Governor Janet Mills’ (D) Office of Policy, Innovation and the Future (GOPIF) announced on Friday thirteen new appointees for the 24-member Office of New Americans Advisory Council, which the Mills administration created by executive order eighteen months ago.
At the time it was first introduced, the council came into being without direct legislative approval, and was rolled into the state budget on a party line vote.
Its goal, the establishing order stated, is to demonstrate that Maine is a “welcoming and inclusive state that recognizes the value of people of diverse backgrounds to enhance the vibrancy of Maine’s communities, the strength of our workforce, and the growth of our economy.”
Currently, the council exists within GOPIF, which is headed by former Democrat House Speaker Hannah Pingree, the daughter of Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), who represents the state’s First Congressional District.
Earlier this month, current House Speaker Ryan Fecteau (D-Biddeford) and Senate Majority Leader Mattie Daughtry (D-Cumberland) named eleven other ONA members. The governor’s recent appointments round out the council, which has yet to schedule its first public meeting.
Pingree’s office hired Tarlan Ahmadov last December as the ONA’s first executive director. Previously, Ahmedov worked as the Director of Division of Programs at the Bureau of Employment Services at the Maine Department of Labor. Presumably in his personal capacity, Ahmadov has been sharply critical of Armenia and in 2020 posted on X (then Twitter) that Armenians “occupy” the Western seaboard of the United States.
Ahmadov posted that same year a message suggesting that celebrity and activist Kim Kardashian is a terrorist because of her support for an Armenian organization.
Given the ONA’s stated goal of advancing inclusion and tolerance in Maine, Ahmadov may be less likely to continue to advance such policy views.
ONA has also recently hired Ekhlas Ahmed as its Policy Analyst.
New appointments from the Governor include:
Senator Rick Bennett (R-Oxford): Originally Senator Jim Libby had been listed as a Senate appointment to the ONA Advisory Council. That was a clerical error. Bennett was named to the Council in the latest session of the Senate. A former Republican Senate President, Bennett is the co-founder and CEO of ValueEdge Advisors. On their website ValueEdge lists ‘Assisting public pension funds in crafting ESG integration policies and practices’ as a core component of their mission. ESG stands for Environmental, Social, Governance and these are non-financial factors that are used influence decision making for a company. DEI or Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are often core components of the ‘Social’ sector of ESG. According to his financial disclosure, Bennett has a compensated seat on the Board of Great Works Internet (GWI) where he serves with fellow ONA Advisory Council member Kerem Durag.
Kerem Durdag, GWI: Durag serves as the CEO of GWI. The company is based out of Biddeford and is a certified B-Corps business. B-Corps have a mission that focuses on business while trying to build an inclusive and sustainable place in the economy. Durag is also an advisor to the Capital Advisory Committee of the Maine Asian American Community Center where he serves with fellow ONA Advisory Council member Rotha Chan .
Julia Trujillo Luengo, co-chair, Maine Community College System: Trujillo Luengo is the Director of Strategic Planning Management for the Maine Community College System. According to realtor Heather Shields’ website, Julia was born and grew up in the Canary Islands off the coast of West Africa and would like to see Portland changed to reflect ‘the diversification of options and broader cultural manifestations of who lives in Portland would be refreshing so that our city reflects our diversity in all aspects of city life’.
Marwa Hassanien, Northern Light Health and Bangor School Board: Hassanien is Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) at Northern Light Health. She has also served on the Bangor School Board where she was an advocate to address systemic racism and racial equity and helped create the board’s DEI Committee.
Nawar Alobaidi, Engineers Auto Service: Alobaidi owns Engineer Auto Services in Westbrook and holds a degree in Electrical Engineering. He was born in southern Iraq and previously spent four years working for Catholic Charities Maine as a Resettlement and Employment Case Manager.
Rotha Chan, TD Bank: Chan is a Vice-President for Commercial Credit for TD Bank. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Immigrant Welcome Center of Greater Portland. Chan also serves on the Maine Asian American Community Center Capital Campaign Advisory Committee with fellow ONA Advisory Council member Kerem Durag and freshman Maine legislator Ellie Sato (D-Gorham).
Juana Rodriguez-Vazquez, Mano en Mano/Hand in Hand: Rodriguez-Vazquez is the Executive Director at Mano en Mano, a Downeast Maine non-profit organization. The Mano en Mano website lists their mission as, ‘We envision a stronger, more inclusive Maine where the contributions of diverse communities are welcomed, access to essential services, education and housing are ensured, and social justice and equity are embraced‘.
Olesya Shkut, Bluetriton/Poland Spring: Olesya is the Plant Human Resources Manager at Primo Brands in Poland, ME. Primo Brands is a distributor to Poland Spring and many other well-known bottled water companies. (BlueTriton Water merged with Primo Water to become Primo Brands in November 2024). Shkut, originally from Russia, is a former New Mainers Resource Center student and is listed as a success story on their website.
Orlina Boteva, University of Maine: Boteva, a Bulgarian native, is the Director of the Office of International Programs at the University of Maine. Boteva is also on the Steering Committee of Inclusion Maine. Inclusion Maine is a membership-based education provider. Interestingly, Office of New Americans Director Tarlan Ahmedov and Advisory Council members Julia Trujillo Luengo and Marwa Hassanien are also on the Inclusion Maine Steering Committee.
Joe Baty, MaineHealth: Baty is a Workforce Development Manager at Maine Health. In 2024 Baty was a featured speaker in the Maine Department of Labor’s Speakers Series. He presented a workshop with Office of New Americans Director Tarlan Ahmadov on recruiting and supporting new Mainers that can be heard here.
Dana Totman, Prosperity Maine: Dana Totman retired as President and CEO of Avesta Housing in 2022. Avesta Housing is the current employer of Speaker of the House Ryan Fecteau. Totman has also served as the Deputy Director of the Maine State Housing Authority. On his LinkedIn page Totman describes his current work as a self employed Consultant/Interim Director. He was not accounted for on the Prosperity Maine website that listed their team and Board of Directors.
Claude Rwaganje, Prosperity Maine: Rwaganje is listed as the Executive Director of Prosperity Maine on their website. Formerly, the organization was known as Community Financial Literacy and its focus on education continues today. A native of the Democratic Republic of Congo, he holds an MBA from the University of Southern Maine. He also serves as President of the Westbrook City Council where he chairs the Committee on Housing and Economic Development.
Ben Conniff, Luke’s Lobster: A graduate of Yale University, Coniff is the co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer for Luke’s Lobster which is a certified B-Corporation. Ben’s bio can be seen on the company website. In addition to Luke’s Lobster, Conniff has spent three years on the Board of the Maine Business Immigration Coalition. In 2022 he was interviewed by NPR on the racial make-up of Maine’s lobstering industry. His only words in the interview were, ‘when you think about that most prized job in the industry, getting to go out and catch and sell those lobsters yourself, you don’t see any diversity. You see a sea of white’. The entire segment may be heard here.
The Maine Wire will be monitoring and reporting on any updates to the council’s calendar as a well as any bills funding the ONA or any tax dollars that may be appropriated or granted to the organizations reflected in the membership of the ONA Advisory Council.
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