Now Accepting Applications for John T. Gorman Fellowship. Learn more. 

Elyse Pratt-Ronco

In her role as Director, Stakeholder Engagement, Elyse facilitates the exchange of ideas, data, and best practices among stakeholders, including grantees, Fellows and practitioners. Her work includes directing the John T. Gorman Fellowship program and the Fellowship Alumni network, as well as designing and implementing stakeholder convenings throughout the year. Prior to joining the Foundation, … Read more

James Patefield

James collaborates with colleagues to support and maintain the Foundation’s grantmaking processes and database. He also supports the organization’s programs by developing dashboards, data visualizations, and improved data practices. Prior to joining the Foundation, James worked as a Project Associate at the Mitchell Institute, where he managed data collection and analysis to enhance and inform … Read more

Leigh Arsenault

Leigh collaborates with staff to advance the Foundation’s strategies and initiatives to improve the well-being and resiliency of Maine children and families. Leigh has a Ph.D. in Higher Education with a focus on public policy from the University of Michigan and a B.A. from Middlebury College. In her prior work, Leigh was a Program Manager … Read more

Jennifer Rice

In her role, Jen provides executive support to the leadership team including office and human resource administration. Before coming to the Foundation, Jen worked as a Business Immigration Case Coordinator (paralegal) at Pierce Atwood LLP, where she assisted clients with hiring and maintaining immigration status for foreign health-care professionals. Prior to that, Jen served for … Read more

Andrew Colvin

As Communications Director, Andy works not only to highlight the Foundation’s work with its partners, but also raise awareness of the challenges facing Maine families and effective strategies to address them. Andy comes to the Foundation with over 10 years of experience in non-profit and government communications. Most recently, he served as Deputy Communications Director … Read more

Jennifer Beck

Jennifer is the Foundation’s Vice President, Programs having previously held the position of Senior Program Associate.  In her role, she works with staff to advance the Foundation’s mission with a focus on developing and implementing programmatic strategy, directing research and evaluation, and overseeing grantmaking for the organization. Jennifer has a Ph.D. in Social and Personality … Read more

Michael Bevilacqua

Michael has 25+ years of non-profit finance and operations experience. Prior to joining the Foundation, Michael worked as CFO & Chief Operating Officer of United Way of Greater Portland. Before this, Michael worked as Controller for the Maine State Housing Authority and in public accounting for KPMG where he led financial audits of non-profit and … Read more

Nicole Witherbee

In 2022, Nicole became President & CEO of the John T. Gorman Foundation after serving for 10 years as Chief Program Officer, a role in which she directed its programs, research, and evaluation. She has a Ph.D. in Social Policy from the Heller School of Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. Before coming to … Read more