People & Business: Sept. 13

Governor announces two local residents hired

Gov. Paul R. LePage announced Sept. 5 that he has hired Julie Dumont Rabinowitz as his press secretary and Steven McGrath to serve as the director of the Governor’s Energy Office and

Rabinowitz, of Falmouth, served as the director of Policy, Operations and Communication for the Maine Department of Labor.

“Julie has worked closely with our communications team and our policy advisers in her role at the labor department, and I am looking forward to her continued service as my press secretary,” said LePage.

Prior to joining the LePage administration, Rabinowitz taught at the University of Southern Maine and Bates and Colby colleges. She has also held management and executive positions in government and nonprofit organizations in New York, North Carolina and Maine.

McGrath, of Cape Elizabeth, brings experience in the energy industry to his new role. He is the past chief financial officer of Downeast Energy Corp, and, for the past four years, he served the CEO of Greystone Advisors, a financial and management advisory company. McGrath started his corporate career in New York City, where he worked for Bristol-Myers Company, now Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Giving Back

Portland Downtown announced that its summer time Shop for Cause Day raised $4,500 for the Locker Project, a nonprofit organization that helps ensure food security for Maine children through local schools. Now held twice a year (during Portland Downtown’s Summer Kickoff Weekend in June and Light Up Your Holidays in November), Shop for a Cause Day combines local shopping with charitable giving. Thirty downtown merchants participated in the event this summer – each donating a portion of their sales on June 10 to the Locker Project.

Milestones

The Compassus hospice program is celebrating 10 years of compassionate care to patients and families in Cumberland and York counties. Compassus has served more than 2,000 patients, provided grief support to 3,000 family members and hosted 500 “Inspiring Life” celebrations. To commemorate the anniversary, colleagues gathered at a retreat where they heard from special guest speaker Kandyce Powell, executive director of the Maine Hospice Council.

New Ventures

New England Cancer Specialists has announced plans to relocate its Mid-coast office in Brunswick to a new, state-of-the art facility in Topsham next spring. The new location will allow room for growth to meet the increasing demand for the practice’s core medical services while providing space for comprehensive services to support cancer patients. The Brunswick office will continue to offer a full range of consultation, treatment and support services until the new facility is available, which is tentatively planned for April 2018.

Bruno’s Restaurant & Tavern, a Portland casual, homestyle Italian-American restaurant founded 1981 and located on India Street, announced it has launched a product line of ravioli, sauces and dressings. Bruno’s Pasta Company will use authentic, imported Italian equipment to make a unique, Maine-made product that will be offered initially by local grocers.

Granted

Dr. Anand Rughani, a neurosurgeon with Maine Medical Partners, was awarded a $5,000 Maine KAT-Walk & Karo-5K Research Grant for 2017 at the Brain Aneurysm Awareness event Sept. 9 in Portland. Rughani and his team have developed an artificial neural network that has demonstrated an accurate prediction of symptomatic cerebral vasospasm following a ruptured aneurysm. Rughani’s innovation could be developed into tools that help doctors to more accurately predict those at risk. Maine Brain Aneurysm Awareness has awarded more than $80,000 in grants since it was founded in 2009.

Hires, promotions, appointments

Staff additions at Benchmark Residential & Investment Real Estate in Portland include Rob Dee, of Scarborough, a native of South Portland; RJ Pettis, of Scarborough; Erin Oldham, of Portland’s West End; Debrah Yale, of Portland; and Lianne Mitchell, of Yarmouth.

LearningWorks has hired a new development director and a new AmeriCorps AIMS HIGH site coordinator. Development Director Pablo Anaya recently relocated to Maine from Chicago, where he worked as the assistant director of Trustee Stewardship at the Art Institute of Chicago, the membership and Individual Giving coordinator at the Adler Planetarium, and the annual fund and membership assistant at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Tamara Manzer has been hired as a site coordinator for LearningWorks’ AIMS HIGH AmeriCorps programs at Reiche Community School, East End Community School and Windham Primary School. Prior to joining LearningWorks, Tamara worked as an assistant property manager for Avesta Housing and operations manager for Tree Street Youth in Lewiston.