MeHAF Board of Trustees
MeHAF’s statewide Board of Trustees oversees the work of the foundation and its members serve as responsible stewards for the foundation’s resources. The Board brings a wealth of expertise and experiences from leaders who represent the diversity of Maine.
Beth Bordowitz, JD
Beth Bordowitz is the Executive Director of the Maine Retirement Savings Board. She has previously served as the Vice President, Legal and Administration for the Forman S. Acton Educational Foundation from its inception in 2014 through 2018. She is a certified mediator on the Maine Courts family matters roster. Beth served as a Community Development Volunteer in North Macedonia from 2018 to 2020. Beth served as the CEO of the Finance Authority of Maine (FAME) from 2007 to 2014 after serving as General Counsel to FAME. While at FAME, Beth was instrumental in the development and implementation of numerous programs, including the State of Maine’s venture capital fund and the state’s College Savings Program, the NextGen College Investing Plan. Beth has served and held leadership roles on numerous nonprofit and governmental boards of directors including the Portland Public Library, 2009 - 2018, Alfond Scholarship Foundation, Maine Development Foundation, Portland Zoning Board of Appeals, Family Crisis Shelter, Board of Directors. A New Jersey native, Beth earned a bachelor's degree from Rutgers College, a Master's Degree in Public Policy from the Eagleton Institute of Politics of Rutgers University and a Juris Doctor from Rutgers School of Law-Camden.
Barbara Crider, JD
Barbara Crider, JD: Barbara Crider is the Executive Director of York County Community Action/Nasson Health Care, an organization providing health and human services across predominantly rural York County, Maine. YCCAC/Nasson is one of only a handful of organizations across the country that is both a designated Community Action Agency and a HRSA funded Federally Qualified Health Center. As such, Barbara leads a team of health and human services professionals in providing high quality, inter-disciplinary care, paying particular attention to the access barriers and the resulting health disparities that many rural dwellers experience. Barbara and her team understand that poor health and poverty are inextricably linked, and can only be effectively addressed by a delivery system that integrates the provision health care with social supports. Barbara has lived in Maine since 1981, when she moved from her home state of Minnesota, seeking a more temperate climate. She is an earnest, if only marginally successful gardener, and enjoys living in rural Acton, Maine.
Christy Dagget, MPP
Christy Daggett, MPP, is Aroostook Mental Health Center’s Chief Financial and Administrative Officer. As the Chief Financial and Administrative Officer, she is responsible for providing leadership for the financial and administrative systems of the organization. Prior to joining AMHC, she has worked in public service in Maine for close to a decade, holding program-oriented and leadership roles at MCD Public Health, the Maine Center for Economic Policy, and the Aroostook County Action Program. She has served as Board President of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Maine Affiliate, President of the Aroostook Training and Education Coalition (ATEC), and Board Member of the Maine Children's Alliance. Christy is Chair of the Presque Isle Downtown Revitalization Committee, and was confirmed by the Legislature to serve on the Office of Affordable Health Care Advisory Board. A native of Presque Isle, Christy earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Maine and her master's in Public Policy and Management from the Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service at the University of Southern Maine. She has testified as an expert on rural public policy issues before the Maine Legislature, and her pieces have been published in many statewide and national forums, including health policy research on Medicaid expansion, health care price transparency, cancer screening access for rural Mainers, and the correlation between school-based health clinics and better graduation and attendance outcomes for K-12 students.
Tracey Hair
Tracey Hair is the Executive Director of H.O.M.E. Inc. where she has worked for the last 19 years. H.O.M.E. Inc. provides services to low-income and homeless families in Hancock County. H.O.M.E. Inc. services include 4 shelters for the homeless, 18 transitional housing beds, a food pantry and soup kitchen, thrift store, affordable day care, an adult learning center, wood bank, organic gardens, a craft coop for the sale of items such as, weaving, stained glass, and pottery, plus programs to support a major house construction and repair effort that has built 53 homes for low-income families. Tracey has volunteered in partnership with H.O.M.E. Inc. at a homeless charity located in Harlem, NY, where she and her partner worked doing street outreach, handing out sandwiches and distributing organic produce to low-income families. In addition to street outreach, Tracey taught basic computer skills to undocumented and low-income families in the Bronx and has spent time advocating for Immigration Rights for LGBT+ couples. Tracey serves on the Statewide Homeless Council and is also a member of Emmaus International, a global movement addressing poverty and homelessness. Tracey holds a lifelong passion for helping underserved populations. She and her partner Julia live in Bucksport where they enjoy gardening and tending to life in their little cottage.
