We pride ourselves on maintaining a diverse group of individuals that can contribute to the capacity of the organization and to the protection of seabirds and island habitat in many different facets. If you have an interest in joining us in this work, please contact us.
Penney is an island homeowner, dedicated to preserving our natural resources for research, recreation, and especially for future generations. Penney is a real estate professional with years of non-profit fundraising experience. She loves the outdoor activities that are easily accessible year-round in the mid-coast, especially hiking, skiing, fly fishing, and kayaking.
Kevin Adams is a retired career employee with the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. His work in natural resource law enforcement took him to duty stations in six states and the Service’s headquarters office. He worked extensively on migratory bird, endangered species, and marine mammal investigations across the United States and internationally. Kevin and his wife, Carol volunteer for the Friends of Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge and live in Round Pond, Maine.
Theo worked for 34 years as a Certified Public Accountant in Newport, RI and the Florida Keys. After retiring, she and her husband, Wes, a marine biologist, moved to the Midcoast to enjoy all of the hiking, kayaking and sailing opportunities Maine has to offer. Every June and July they return to the Keys to continue a 26-year study of the mating behaviors of the Nurse Sharks resident in the waters of Dry Tortugas National Park.
Georgie worked at Herring Gut Learning Center in Port Clyde as a marine science and aquaculture teacher. Prior to moving to Maine, Georgie also worked for several years as a researcher at the Cape Eleuthera Institute in The Bahamas, studying nearshore ecosystems, teaching scientific research classes, and running outreach programming. Georgie received her M.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife from Michigan State University, where she studied migrations of bonefish in The Bahamas using acoustic telemetry on the island of Eleuthera in The Bahamas. Georgie enjoys using her background in marine research and experiential education to help students become stewards of their local environment and ocean resources. Georgie enjoys trail running, canoeing, and hiking with her dog, Cooper, throughout the Midcoast area.
Don Reimer is a lifelong birder and photographer who lives in Warren. A Board Member of Mid-coast Audubon, he has led field trips for a variety of environmental organizations and the American Birding Association National Convention. He has served as a birding instructor for several Road Scholar and adult education programs, and holds a B.S. in Education from University of Maine at Orono.
Don has participated in various citizen-science projects, including Project Feeder Watch, The Atlas of Breeding Birds in Maine, The Maine Owl Survey and The International Shorebird Survey. He has served as Coordinator for the Thomaston-Rockland and Pemaquid-Damariscotta Christmas Bird Counts. Currently he serves as a Regional Coordinator for the 2018-2022 Maine Bird Atlas. His bi-monthly column Birding with Don Reimer appears in the Rockland Free Press.
Judy and husband Jim retired to Maine in 2015 from Virginia. Judy worked a nonprofit consignment business for over 30 years and loves spending time in the Nature Store at the Refuge Center. She is grateful to be closer to the Hengerer family camp in Kent’s Hill Maine, first built by Jim’s grandfather in the ’40’s. She loves all things outdoors, especially snow and cold weather after growing up on the shores of Lake Michigan.
Retired Director of Kent County Parks in Delaware, Carl moved to Waldoboro where he practices sculptural arts since 2012. As a Rural Housing Specialist for the Farmer’s Home Administration with an earlier career in construction, he established an Emergency Home Repair initiative with the First State USDA Resource, Conservation and Development Council in Dover, Delaware. During his Parks development and Open Space management career with County government, he co-founded the St. Jones River Greenway Commission and the Kent County Conservancy. He established reforestation and nontidal wetland restoration projects on public and private community spaces throughout the County. That program planted a quarter million trees and established several riparian buffers.
As a water quality advocate for the Sierra Club, he represented the organization before the Fourth District in a water quality settlement process with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources. Appointed a Delaware Department of Agriculture Nutrient Management Commissioner he assisted in establishing certification and education programs for the DDA until retirement.
