of the Maine Public Utilities Commission, appointed by the governor to oversee electric, natural gas, telephone and water utility service across the state, including two years as chairwoman; as analyst for Central Maine Power Co.; as a senior duty officer in The White House situation room; and as an intelligence officer in the Central Intelligence Agency.
She holds an MBA in strategic planning and management from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and a B.S. in applied earth sciences from Stanford University.
“Sharon is a planning and management powerhouse who has succeeded in small and large enterprises. Her insights will be incredibly useful to Unity College as we move forward,” Khoury said.
