The University of Maine at Farmington Board of Visitors advises the President on a wide range of issues regarding the University’s role and mission and its relationship to the people of Maine. It also serves as public advocates for UMF, assisting the University by promoting understanding by and support from the System Board of Trustees; the state legislature; state agencies; businesses, school systems, and social services providers; the media; and the general public.

Board of Visitors

Peter Osborne ‘09
Chair, UMF Board of Visitors
Director of Educational Services
Maine Municipal Association

Peter Osbourne leads a team providing education and training to Maine’s municipal employees and elected officials. He has 10+ years experience in higher education, adult education, and state government. He earned a B.S. in Secondary Education from the University of Maine at Farmington, a M.S. in Adult and Higher Education from the University of Southern Maine, and has taken doctoral coursework in diversity and equity in education at the University of Illinois. Osbourne is a past president of the UMF Alumni Council, serves on the board of the Maine Career Development Association, and is a proud first-generation college student who grew up in a paper-making community in the Katahdin Region. He resides in Jay, Maine with his partner, Dani.

Steve Hewins ‘19
Vice Chair, UMF Board of Visitors
Independent Hospitality
and Tourism Consultant

Steve Hewins is a retired President and CEO of Hospitality Maine, a trade association that was formed in 2019 from the merger of the Maine Restaurant Association and the Maine Innkeepers Association. Prior to this, he was Executive Director of the Portland Downtown District and before that Vice President for Travel and Branch Operations at AAA Northern New England. Hewins began his career by founding Hewins Travel and operating it for 24 years, prior to selling the business to AAA. He currently sits on the Maine Economic Growth Council and is on the board of the University of Southern Maine Hospitality and Tourism Advisory Board (which he also founded), and the Husson University Business Advisory Board. He has previously served on the board of the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Gulf of Maine Research Institute and as Past President of the Portland Community Chamber.

Joshua Bell
Owner
Northern Lights Hearth & Sports
Chairman
Farmington Select Board

Joshua Bell was born and raised in Farmington. He and his wife, Alicia, are the owners of Northern Lights, a hearth and sporting goods business that has operated in Farmington for 50 years. They’re happy that they can raise their three boys in the town they love. Bell comes from a family that has always been involved in the Farmington community. He is honored to be able to serve the Farmington residents on the Select Board and has done so for more than a decade. He strives to make Farmington a place where people can live safely, have a good job, and build a successful future for the next generations.

Jennifer Bjorn
Chief Financial Officer
Kyes Insurance

Jennifer Bjorn is a local entrepreneur and also owns and operates the Bjorn Realty Corporation, which holds commercial and personal leases with many Farmington businesses and apartments. The Bjorn family has been strong supporters of UMF historically, both with financial donations and local advocacy.

Byron “Buzz” Davis
Owner and President
Riverbend Property

Byron “Buzz” Davis is a native of Auburn, Maine who moved to Farmington with his new wife, Taffy, in 1989. They have lived on Titcomb Hill Road for thirty years and have now moved to their home on Clearwater Lake. Davis has owned and operated Riverbend Property Management for 23 years and with his son, Ben, they own and operate 76 housing and 2 commercial rental units at Ten Properties in downtown Farmington. He has also been very active with the Farmington Ski Club, Rotary Club, and Lion’s Club. In his spare time he enjoys a variety of outdoor sports including skiing and biking.

Thomas A. Dukes ’90, JD
Chief Executive Officer
Veritas Data Research
Retired Brigadier General
USAF

Tom Dukes, Jr., is General Counsel for SafeGuard Cyber (a Digital Risk Protection start-up based in Charlottesville, VA), and also serves as the Assistant Adjutant General-Air for the Virginia National Guard. Dukes graduated from UMF as an Honors Scholar, earning a B.A. in Political Science / Social Sciences and a minor in Philosophy before earning a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law. During a 25-year public service career, he served as a U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate, as a U.S. Department of Justice Cybercrime Prosecutor, as a U.S. State Department Diplomat, and as an adjunct professor at the University of Virginia and the University of Tartu, Estonia. He lives in Virginia, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Keith Holley
Senior Director of Operations
and Ancillary Services
Franklin Memorial Hospital

