Board of Directors
Linda Warner is a jack of all trades. Linda’s primary career was as a stay-at-home parent to Kate (actor), Libet (management, The Shed) and William “Bear” (freelance production electrician). She’s been an avid community volunteer serving as President of Blue Ash Elementary PTA, Sycamore High School PTO, Theater Boosters, and Choir Boosters among others, And a mentor for nearly a decade.
Later in life, Linda was the first Development Director for the Health Improvement Collaborative of Greater Cincinnati where she organized the annual fund drive, published a community healthy-eating cookbook, and hosted an annual awards event with well-known speakers including Christopher Reeve, Patty Duke, Gov. Mike Huckabee, and Ben Vereen. Linda worked for Seminole County Public Schools in Florida as the Families in Transition Tutorial Coordinator providing support for homeless students under the Mckinney Vento Homeless Education Act, as a Language Support Tutor for special needs students, and as the school “nurse” at Woodlands Elementary School.
Linda holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wells College in Aurora, NY. She is Past President of Friends of Messalonskee Lake Association. She currently works part-time in a yarn shop, teaches knitting and creates custom knitwear under her Queen Bee Knits label. Linda lives in Belgrade with her husband and their Chocolate Lab, Monk.
Linda Warner, President
Development Committee, Chair
Drew Landry is an attorney with a practice concentrated in utility and energy matters. Drew is currently Deputy Public Advocate for the State of Maine which involves representing the interests of consumers in utility regulatory matters before the Maine Public Utilities Commission and in other forums in which the interests of Maine utility customers are affected. Drew is a graduate of Syracuse University and the University of Maine School of Law. In addition to his role on the Board, Drew serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Theater at Monmouth, the Hallowell Planning Board, and as Chair of the Hallowell Comprehensive Plan Committee.
Drew has previously served as President of the Penobscot County Bar Association, Chair of the Brewer Water District, and board member of Redeemer Lutheran Church, Bangor. Drew’s daughter is currently studying Art Education and the University of Maine. Drew is a resident of Hallowell.
Andrew "Drew" Landry, Vice President
Governance Committee, Chair
Mitchell Clyde Thomas is a graduate of the University of Maine Farmington with a
BA, and the University of Maine Orono with a MPA. He is a singer, pianist, and songwriter and has been entertaining audiences in Maine and around New England for nearly 50 years, beginning as a young sidekick to his fiddle-playing grandfather. Since his youth, he has been sharing and leading music in some way or other in churches and community organizations/events. For 38 summers, Mitch was the director of the Music-Theatre camps for youth at Camp Mechuwana in Winthrop, and for many years, he directed children's choirs in his home church. On weekends, Mitch is the organist/pianist/choir director at a church in Scarborough.
For ten years, he was the Music Director for the New England Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. Before the pandemic, he was very active in Lewiston-Auburn's Community Little Theatre, where he directed some of their shows and performed in scores of them over the past four decades. He was the Executive Director at L/A's Franco Center for Heritage and the Performing Arts in Lewiston for five years. Mitch is an adjunct professor (writing and critical thinking courses) at Central Maine Community College and teaches classes for SMCC and Maine Maritime Academy.
Mitch’s daughter, Hayden, is a 5th-grade teacher in the Lewiston Public Schools, and his son, Elias, is a student of Broadcast Journalism at the University of Minnesota.
Mitchell Clyde Thomas
Development Committee, Chair
April Hughes
April Hughes is a program manager at Healthy Communities of the Capital Area (HCCA), primarily overseeing HCCA’s tobacco prevention, substance use prevention, and healthy eating/active living grants. April has a Master of Public Health (MPH) from Purdue University Global, is actively working on her Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) from Walden University, and is a certified prevention specialist (PS-C). In addition to her work at HCCA, she is also a member of the Maine Prevention Certification Board, a peer-led nonprofit organization, serving and representing prevention professionals under the sponsorship of AdCare Educational Institute of Maine. The certification board sets, monitors, and enforces standards for Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug (ATOD) prevention professionals to ensure the public’s protection and enhance the profession. Personally, April has always been passionate about the arts and hopes to bring more arts-based prevention strategies and initiatives into the field of prevention in Maine.
April resides in South China, Maine, with her husband and three children. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, reading, gardening, and trying out new restaurants.