Dennis King, FACHE
Dennis P. King, of Freeport, Maine, is the recently retired Chief Executive Officer of Maine Behavioral Healthcare, the nonprofit integrated mental healthcare delivery system of MaineHealth, covering Southern, Central and Western Maine. From 1999 to February 2015, he served as the founding Chief Executive Officer of Spring Harbor Hospital in Westbrook, Maine. Mr. King brings to his current role more than 35 years of experience in the field of healthcare, including more than 30 years in senior administrative positions in Maine hospitals. He was previously the founding Chief Executive Officer of The Acadia Hospital, the only free-standing private psychiatric hospital in northern Maine. Mr. King is the past President of the National Association of Psychiatric Healthcare Systems (NAPHS); past Chair of the Maine Hospital Association and past Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Maine Community College System. Mr. King was also the Charter President of Casco Bay Sunrise Rotary Club. Dennis earned a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Maine and is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Michael Lambke, MD
Mike Lambke is a practicing family medicine physician offering family centered, community based medical care in Skowhegan since 1998. He is recognized as a medical staff leader, one time medical director and a current board member at Redington-Fairview General Hospital. Aiming to improve the health of the population of Somerset County and central Maine, he has collaborated with local organizations, Skowhegan Farmers Market, Skowhegan Maine Street, Somerset Public health, and Maine Grain Alliance on topics of childhood obesity, worksite wellness, community and family development. Work with these organizations and Connecticut-based Wholesome Wave yielded substantive additions to the federal Farm bill improving access to healthy local produce for SNAP recipients in urban and rural areas. To improve access to high-quality healthcare and medical education, he is actively engaged with the Tufts University School of Medicine-Maine Medical Center longitudinal integrated curriculum since 2010. This novel educational process focuses students on individuals and families as they engage with healthcare in rural areas improving the longevity of practicing physicians and the humanity of physicians in training. While always appreciative of learning, he has grown increasingly grateful for a humanities education at Loyola University Chicago and clinical medical education at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. Residency at Maine-Dartmouth Family Medicine Residency, subsequent professional practice and the stories of our community members now weaves a complex tapestry of life from this formative fabric of ideas. In 2008, he was recognized as the Maine family physician of the year by the Maine Academy of family physicians and has received several teaching awards from Tufts medical students.
Kevin Lewis
Kevin Lewis is the President & CEO of Community Health Options, a non-profit health insurer with qualified health plans on and off the Health Insurance Marketplace for both individual and group markets throughout Maine. Health Options partners with consumers, businesses and providers for Triple Aim achievement. Prior to co-founding Health Options, Kevin was the CEO of the Maine Primary Care Association (MPCA). Currently, Kevin serves on several boards including HealthInfoNet, Health Plan Alliance, the Maine Association of Health Plans, the Maine Guaranteed Access to Reinsurance Association, and Coastal Enterprises, Inc. Kevin earned his Bachelor's from Dartmouth College (1991), a Master's in Public Policy from the University of Michigan (1995), and is an alum of Leadership Maine (2002), the Health Leadership Development program (2008) and the UCLA Johnson & Johnson Health Care Executives Program (2009). Kevin lives in central Maine with his wife and daughters and many four-legged rescues.
Edward Miller, MS
Ed Miller retired in 2015 as the Senior Vice President for Public Policy for the American Lung Association of the Northeast where he was responsible for providing leadership to the public policy initiatives of the organization in the seven state region covering New England and New York. He had served in this capacity since July 2007. From 1986 until 2007, he served as the CEO of the American Lung Association of Maine. During that time the organization’s assets grew from less than half a million to over two million dollars. The Maine chapter was recognized as a leader in both mission focused work (e.g., the first and only state to receive straight A’s on the annual American Lung Association nationwide Tobacco Control Report Card) and in fundraising where its 35 year old Trek Across Maine remains the most successful American Lung Association fundraiser in the nation raising nearly $2 million dollars a year. Ed is the Board treasurer and is a past president of the Maine Public Health Association. He was a founding member and chair of the Maine Coalition on Smoking OR Health. He has served on numerous boards, advisory councils and commissions during his career. Prior to joining the American Lung Association Ed served as the first Director of the Division of Health Promotion and Education in the Bureau of Health (now the ME CDC) from 1973 until 1986. When not working, he enjoys kayaking, snowboarding, cycling, guitar, beachcombing and reading. He lives in Hallowell and Ocean Park.
Grace Odimayo, DMD
Dr. Grace Odimayo, DMD, is a general dentist providing preventive, restorative, and cosmetic dental procedures in Farmingdale. She received her dental training at Tufts School of Dental Medicine, graduating in 2003. Dr. Odimayo came to the United States in 2002 from Nigeria where she had training, and practiced dentistry in Nigeria and in Great Britain prior to coming to the US. As a general dentist, she sees firsthand the importance of preventive and restorative services for children, young adults, and older adults relative to their general health and nutrition, as well as their ability to work, attend school, and maintain full and healthy lives. Her approach to practice is to listen to patients and understand the context of their lives as a way to inform the care she provides. In her practice she sees pre-school children with MaineCare coverage, and provides pro-bono services for the Head Start program. She will bring her perspective as a dental professional and the perspectives and experiences of her patients to MeHAF’s Board.