Keith Holley is the Sr. Director of Operations and Ancillary Services at Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington. He is a registered Radiologic Technologist with a Bachelor of Science in Business, and a Master’s in Business Administration with a focus in Healthcare. After receiving his R.T.(R) in 1993, Keith has worked as an Interventional Radiology Technologist in large medical centers, including two universities. In 2006, Keith became the Director of Imaging Services in a 150-bed community hospital, later overseeing three separate outpatient imaging centers and the IP pharmacy in South Carolina. After moving to Wyoming, Keith became the System Ancillary Services Director for two rural hospitals, overseeing Imaging, Laboratory, Respiratory Therapy, Sleep Lab, and Cardiac Rehab. In 2023, Keith and his wife, Tammy, moved to Maine to continue his career at Franklin Memorial Hospital. He enjoys hunting, fishing, and riding country roads and trails.

Mattie Jernigan ‘19
Supervising Teacher
Educare of Central Maine

Mattie (Lajoie) Jernigan ‘19 received her Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Special Education from the University of Maine at Farmington with dual certifications in Early Childhood Education and Early Childhood Special Education. Upon graduation in 2019, Jernigan became a Lead Teacher at Educare of Central Maine in Waterville and is now a Supervising Teacher. She also serves as a mentor teacher for pre-service teachers for a variety of college and university programs.

Jason Judd ‘05
Executive Director
Educate Maine

Jason Judd led Educate Maine, a nonprofit focused on helping students and educators thrive in our schools through building strong partnerships with the business community. An experienced executive director with a demonstrated history of working in K-12 schools, nonprofits, and community organizations, he is skilled in change management, strategic planning, project management, workforce development, and tech policy. Judd comes from a strong business development background with a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) focused on organizational leadership from Northeastern University. He joined Educate Maine in 2016 as the Project Login Program Director and took on a variety of roles until he was named Executive Director in 2019. Judd worked as a teacher, college and career counselor, director of studies, and academic dean at Maine Central Institute (MCI) prior to joining Educate Maine. He has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maine at Farmington in Secondary Education – English, a Master’s degree from the University of Southern Maine in Educational Leadership, and a doctorate in Organizational Leadership Studies from Northeastern University. Judd is the past Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Maine School of Science and Mathematics. He currently serves as a board member for the Maine 4-H Foundation, the Maine Space Grant Consortium, and the advisory board of Live and Work in Maine.

Jonathan Moody ‘98
Superintendent Schools
RSU / MSAD 54 in Somerset County

Jonathan Moody, Maine’s 2024 State Superintendent of the Year, is the Superintendent of the Schools for RSU / MSAD 54 in Somerset County. This large rural district includes five elementary schools, the Skowhegan Area Middle School, the Skowhegan Area High School, the Somerset Career and Technical Center, and the Marti Stevens Learning Center. Jon and his wife Shelly (Maine’s 2011 Teacher of the Year, and Elementary Principal in RSU18) are proud alumni of UMF (’98), where they both were scholar-athletes. Jonathan was a 2016 inductee into the UMF Athletics Hall of Fame. Jon and Shelly are active advocates for a strong educational system for students (K-12) and pre-service teachers (post-secondary) statewide. Together they have three children.

Theresa Overall, Ph.D.
Retired Faculty
University of Maine at Farmington

Dr. Overall came to University of Maine at Farmington in January 2007 as a visiting professor and was fortunate enough to be able to stay. Prior to earning degrees in the field of educational technology, she was teaching with computers in her mathematics classroom at The Lamplighter School in Dallas, Texas, the first elementary school in the world to have a computer in every classroom. She also served as technology coordinator, helping other teachers successfully utilize technology in their classroom. Overall has designed workshops and customized courses in technology integration and math education for schools in Maine and across the country. In the Secondary/Middle Education program, she taught the 200-level technology integration and classroom management courses and co-designed the 300-level mathematics methods course. She is also a part of UMF’s Master’s program in Educational Leadership and was co-principal investigator on a grant from the National Science Foundation for accessible makerspaces for rural students with and without disabilities.

Greg Patterson
Store Manager
Walmart #1866 Farmington

Originally from Rogers, Arkansas, Greg Patterson attended the University of Central Arkansas where he received his Bachelor of Science Degree. He has worked for the Walmart Corporation for 33 years and helped open the first Walmart Supercenter in New England. Patterson currently serves as the Store Manager at Walmart in Farmington. He lives in Wilton with his family and is an active bass fisherman and former basketball player. He is married with four children, one of whom is a student at the University of Maine at Farmington.

