John T. Gorman Foundation

Founded by John T. Gorman, Jr. ("Tom") in 1995, the mission of the John T. Gorman Foundation ("Foundation") is to improve the lives of disadvantaged and underserved Maine residents.

Tom Gorman established the Foundation to give back to the community which has allowed him to realize personal success and achievement, and to honor the memories of his mother and his father. To achieve this vision, the Foundation focuses its grant-making on those agencies and organizations that provide for the fundamental needs of the very poor and those that deliver cancer and mental health services to underserved residents.

Grant-making is expected to evolve as times change, provided that Tom’s core areas of interest are addressed. The Foundation will strive to find a balance between making grants to address immediate needs, and making strategic, longer term grants which invest in the future.

Tony Cipollone
President and CEO
Tony Cipollone became President and CEO of the John T. Gorman Foundation on August 1, 2011. Prior to that he was the Vice President for Civic Sites and Initiatives at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, where he worked in senior leadership for over 20 years. Over the course of his career at Casey, Tony established the foundation's grant making strategies in education as well as in evaluation and policy research. For more than a decade he also was responsible for Casey's KIDS COUNT Initiative and its national network of state-level policy advocates. In addition, he managed the foundation's efforts to use strategic communications to advance Casey's lessons and its messages. In recent years, he led efforts associated with two significant sets of community change investments in Baltimore and Atlanta, each seeking to help deeply challenged neighborhoods through grants and social investments aimed at increasing economic opportunities for parents, improving the quality of schools and early learning centers for children, promoting housing quality and affordability, and physically transforming the community.

Nicole Witherbee
Senior Associate
Nicole has a Ph.D. in Social Policy from the Heller School of Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. Before coming to the Foundation, Nicole founded and managed a consulting firm where she helped clients with research, evaluation, and program design. Her previous work experience also included analyzing federal budget impacts for the Maine Center for Economic Policy, directing policy for the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, acting as the Interim Government Affairs Director for the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, tenant organizing for the Central Mass Housing Alliance, and lobbying for the Coalition to Preserve Affordable Housing. Nicole taught Research Methods, Critical Thinking about Social Issues and Social Movements at the University of Southern Maine and Salem State. She currently teaches Public Policy and Research at Bates College.

Michael Bevilacqua, CPA
Director of Finance & Administration
Michael is a finance and operations professional with 20+ years of non-profit experience. Prior to joining the Foundation, Michael worked as CFO & Chief Operating Officer of United Way of Greater Portland. Prior to this, Michael worked as Controller for the Maine State Housing Authority and Supervising Senior Accountant at KPMG where he specialized in non-profit and other governmental organizations. Michael is a board member and Treasurer of the Park Danforth, a senior housing community and a member of the Maine Board of Delta Dental.

Lauralee Raymond
Program Assistant
Lauralee has over 10 years of non-profit and public policy experience. She was the Legislative Director at the Maine Department of Labor where she directed public policy regarding worker protections, unemployment, employment opportunities and statistics as well rehabilitation services for Maine workers. Prior to the Maine Department of Labor, she was the Director of Public Affairs at the Maine Women’s Policy Center and Lobby working on improving the lives of women and girls through public policy initiatives and leadership development. Lauralee grew up in Northern Maine, attended Bates College and is a huge advocate of anything Maine.

Brenda Cook
Executive Assistant
Prior to joining the John T. Gorman Foundation, Brenda worked for one of Portland’s larger downtown law firms. With more than 25 years of experience in the day to day operations of an office, her background includes behind the scene support for non-profit foundations and their Directors, as well as handling the administrative needs of several busy executives.

Shawn O. Gorman, Chairman of the Board, is a nephew of Tom Gorman and a lifetime member of the Board. Shawn is the Senior Vice President of Brand Communications at L. L. Bean, Inc., where he has worked for 20 years. Shawn serves on the L. L. Bean Board of Directors, is Vice Chair of the L. L. Bean Compensation Committee and also serves on the L. L. Bean Audit Committee. Shawn is a member of the Board of The United Way of Greater Portland, for which he served as the 2011 Campaign Chair.

Jeffrey J. Gorman, Vice Chairman of the Board, is a nephew of Tom Gorman and a lifetime member of the Board. Jeff is a pilot for JetBlue Airways. Jeff serves on the L. L. Bean Board of Directors, as well as the L. L. Bean Compensation and Audit Committees. Jeff has served on numerous committees and organizations within the aviation and airline industry for the last 20 years.

Weston Bonney, Treasurer, has served on the John T. Gorman Foundation Board since 1995. Wes retired as President and CEO of Peoples Heritage Financial Group (now TD Bank). Since retirement, Wes has served as a bank consultant for TD Bank and as a volunteer consultant for several banks in Bulgaria, Romania, Mongolia and Macedonia. Wes has a long history of serving on for-profit and non- profit boards. A number of the non-profit boards on which he has served include: Bates College, for which he is a Trustee Emeritus, Maine State Board of Education, The Muskie School of Public Service, Maine Development Foundation, Maine Coalition for Excellence in Education, The Maine Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, Maine Maritime Museum, Kents Hill School, Youth and Family Outreach, Lawrence General Hospital and Addison Gilbert Hospital.

Martha ("Meg") Greene served as the Foundation's Managing Director for the past decade. Meg is a senior partner of the firm of Brann & Isaacson, where she specializes in sophisticated estate planning and charitable giving. Meg also serves as the Chair of the Maine Philanthropy Center. Meg is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.

Richard W. Petersen is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Maine Medical Center. Prior to his appointment as President and CEO, Rich served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Maine Medical Center. Rich serves on the Board of Cheverus High School, Spring Harbor Hospital and the Foundation for Maine’s Community Colleges. He is a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Irving Isaacson is a board member emeritus. Irving was a good friend of Tom Gorman, and assisted him in creating the Foundation in 1995. Irving is the senior partner of Brann & Isaacson, where he has practiced since 1939. Irving's creative philanthropy helped lay the foundation for John T. Gorman Foundation's strategic grant making and is evident in the grant making of his own private foundation, the L&A Fund.