Michael worked at Maine Medical Center up until his retirement in 2008. He was the General Surgery Residency Program Director from 2000-2008 and Director of the Pediatric Surgery Service. He remains active in the surgery department, bringing surgical residents and attendings to East Africa for educational projects each year. His association with PWH began many years ago while obtaining medical supplies for these overseas surgical projects in East Africa. Michael has been awarded many inspiring awards including: the American College of Surgeons' 2018 Surgical Volunteerism International Award and the Maine Medical Association's 2019 Humanitarian Award for Medical Volunteerism! When he is not traveling, Michael resides in Cumberland with his wife Christine; together they have four daughters and four great grandchildren. In his free time, Michael enjoys fly fishing, bicycling and squash.

Arul Mahadevan, MD is a Medical Director of the Radiation Oncology Department at the Seacoast Cancer Center at Wentworth Douglass Hospital in Dover, NH. He was born and raised in the southern Indian city of Chennai. He received his Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery from the University of Madras (Chennai), India in 1987 and received his Master of Surgery in Orthopedics from the University of Mumbai, India in 1991. After being awarded Fellowships of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons of Edinburgh and Glasgow, United Kingdom, he moved to the United States to practice medicine. His interest in cancer care led him to complete residency in radiation oncology at Northwestern University, Chicago, where he served as chief resident before joining the Cleveland Clinic as staff physician and Director of Clinical Research in 2002. Since 2008 he has been practicing at Wentworth Douglass Hospital in Dover, NH. He is on the board of several organizations including the Black History Trail of New Hampshire. His foundation, Beam On is a nonprofit for bringing cheer to people and families locally and across the globe. “I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold - service was joy” – Rabindranath Tagore (Nobel laureate for literature, 1913).

Gordon was born in Worcester Mass, and attended the University of Maine Orono 68. He served in the US Army, 69-70 1st. Lt. Platoon leader RVN. He entered into Commercial Banking 1971-2000 mostly with Key Bank, Merrill Lynch and now with RBC Wealth Management, last 13 years, VP Financial Advisor. He is married to Donna, two children Abby and Dan (Abby leads a Woman’s program for the UN in Fiji, married 3 kids) (Dan is the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Western Hemisphere married 2 kids), His hobbies include sailing and golf.

Claire Deselle is a retired healthcare and biotech executive. She has had a career that spans corporate and non-profit management positions. She has also led start-ups and worked in venture capital. Claire is an active volunteer with Partners for World Health and participated in a medical mission to Kenya. She has also joined international service missions with Global Volunteers, does occasional projects through the United Nations Volunteer program, and provides mentoring for start-up businesses in Maine. She is currently on a quest to visit and learn about 100 different cultures and countries. When not traveling, she lives in Sebago, ME.

OF COUNSEL Jon S. Oxman focuses his practice on workers’ compensation law, health law, professional ethics, and civil litigation. He has been a Maine attorney at Linnell, Choate & Webber, LLP since 1971, managing partner since 1982, and has been honored to serve as a member and chair at the highest levels of lawyer governance in Maine, including the Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar. He is a graduate of Tufts University – B.A. 1967, Cornell Law School and B.C. Law School – J.D. 1971. He has been honored with the Order of the Coif , and served as a Complaint Justice, State of Maine (1981-1991) and was elected to The College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers in 2019.

Before moving to Maine in 2010, Fran was employed in the finance departments of firms specializing in emerging technologies and global communications software. She is currently employed by AMG Holdings, a family-owned commercial real estate business based in Portland. Her non-profit experiences include the Maine Lighthouse Trust, Marine Mammals of Maine and the 2,000+ member Garden Club Federation of Maine, where she serves as state Treasurer. She has been an active PWH volunteer for 3 years. Fran is married and has one son by a previous marriage and two grandchildren.

Ellen spent over 30 years in pharmaceutical manufacturing including global executive roles at Eli Lilly and Company and Putney before retiring in 2016. She volunteers for PWH because its focus on simultaneously improving health care and the environment matches life-long priorities of her own. She splits her time between West Lafayette, Indiana (the home of her alma mater Purdue University) and Yarmouth, Maine. Regardless of where she is, she loves volunteering, hiking, running, cooking, and spending time with her family.

Dustin is VP of Finance at DLTC Healthcare & Bella Point Since moving to Maine in 2016, Dustin has been involved with non-profit organizations including Big Brother Big Sister and World of Change. In his spare time, Dustin enjoys traveling with his wife, Jena, and golfing, playing tennis and enjoying the many breweries and eateries in the Portland, Maine area.