Monique Poulin
Assistant Superintendent
RSU 9

Monique Poulin has been working in education since her graduation from Boston College in 1989 with a B.A. in Economics. She began her career as a French teacher, earned her M.Ed. in Educational Leadership from the University of Southern Maine in 2000, and moved to Franklin County where she has made RSU #9 her professional home for more than 20 years. Monique has served as an assistant principal, principal, and interim superintendent and transitioned to the position of Assistant Superintendent of Instruction, Curriculum, and Grants in July 2023. She has partnered with UMF in various professional capacities as a Graduate Council and the Educational Advisory Committee member and as an instructor with the Graduate and Continuing Education Programs.

Shawn Roderick ‘06
Legislative Aide
Maine Senate Republicans Office

Shawn Roderick currently works as a Legislative Aide in the Maine State Senate Republican Office, assisting senators from different parts of the state with constituent services work, policy research and stakeholder outreach. Overall, he has 15 years of experience at the Maine State House in various roles. He was elected Assistant Clerk of the House in 2010 by the Maine House of Representatives and Assistant Secretary of the Senate in 2014 by the Maine State Senate. Roderick has also served on the RSU 38 School Board since 2014 and was recently appointed to the Readfield Connectivity Authority. Shawn earned a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Maine at Farmington in 2006. He is a proud graduate of UMF, proud to be a first-generation college graduate, and is a proud alumnus of the Jobs for Maine Graduates program for which he now volunteers. He resides in Readfield, Maine with his wife Emily, a 2008 graduate of UMF, and their children Annalise and Austin.

John Slack
Ermeritis Scientist
U.S. Geological Survey

John Slack is a retired research geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey (Reston, VA). He grew up in Gorham and with his wife has a summer camp in Rangeley. They moved to Farmington in 2015. Slack holds a Ph.D. in Economic Geology from Stanford University (1976) and is an adjunct professor at Memorial University of Newfoundland; he also serves on the editorial board of the journal Economic Geology and is a book editor for the Society of Geology Applied to Mineral Deposits. His geological studies, spanning morre than 40 years, are on metallic mineral deposits in the U.S. and dozens of foreign countries; most of his research has been in Maine, Vermont, Alaska, Canada and Norway. His recent studies have focused on critical minerals, needed for a low-carbon future, principally in Maine.

Timothy Thompson
President / CEO
Franklin Savings Bank

Tim Thompson joined Franklin Savings Bank in 2000, and has been responsible for finance, operations and technology as well as other administrative duties. He was promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in 2015. Thompson has been a partner in running the bank for many years. With his strong knowledge of operations and his continuous quest to change and evolve to meet customer needs, he has maintained Franklin Savings Bank’s continued success under his leadership. Thompson grew up in Kingfield, Maine and is a Mt. Abram High School graduate. He earned a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Maine and a Master of Business Administration from Thomas College. He is also a graduate of the National School of Banking.

Cathryn Wimett
Gold LEAF Institute
University of Maine at Farmington

Cathy Wimett retired from the University of Maine at Farmington in 2016 after 46 years of teaching. She began her career as a fourth grade teacher in the Boston Public Schools. These years were followed by positions as a middle school teacher of students with special needs, as an educational diagnostician with hospitalized adolescents, and with 27 years of college teaching. Wimett capped her career with 19 years as a faculty member in the Division of Early Childhood and Elementary Education at the University of Maine at Farmington. She earned a B.A. from Emmanuel College in Boston; an M.Ed. from Lesley College (now Lesley University) in Cambridge, MA; and a Ph.D. in Reading and Language from National-Louis University in Evanston, IL. She volunteered for many years with two major organizations: a community mental health agency in Massachusetts and the Holocaust and Human Rights Center in Maine.

Contact Info:

Office of the President
Brian Ellis
Administrative Support Supervisor
University of Maine at Farmington
Merrill Hall
224 Main Street
Farmington, Maine USA 04938
tel  207-778-7256
fax  207-778-8189
TYY (via Maine Relay Service) dial 711
brian.ellis1@maine.edu