Susan Roche, Esq.
Sue Roche is the Executive Director of the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project (ILAP) and been at ILAP since she joined as the organization’s first staff attorney in 2000. Located in Portland, ILAP is Maine’s only statewide immigration legal aid organization. ILAP helps Maine’s immigrants keep their families together, gain protection from persecution and domestic violence, attain residency and work authorization, and become proud U.S. citizens. ILAP builds stable families and improved opportunities, allowing Maine’s immigrants to contribute to their communities for generations to come. Sue has specialized in family based immigration, remedies for noncitizen domestic violence and crime victims, and removal defense. She has been an invited presenter at regional and national conferences of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Sue received a B.S. in Business Administration and International Affairs from the University of New Hampshire, and she received her J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law. She is admitted to the Maine Bar.
Anita Ruff
Since 2016, Anita has been the Executive Director of the Oasis Free Clinics, a free primary care medical and dental clinic for uninsured adults with low incomes in Midcoast Maine. Prior to joining Oasis, Anita was the Community Education Program Director at MaineHealth, overseeing health education and health literacy initiatives. Anita also served as the Deputy Director for the Center for Psychiatric Research at Maine Medical Center, overseeing the community outreach and administration for a national research study on the early intervention of psychotic illnesses in adolescents and young adults. Anita came to Maine as a Public Health Advisor for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, working on programs to reduce the impact of cancer. She is a member of Leadership Maine’s Allagash Class and the Hanley Center’s Health Leadership Development Program. Anita has a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Tennessee and is a Master Certified Health Education Specialist.
Clarissa Sabattis, RN
Clarissa Sabattis is the current Chief of the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, and Native of Houlton, Maine. She is a Registered Nurse and prior to her current post, spent most of the past seven years working as part of a team to establish a Public Health Infrastructure for the Wabanaki Tribes in Maine. Clarissa is passionate about the health and well being of her people, and her focus is to improve conditions that impact their overall health status.
Abdulkerim Said, BASc, MHRTC/A,CHW
Abdulkerim Said was born and grew up in Ethiopia. Atlanta, Georgia was his first destination, after living there for four years, he relocated to Maine and studied at the University of Augusta. Abdulkerim speaks more than three languages. He is the father of two boys and two girls. He is actively involved in the Lewiston/Auburn area. He is the Founder and Executive Director of New Mainers Public Health Initiative a nonprofit, community-based organization which focuses on education, advocacy, and empowerment regarding health food choice for refugees and the immigrant community. Abdulkerim participates as a local stakeholder at Community Health Workers to increase awareness in the New American community. Abdulkerim studied and earned his bachelor’s degree of Applied Sciences from the University of Maine at Augusta. He is an active member and the co-founder of a collaboration of community-based organizations lead by immigrants focused on health and advocacy. Abdulkerim is very engaged in advancing health disparities and health equity in the state of Maine through education, advocacy, and empowering the immigrants and refugee’s community based in Lewiston. He is a former member of MeHAF’s Community Advisory Committee. Abdulkerim is extremely passionate about improving the disparities of healthcare and fighting to reduce the barriers between the providers and the community. He is an active member of the Maine Statewide for Public Health Council Community Adviser Group and a board member for one of the big CAP agencies in Maine. Abdulkerim lives in Auburn, Maine with his four children and wife.
Toho Soma, MPH
Toho Soma is a Senior Research Associate for the Center for Excellence in Public Health at the University of New England, where he evaluates a range of public health projects. Prior to this he was the Public Health Director for the City of Portland. In addition to being on the Board, Toho also sits on the Board of Directors of the Daniel Hanley Center for Health Leadership. Toho holds an MPH in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from the University of California at Berkeley, and an MS in Health Informatics from UNE. He and his husband Jason live in Portland.
Ian Yaffe
Ian Yaffe is the Director for the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (Maine CDC) Office of Population Health Equity (OPHE), a newly established office devoted to identifying and addressing health disparities throughout Maine. Ian is on leave through 2021 from his position as Executive Director of Mano en Mano where he joined the staff in 2010 after working in several seasonal jobs in Massachusetts and Colorado. He graduated from Bowdoin College in 2009 with a degree in Latin American Studies and Education and spent a semester at the Universidad de La Habana in 2008. Outside of Mano en Mano, Ian is a Chief Boatswain’s Mate in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve and serves on the Boards of Directors of CEI and the Maine Philanthropy Center.