Our Team
The New England Environmental Finance Center sits within the Catherine Cutler Institute at the Muskie School of Public Service, the research arm of the University of Southern Maine. Our staff is based in Portland, Maine and serve the New England region.
Staff
Martha Sheils, Director
Martha leads the NEEFC team and the programmatic expansion of the EFC’s services. She has over 25 years of experience in community capacity building to move environmental projects forward to the funding, financing, and implementation phase | martha.sheils@maine.edu
Key Competencies: Adaptive program management, advancing projects to implementation, education, community engagement and outreach, amplifying lessons learned and outcomes, transferring successful models to other states, funding and financing, and promoting inclusivity of all communities in need of climate resilience funding and financing.
Chloe Shields, Deputy Director
Chloe supports the strategic direction of the NEEFC and leads programs related to climate resilience and water infrastructure. She works with communities across New England to identify environmental priorities and advance projects to the funding and implementation stage. This includes working with small coastal towns to secure funding for projects that build resilience to climate change, advancing green stormwater infrastructure in urban centers, and helping water utilities navigate financing options for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure improvements. Chloe has worked at the intersection of environment, climate, and public health research and program implementation for over 10 years and holds a Master’s in Urban & Environmental Planning from the University of Washington | chloe.f.shields@maine.edu
Key Competencies: Climate vulnerability and risk assessment, climate action planning, water infrastructure finance, program management and evaluation, community engagement, strategic planning, facilitation.
Jack D. Kartez, PhD, Senior Advisor & Emeritus Director
Dr. Kartez is an environmental planner, mediator, and consensus-building specialist supporting municipal, non-profit, state, and multi-state clients across New England. He co-founded the NEEFC in 2001 and currently serves as a senior advisor, delivering services on cost-effective stormwater management, climate adaptation and resilience planning, local infrastructure finance, and risk communication. He also co-founded the Texas A&M University Hazard Center and has long worked on natural and environmental hazards research and training | jackk@maine.edu
Key Competencies: Community engagement and outreach, effective training methods, culturally sensitive consensus building processes, fiscal analysis, emergency management, knowledge transfer.
Luke Truman, Senior Program Manager
Luke provides technical assistance to the craft beverage sector with a focus on environmentally responsible operations. He has over 10 years of brewery experience realizing years of double digit growth, major and minor expansions, equipment upgrades, and process improvements. Luke has worked in every facet of the brewing process from farming to manufacturing to distributing to serving, most recently in Facilities Management | luke.truman@maine.edu
Key Competencies: Strategic problem solving, recognizing opportunities for operational improvement, community engagement, industry awareness, project planning and execution.
Laura Collins, Program Manager, Water & Climate
Laura manages the New England Water Infrastructure Network (NEWIN) and provides direct technical, financial, and project management support for the region’s municipalities, utilities, and tribes. She has a background in water resource management, with expertise in community-driven program management, strategic planning, and impact evaluation | laura.collins@maine.edu
Key Competencies: Project management, natural infrastructure planning, community engagement, relationship development, impact evaluation & reporting, communications.
Leah Soloway, Policy Analyst II, SNEP Network
Leah supports the programmatic direction and administration of the Southeast New England Program (SNEP) Network, including planning, tracking, and reporting deliverables and managing communications, outreach, website, and promotional materials. She has a background in environmental science and business administration and expertise engaging communities on sustainability initiatives | leah.soloway@maine.edu
Key Competencies: Community engagement, program reporting and administration, communications and outreach, website management.
Helen Klenert, Policy Analyst I
Helen contributes to several NEEFC program areas and provides administrative support to the team. In addition to a history of environmental activism, Helen has a professional history within municipal government and the non-profit sector. She particularly enjoys community outreach, networking, and policy-based work. As a 2023 graduate of the University of Maine in Orono, Helen is excited to dedicate the beginning of her full-time professional career to environmentalism. She hopes to apply her passion and skill set to helping communities across New England achieve their environmental goals | helen.klenert@maine.edu
Key Competencies: Community outreach, administrative support, policy analysis, communications, and equitable and inclusive engagement.
Affiliates
Curtis Bohlen, PhD
Director, Casco Bay Estuary Partnership
Dr. Bohlen is an aquatic and wetland ecologist and conservation leader with an interdisciplinary background in ecology, economics, and public policy. He leads the work of CBEP and works with partners both inside and outside of the University to seek creative solutions to environmental challenges, support local communities, and improve the management of Casco Bay.
Rachel Bouvier, PhD
Associate Professor & Chair of Economics, University of Southern Maine
Dr. Bouvier is founder and principal consultant at rbouvier consulting, an economic and sustainability consulting firm, and is on the Board of Directors at GrowSmart Maine. Her research interests include economic resilience, sustainability, and community economic development. Dr. Bouvier was Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Southern Maine from 2005-2014 and has returned after a brief hiatus.
Charles Colgan, PhD
Research Director, Center for the Blue Economy, Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey
Dr. Colgan is a former NEEFC Director and Professor Emeritus at the University of Southern Maine. Dr. Colgan has more than 40 years of experience in economic and environmental policy in Maine and New England covering land, air, and water issues. He is a former Director of the Maine Coastal Program and currently focuses on climate change-related issues on coasts and oceans in the U.S. and globally.
Peter Cooke
Topic Expert & Lecturer, Sustainable Operating Practices, University of Southern Maine
Peter Cooke has over twenty years of experience in developing sustainability tools and programs for businesses, government, academia, and non-profits. He co-founded Ratio Institute to develop tools and resources for food retailers. He has performed sustainability audits at over 600 grocery stores. Peter is ISO 14001 Lead Auditor certified, Commercial Energy Auditor trained, Building Operator Certified, and Hazardous Waste Operations certified.
Vanessa Levesque, PhD
Assistant Professor of Environmental Science & Policy, University of Southern Maine
Dr. Levesque is an interdisciplinary social scientist; she combines research experiences in ecology, planning and policy analysis within a sustainability science framework to better understand how communities make decisions to improve the environmental and social worlds in which they live. Further, Dr. Levesque has over 10 years of environmental planning work experience in municipal and state governments in Maine, and currently partners with nonacademic collaborators to develop applied research projects to address pressing issues that advance rural community resilience.
vanessa.r.levesque@maine.edu | usm.maine.edu/environmental-science