Abbe Museum Welcomes New Trustees

The Abbe Museum has added two new members to its Board of Trustees, bringing the total number of Trustees to 20. The new appointees, Mary Herman and Roger Milliken, assumed their new roles on October 21, 2016. Abbe Trustee William Haviland was elected to a third term earlier this year.

“Both Roger and Mary offer a state-wide perspective that we are always looking to add to boardroom conversations,” said Abbe President/CEO Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko. “We really see ourselves as a state-wide educational resource and their experiences and connections will certainly help us deepen our purpose. And, for the past few years, we’ve made great strides in our efforts, adding board members from the tribal communities and from across New England.” 

Mary J. Herman serves on the University of New England Board and is a former member of the Maine Women’s Lobby and Safe Passage boards. After graduating college in the Midwest, she moved east, first to teach in Washington, DC, then to attend graduate school in Boston. In 1973, Herman moved to Calais (and then Perry) Maine where she worked in the Passamaquoddy basket store and was a teacher aide on Peter Dana Point. During this time she taught prenatal classes and eventually directed the family planning program for Downeast Health Services.

In 1981, Herman began work for The Maine Women’s Lobby. Following two years at the Lobby, she joined what was to become Cohen-Herman Associates and eventually Mary J Herman Associates, a public policy consulting lobbying and association management firm. She is married to Angus King and lives in Brunswick, Maine.

Roger Milliken is President and CEO of the Baskahegan Company, which owns and manages 120,000 acres of family forestland in eastern Maine. Baskahegan is a recognized leader in Maine’s forest products industry, known for its commitment to managing for timber while respecting the dynamics of natural systems. Baskahegan’s forest has been green-certified by the Forest Stewardship Council since 2004.

Milliken is a Director of Milliken & Co, and a Trustee of the Northern Forest Center. He and his wife Margot serve on the Advisory Board of the American Indian Institute. Roger served on the (global) Board of Directors of the Nature Conservancy from 2000-2011, chairing the board for the last three years of his term. He previously chaired the Maine Chapter of the Conservancy and the Advisory Board of the Manomet Forest Conservation Program.

The Abbe Museum Trustees also include: Ann Cox Halkett (Chair), Richard Cleary (Vice Chair), Curtis Simard (Secretary) Jeff Dalrymple (Treasurer), David Moses Bridges (Passamaquoddy), Joseph F. Cistone, Linda K. Dunn, William Haviland, Abbe Levin, Jamie Bissonette Lewey (Abenaki), Margo Lukens, Jennifer Neptune (Penobscot), Patricia DiIanni Selig, Douglas Sharpe, Chris Sockalexis (Penobscot), Sandra K. Wilcox, and Honorary Trustees Alice Wellman and Darren J. Ranco (Penobscot).