Kayaking, fishing, cycling, managing invasive species and sculpture now occupy his retirement life in Maine.
David Brakke is a limnologist and environmental scientist who has done research on lakes and watersheds in the Eastern and Western U.S. and in Norway. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. A former associated editor of the journal Limnology and Oceanography, he was a Councilor in the Council for Undergraduate Research for 20 years and wrote a column on Science and Society for The Association for Women in Science Magazine for 10 years. He is Dean Emeritus of the College of Science and Mathematics at James Madison University and Professor Emeritus of Biology and Geology and Environmental Science. His Ph.D. was earned at Indiana University.
Kate is a GIS specialist who works from home for a consulting firm in Portland OR (the other Portland!). Kate grew up birding on the shores of Cobbosseecontee Lake in Monmouth and the Kennebec River in Gardiner. Prior to her current work with school districts and local governments, Kate worked as a consultant for clients including NOAA and the FWS, and held GIS positions at the Maine Natural Areas Program, The Nature Conservancy in Maine, and the Silent Spring Institute. She has an MA in GIS from Clark University and a BA in Environmental Studies from Wellesley College. In her free time, Kate conducts bird tours for FOMCI, fosters dogs, leads the Rockland Waterfront to Wilderness committee, makes maps for the Georges River Land Trust, and goes on adventures with her dog Stella.
A writer and naturalist who grew up in Midcoast Maine, Kristen was the development director for Coastal Mountains Land Trust for many years. She also wrote an award-winning local natural history column for over 15 years. She received her MFA in poetry from the University of Oregon and has published several books of poetry, as well. In addition to a previous stint on the Friends board from 2008 – 2011, she has served on the board of Merryspring Nature Center and as chair of the Maine Community Foundation’s Knox County Committee. An avid birder, she has guided bird outings all over Maine, including for the Acadia Birding Festival. She spends her free time outdoors with her binoculars, camera, and notebook.
Carol is retired after 30 years in federal service with the Dept. of Army, Minerals Management Service, the US Dept. of Agriculture, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Carol spent her first 15 years in federal contracting. She has a BS in Workforce Education and Development from Southern Illinois University and spent the last 15 years of her career developing and teaching supervisory, leadership, and personal development courses at the USFWS’s National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, WV. Carol served as FOMCI’s Volunteer Coordinator from 2012 to 2017 and continues to manage the Friend’s Nature Store since 2012. Carol and her husband, Kevin, live in Round Pond.
Tori is a lifelong Mainer passionate about both marine and terrestrial conservation. Tori spent six months living in Australia, learning various conservation strategies for different ecosystems. With a BS in Environmental Studies and a BA in Marine Affairs from the University of New England in Biddeford, Maine, Tori is starting her career in environmental education and outreach. Tori enjoys hiking, softball, reading and playing with her dogs.
Carney is a graduate of the University of Maine in Orono with a degree in wildlife biology and education. She has worked with children and adults all her life in informal education, including 4-H Youth Development, running a small private school, and teaching environmental education. She helped develop the 4-H Earth Connections program. A highlight was training 4-H exchange students from Costa Rica at the National 4-H Center in Washington DC to use an adaptation of the curriculum in their country. Carney also has part-time jobs with the First Universalist Church in Rockland and the Midcoast Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Damariscotta coordinating religious exploration programs and activities.
Jeanne retired as an administrative assistant for the Knox-Lincoln County Office of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Service. She appreciates nature and art, and enjoys traveling and reading.
The Friends of Maine Coastal Islands NWR is an organization committed to equal employment and volunteer opportunity without regard to age; ancestry; disability; national or ethnic origin; race; religious belief; sex or sexual orientation and gender identity; marital status; political belief; or veteran status. This policy applies to all areas of employment and volunteer participation, including recruitment; hiring; training and development; promotion; transfer; termination; layoff; compensation; benefits; social and recreational programs; and all other conditions and privileges of employment in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws.