A Radio Maine topic
These conversations are with the people building Maine: founders of restaurants and breweries and malthouses, executives who reinvented their careers here, civic leaders shaping conservation and cultural institutions, and nonprofit directors whose work serves Maine's tribal communities, people with disabilities, and people in recovery. What recurs across the conversations is not the question of what someone is building. It is the question of why they are building it here.
17 episodes · 38 resources referenced
Featured in this topic
If you only have time for one or two from this topic, start here.
Featured · Episode 207
Giovanna Gray Lockhart, executive director of the Frances Perkins Center, traces Perkins's line from Newcastle to Social Security, and places her alongside Margaret Chase Smith and Olympia Snowe in a lineage of Maine women in public life.
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Featured · Episode 208
Lisa Sockabasin on Wabanaki Public Health and Wellness, and on the specific work of building a health organization that serves Maine's tribal communities with cultural fluency at its center.
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Featured · Episode 210
Jim Brady, Olympic medalist turned Portland developer, on the biotech campus diversifying the city's economy beyond tourism, and on what he learned from elite athletics about long-horizon civic building.
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February 8, 2026
co-founder of the Sloomoo Institute and Bowdoin College alumna, joins Dr. Lisa Belisle on Radio Maine to share how curiosity, resilience, and joy shaped her unlikely path from r...
February 23, 2026
is the executive director of the Maine Irish Heritage Center and a scholar whose background spans Renaissance drama, poetry, and even insect studies. In this episode of Radio Ma...
February 15, 2026
is a longtime community leader and former sports and entertainment executive whose career spans elite athletics, business leadership, and civic engagement. In this episode of Ra...
January 25, 2026
founder of Knead and Nosh, educator, author, and former statewide leader in educational technology, joins Dr. Lisa Belisle on Radio Maine to reflect on a career shaped by curios...
January 18, 2026
Fair Manager, Exhibitor Relations; for Affordable Art Fair NYC & Boston, joins Dr. Lisa Belisle on Radio Maine to talk about making art more accessible without sacrificing depth...
November 23, 2025
a dedicated Special Olympics Maine athlete and health messenger, brings remarkable heart, resilience, and advocacy to her work both on and off the field. From early beginnings i...
September 28, 2025
In this episode of Radio Maine, Dr. Lisa Belisle sits down with Billy Jack Goodwin, program leader at Port Resources’ Achieving Independence in Maine (AIM). Billy Jack shares his...
August 24, 2025
is a conservation leader whose lifelong connection to Maine’s landscapes has shaped both her personal journey and professional career. Raised in Hallowell, she spent summers wit...
July 26, 2025
General Manager of Canopy Portland Waterfront, brings a deep passion for hospitality and an abiding love for Maine to her leadership role in one of Portland’s most dynamic hotel...
June 15, 2025
owner and Director of Operations for Sur Lie in Portland and Gather in Yarmouth, brings Northern Maine grit and hospitality to the heart of the restaurant world. A two-time Jame...
May 31, 2025
founder of Growth Story LLC and a Bowdoin College alum, joins Dr. Lisa Belisle on Radio Maine for a dynamic conversation about storytelling, community, and the power of collabor...
May 17, 2025
principal at Brannen CPA Services, shows that accounting is as much about insight and problem-solving as it is about numbers. A native of Maine's Aroostook County and graduate o...
March 29, 2025
has spent a lifetime advocating for the environment: from shaping policy in Maine’s State House, to inspiring future change-makers. With a background in corporate marketing and ...
February 22, 2025
is the founder of Blue Ox Malthouse, a business dedicated to connecting Maine-grown grains with the craft beer industry in his home state. Joel’s family has deep roots in Maine:...
February 8, 2025
is the president and founder of Fathom Companies, a real estate development and hotel management firm based in Portland, Maine. A former professional sailor, Jim was a silver me...
January 25, 2025
is the co-CEO of Wabanaki Public Health and Wellness (WPHW), an organization addressing health and cultural restoration for indigenous communities in Maine. A member of the Pass...
January 18, 2025
is the Executive Director of the Frances Perkins Center in Newcastle, Maine. Passionate about gender equity and the intersection of policy, politics, and media, much of Giovann...
Books, organizations, teachers, and projects mentioned across these conversations. A starting point for following a thread further.
Blue Ox Malthouse · Bowdoin College · Courtauld Institute of Art · Mellon Foundation · CISV · Toledo Museum of Art · Canopy Portland · Fathom Company · Frances Perkins Center · Gather · Knead and Nosh · Maine Grain Alliance · Portland Museum of Art · Sloomoo Institute · Sur Lie · Wabanaki Public Health and Wellness Center · Affordable Art Fair · Law Enforcement Torch Run · Maine Audubon Society · Maine Irish Heritage Center · Ruby Institute · Special Olympics Maine · Thomas College · Maine Technology Institute
Olympia Snowe · Margaret Chase Smith · Kirsten Gillibrand · Shelly Pingree · Ann Trainor Domingue · Emma Wilson · Frances Perkins · Loretta Claiborne
Aunties on Air Podcast
Newcastle, Maine · Littlejohn Island · Cancer Alley · Press Hotel · Aroostook County
Giovanna Gray Lockhart leads the Frances Perkins Center on the Newcastle homestead. Lisa Sockabasin directs Wabanaki Public Health and Wellness, serving Maine's tribal communities. Megan Rosenberg works with Special Olympics Maine. Billy Jack Goodwin leads the Achieving Independence in Maine program at Port Resources. Dr. Eric Brown directs the Maine Irish Heritage Center in Portland. Sue Inches shaped environmental advocacy at the Natural Resources Council of Maine over three decades.
Joel Alex founded Blue Ox Malthouse in Lisbon, producing malt for Maine's craft brewers. Jeff Mao founded Knead and Nosh bagels after a career in education. Krista Cole built Sur Lie and Gather in Portland's Old Port. Sarah Giffen Carr discussed the Maine Grain Alliance and the link between conservation and food systems.
Episode 210 with Jim Brady covers the biotech campus in Portland driving economic diversification beyond tourism. Episode 284 with Brian Petrovek traces the reinvention of a sports-and-entertainment career in Maine. Episode 217 with Sue Inches traces environmental advocacy and its relationship to the state's economic policy.
Chip Brewer, on storytelling and teamwork. Karla Brannen, who pairs an accounting practice with creative entrepreneurship. Ginny Hussey, who operates Canopy Portland, a hospitality venture. Sara Schiller, who co-founded the Sloomoo Institute. Rich Horn, filmmaker behind Final First Edition in Biddeford.