Board of Directors, Member
Rachel White
Dr. Rachel White is an Assistant Professor and Sustainable Agriculture and Livestock Educator with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension. In this position, she works closely with producers on farm and livestock management practices. She provides educational programs statewide on small ruminant, poultry, and equine topics. Rachel graduated with her Ph.D in Ecology and Environmental Sciences from the University of Maine, working and teaching within the One Health paradigm of human-animal-environmental health. Passionate about learning at all levels, Rachel is especially interested in bridging the gap between the arts and sciences. She brings a strong background in both science and education, having previously served as a science teacher at Maine Arts Academy during its first three years. During that time, she provided hands-on education within the natural environment and started the MEAA Outing Club. She currently serves on the Academic Excellence Committee and is committed to supporting MEAA in any way she can. Previous board services include the Humane Society of Waterville Area, Friends of Messalonskee, and Sebasticook Regional Land Trust.
In her spare time, Rachel and her husband run a small farm with pastured poultry, goats, and Norwegian Fjord horses. Fiber arts, water colors, and acrylic paintings are some of her favorite hobbies.
Academic Excellence Committee, Chair
Jonas Maines
Board of Directors, Memeber
Jonas Maines is an advocate, actor, and director living in Augusta. He grew up in Orono, Maine and received a B.A. in Visual and Performing Arts (Theatre) from the University of Maine at Farmington in 2019. As a student, he was an active member of the arts: Jonas performed frequently in both mainstage and student-led productions, was a company member of the college’s improv comedy troupe, and served as President of UMF’s chapter of Alpha Psi Omega, the National Theatre Honor Society. After graduating, Jonas served as an Assistant Artistic Director at Hyde Park Theatre in Austin, TX, before moving to Chicago, where he continued to work as an actor on both stage and screen.
Since returning to his home state in 2023, Jonas has appeared regularly in local productions, and strives to make time for the arts wherever possible. During the day, he works for the Department of Administrative and Financial Services for the State of Maine.
Jonas has been an active advocate for Transgender youth since his childhood. His twin sister, Nicole Maines, was the prosecutor in the landmark case Doe v. RSU 26, the first case in the nation in which a state court ruled in favor of a transgender student in a bathroom discrimination case. His family’s story is told in the best-selling Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of the American Family, by Amy Ellis Nutt. Jonas believes strongly in the intersectionality between the experiences of LGBTQIA+ youth and pursuit of the arts; the cultivation and preservation of a supportive, enthusiastically-celebrating environment is critical to both academic and artistic success. Jonas has spoken at schools all across Maine, engaging students in open dialogue about the importance of inclusivity and active allyship.
When Jonas isn’t performing or working, he enjoys writing and spending quiet time with his loved ones.
John Neal
Board of Directors, Memeber
John Neal holds a bachelors degree in music education from The Ohio
State University and a masters degree in conducting performance from the
University of Connecticut. A piano student from the age of eight, his teachers
include Hildred Curtis Fowler, Natasha Chances, Rosemary Platt, Neal Larrabee
and Chiharu Naruse. His career in music education began in 1978 and includes
teaching positions at Van Buren District Secondary School, Edward Little High
School in Auburn, the University of Southern Maine, Bates College, and Oak Hill
High School in Sabattus; the first Music Director at the Maine Arts Academy,
Neal retired from teaching in 2022. His students have won numerous awards
including First Place in the National Independence Day Parade in Washington,
DC with the ELHS Band in 1988, and a Carnegie Hall performance in New York
City with the Oak Hill HS Voices of Color in 2003, among many others; several of his students have gone on to careers in music education and performance.
Neal was recognized by the Maine Music Educators Association in 1994 as the Maine Music Educator of the Year, and by WCSH6 and the Maine Education
Association as an “Inspiring Educator” in 2016; he directed the Maine
Bicentennial Marching Band in 2021-21 and began his tenure as conductor of the Kennebec Performing Arts Company Choir and Wind Ensemble in the fall of 2024.
Neal has performed as pianist and music director with the Theater at
Monmouth, Lewiston-Auburn Community Little Theater, Monmouth Community Players, and at numerous other local venues and high school productions since the 1980s. His first CD of original electronic music "Fox Island Afternoon" was released in 1997; his original electronic ballet, "Vasalisa", based upon the Russian legend of the same name, was released in 2008. Both CDs are available on iTunes and at www.cdbaby.com . His recent book, “I Hope This Helps”, is available at Authorhouse.com and Amazon.com.