Our Teachers
Every year, experts teach the emerging Pen Bay Stewards about the watershed and how to protect it. These teachers include organic farmers, oyster farmers, scientists involved in water quality and plastics reduction, foresters, historians, advocates, and more.
This is a changing faculty, full of expertise and hands-on wisdom. We’re grateful to them.
In recent years, they have included:
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​Martha Bell, environmental educator for Island Heritage Trust in Blue Hill
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David Black, commercial fisherman who's worked the nearby coast since 1964 and a contributor to the Waldo County Technical Center's aquaculture program.
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Genevieve Black, sea farmer, longtime teacher, and major force behind Waldo County Technical Center's aquaculture program
Bailey Bowden, key advocate in the restoration of the alewife runs of the Bagaduce River
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​Maulian Dana, Executive Director, Wabanaki Alliance
Ron Desrosiers, a State of Maine Licensed Soil Scientist who has come to us via the Waldo County Soil and Water Conservation District
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Kathleen Dunckel, Landscape ecologist and Associate Professor of Forest Resources and Geographical Information Systems at Center for Wildlife Studies
Maddie Eberly, Consultant with MOFGA’s low-impact forestry (LIF) program
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Landon Fake, Executive Director of Great Pond Mountain Conservation Trust and Chair of the Appalachian Mountain Club Maine Conservation Committee
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Gretchen Faulkner, Director of the Hudson Museum at the University of Maine
Maria Girouard, Penobscot Tribal Historian
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Kathy Given, Harbormaster for the City of Belfast​ (video)
Jesse Graham, Co-director of the Maine People’s Alliance and the Maine People’s Resource Center
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Tom Groening, Editor of The Working Waterfront newspaper and Island Journal, the Island Institute’s annual publication
Prentice Grassi and Polly Shyka, owners and farmers at Villageside Farm who serve as mentors to aspiring farmers through MOFGA’s Journeyperson Program
​Allyssa Gregory, Maine Forest Service’s District Forester for the Midcoast
Ralph Hamill, Oyster farmer and owner of the seven-acre Weskeag Oyster Farm, which has been running since 2007
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Holland Haverkamp, Ph.D candidate and researcher into environmental decisions made in contested places.
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Sky Heller, Hudson Museum registrar
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Kelly Hoover, Hudson Museum Graduate Assistant
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Jillian Howell, Orland Dam Project Manager, Downeast Salmon Federation
W. Donald “Don” Hudson, founding member of the Board of Directors of the International Appalachian Trail and former president of Chewonki
David Italiaander, Board Member, Friends of Sears Island
George L. Jacobson, Professor Emeritus of Biology, Ecology, and Climate Change at the University of Maine
Kevin Johnson, Penobscot Maritime Museum photo archivist
Catherine Johnston, Assistant Project Leader at Green Lake National Fish Hatchery
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Joe Kelley, University of Maine Professor Emeritus, whose work has included mapping the seafloor of the Gulf of Maine and a recent book, The Rise and Fall of the Maine Coast.
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Jack Kertesz, who manages the living plant collections on MOFGA's main campus
Daniel Kusnierz, Water Resources Program Manager for the Penobscot Indian Nation
Chuck Loring, Penobscot citizen providing oversight to the Nation’s natural resources department
Chris Mattson, geologist who has worked in exploration and groundwater remediation.
​Teddy Mattson, owner and operator of Dirtgoat Permaculture, which installs permaculture landscapes in Midcoast Maine and in Western North Carolina.
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Daniel McCaw, fish biologist and Fisheries Program Manager for the Penobscot Indian Nation
Dan Miller, owner of Belmont Boatworks, a full-service boatyard that serves Belfast's recreational and commercial fishing fleet
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​Joanne Moesswilde, member of the Belfast Harbor Committee
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Peter Nichols, Executive Director of Penobscot Bay Waterkeeper and founder of the Fertile Crescent Foundation, a charity focusing on protecting the environment in the Mideast
​​Rolf Olsen, Vice President of Friends of Sears Island
Andrew Peters, Founder and CEO of Vertical Bay, a scallop farm based in Belfast
Megan Pinette, President of the Belfast Historical Society and Museum and curator of the Belfast Museum
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Jennifer Riefler, long-time volunteer for Great Pond Mountain Conservation Trust and chair of its Stewardship Committee
​ Charles Rolsky, Senior Research Scientist for the Shaw Institute in Blue Hill and Director of Science for Plastic Oceans International, where he focuses on creating and disseminating science for the public
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Cyrene Slegona, Maine Master Naturalist with an expertise in butterflies. ​
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Steve Tanguay, Selectman for the city of Searsport, Maine, as well as an active member of the Searsport Shellfish Association, owner Searsport Shores
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James (Jim) Therriault, vice president of Materials Handling for Sprague Operating Resources LLC in Portsmouth, N.H.
JB Turner, President and general manager of Front Street Shipyard in Belfast
​Daniel F. Waldron, Entrepreneur and owner of both Whitecap Builders and Marshall Wharf Brewing Company
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Captain John Worth, Relief captain for Penobscot Bay Tractor Tug Company and the Maine State Ferry Service, former owner of Maineport Towboats, and retired faculty Maine Maritime Academy
Fred Yost, Fish Biologist at Green Lake National Fish Hatchery
