Staff

Cathy L. Ramsdell, Executive Director

Cathy Ramsdell is a Certified Public Accountant and marine ecologist, and has served nonprofits and businesses in a variety of executive, scientific, board, and consulting roles. Prior to joining Friends of Casco Bay as Executive Director in May 2003, Cathy’s consulting practice helped chief executives, non-profit boards, business owners, and family foundations with financial, professional and organizational development. She has run retail businesses and worked as a public accountant. Her earliest work was in evolutionary behavior and ecology: she conducted field research on seabird populations in Alaska, sea turtles nesting on Georgia beaches, and marine mammals in the Gulf of Maine. Cathy is a board member of Mainewatch Institute and Maine Association of Nonprofits, and she is Trustee Emeritus of College of the Atlantic. Email Cathy.

Joe Payne, Casco BAYKEEPER

Friends of Casco Bay was a grassroots, volunteer-run organization until the hiring of Joe Payne in 1991. Joe became Casco BAYKEEPER®, making him the seventh WATERKEEPER® in the country, resulting in Friends of Casco Bay becoming a founding member of the WATERKEEPER® ALLIANCE, an international environmental network that has grown to more than 190 organizations. Under Joe’s leadership, Friends of Casco Bay has implemented programs that combine environmental protection with economic pragmatism. A native Portlander who summered on Peaks Island as a child and the grandson of a fisherman, Joe is guided by both a passionate love for Casco Bay and an understanding of its physical and biological dynamics. His work as a marine biologist from 1974 to 1991, including 12 years with Normandeau Associates, involved years of field work and investigations into a wide variety of marine species, dynamics and impact assessments. Email Joe.

Mary Cerullo, Associate Director

Mary Cerullo is responsible for our publications, public relations, and educational outreach. She works with communities on BayScaping, a six-step program for homeowners on environmentally friendly lawn care, and the Casco Bay Curriculum, 37 activities for 4th-6th grades using our data. Mary has over 30 years experience as a science translator. She has interpreted marine issues for the general public and for marine user groups through the New England Aquarium, the Maine/New Hampshire Sea Grant College Program, the Great Bay (NH) National Estuarine Research Reserve, and the Gulf of Maine Aquarium. Mary is the award-winning author of 14 non-fiction children’s books on the ocean, as well as a handbook for teachers on using children’s literature in the science classroom. Email Mary.

Peter Milholland, Citizen Stewards Coordinator

Peter Milholland has had considerable experience working with volunteers on environmental projects. Before joining Friends of Casco Bay in 1995, he worked as caretaker and stewardship coordinator for 12 years at Maine Audubon’s Mast Landing Sanctuary. He also worked with student volunteers through Portland West to monitor water quality in the Bay, and the students made Fort Gorges accessible to the public by picking up debris, carting away miles of steel cable stored there and building stairways to the upper levels of the fort. At Friends of Casco Bay, Peter trains volunteers in EPA-approved water quality sampling procedures and has earned national recognition for our Citizen Stewards Water Quality Monitoring Program. He pilots and maintains our Baykeeper boat and coordinates many of our research projects. Email Peter.

Mike Doan, Research Associate

Mike Doan first joined us in 1995 as an intern and water quality volunteer, then joined the staff as a Research Associate in 1998. Mike coordinates seasonal research initiatives, involving low dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll, nutrients, water currents, sediment toxics, and stormwater sampling. He maintains our water quality testing equipment and assists with on-going monitoring efforts. Mike is our point person on state water quality standards, local shellfish management issues, marine invasive species, and juvenile lobster stock status and trends. Mike is working on his Masters degree in Biology at the University of Southern Maine, involving coastal nitrogen dynamics and algal nitrogen uptake. Mike has worked for the National Marine Fisheries Service, Maine Departments of Marine Resources and of Environmental Protection, and the marine/algal invertebrate lab at the University of Maine. Mike holds a BS in Biology and is SCUBA certified. Email Mike.

Jeff Fetterer, Office Manager

Jeff came to Friends of Casco Bay in 2007 with over 10 years of administrative and development experience with Maine nonprofits. Jeff keeps the day-to-day operations of our office flowing smoothly and efficiently, handling everything from phone and email inquiries from people in our community, to bookkeeping, computer operations, meeting preparation, and insurance details. Jeff holds a BS in Political Science from the University of Southern Maine and enjoys gardening, canoeing and photography. Email Jeff.

Samuel Heck, Development Director

Prior to joining Friends of Casco Bay, Sam was Director of Development and Community Relations at STRIVE, a non-profit that supports young adults with developmental disabilities in their transitions to independence. A native Mainer and graduate of Colby College, Sam grew up near the Saco River in Southern Maine, and has a deep interest in preserving Maine’s unique environmental resources. Sam is a member of Portland Rotary and a volunteer tour guide at Victoria Mansion. Email Sam.