Didier Hakizimana is the Chief Financial officer at CEI Capital Management LLC (CCML), a subsidiary of the Maine-based community development financial institution, Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI) and carries forward its mission to build just, vibrant and climate-resilient futures for people and communities in Maine and rural regions by integrating finance, business expertise and policy solutions in ways that make the economy work more equitably.  CCML focuses on investing in projects in rural communities across the country that create quality jobs with benefits and opportunities for career growth, with a specialty in manufacturing.    As Chief Financial officer of CEI Capital Management LLC, Mr. Hakizimana is responsible for the organization’s financial management including auditing, budgeting, financial planning, accounting, policy development, establishment of internal accounting and fiscal controls and standards, preparing and interpreting financial reports, and tax filings. Supported by a team of three other accounting professionals, Mr. Hakizimana oversees all accounting, tax filings and accounting compliance matters for CCML’s portfolio of New Market Tax Credit Program.     Prior to joining CCML, Mr. Hakizimana worked as an accountant at Mid-coast Maine Community Action. He was responsible for managing federal and state funds allocated to promote economic sustainability and social equity within the Mid-Coast Maine area. Mr. Hakizimana has been an advocate of low-income families for many years through his work as volunteer board director for a credit union and other local nonprofits in Maine. For over 10 years he has volunteered with AARP using his knowledge and expertise in tax and accounting to assist low-income families and the elderly with their annual tax filing.  Education   Mr. Hakizimana holds a B.S. in Accounting from the National University of Rwanda; a master’s degree in management from University of Turin, Italy; and a certificate in Program Management from Harvard University, Graduate School of Education. Mr. Hakizimana is a CPA, a Certified Fraud Examiner, and a Chartered Global Management Accountant.

Corinne served as an Officer in the U.S. Public Health Service, in the federal Department of Health and Human Services, from 1990 to 2020. She has extensive experience in Federal health programs and policies, with a focus on increasing access to health care for rural and underserved populations. Prior to that, she worked with Native American tribes in California, and was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Benin in West Africa. She has traveled to many countries throughout the world where health care services and supplies are unavailable or inaccessible, and is excited to be part of an organization that improves health services for those in need while also helping the environment by reducing waste. Corinne and her husband and 2 cats live in Washington, DC and Penobscot, Maine.

Andrew is one of 4 founding partners of TRSS Wealth Management LLC, a financial planning and investment management firm in South Portland, Maine. He has spent twenty years as a financial planner and investment advisor. Andrew also spends his time as a winter ski instructor for those who are visually impaired at Maine Adaptive Sports and Recreation. Andrew is married to Annie Stickney, who has been a nurse for 35 years, and full time interior designer for the past 10years; they have 4 adult children and 4 grandchildren.

Karen brings a logistics background to the PWH board having held various warehouse operation positions in her lifetime. Her formal career involved 30 plus years in Information Technology working for a large insurance company. Since retirement, she has looked for a volunteer opportunity that would leverage her logistics experience and is excited about sharing this experience with PWH. After being raised in Maine, Karen moved to the New Hampshire seacoast region for her career. Retiring in Falmouth, she is now glad to be living back in Maine with her wife and two cats.

Egzona obtained her master’s degree in neuroscience and education from Columbia University and then further pursued a PhD in neuroscience at University College London. "I'm very involved in both education and healthcare initiatives which is why I was very excited to be able to join PWH."

Nancy is a Trustee Emeritus of the Portland Museum of Art and serves on the board of the Mountain Club at Loon. Her professional background was primarily in sales management and sales training. She also formed my own training company, consulting with both individual and corporate clients. Nancy and her husband were travelers, visiting 84 mostly developing countries. She says it was a helluva ride while it lasted! She is an avid skier and a hard worker for causes in which she believes - PWH being one of them.

Celeste brings over 35 years of experience in non-profit governance and management at the board level and as a development, programming, and communications professional to Partners for World Health. She worked most recently as Manager of Programming and Development for the Scarborough Public Library, retiring in 2019. During her tenure, she expanded the library’s programming reach through partnerships with the Maine Humanities Council, Maine Historical Society, and Camden Conference. Celeste also has a long history of volunteering for the Portland Museum of Art and is a Fellow of the institution. Celeste received her degree from Regis College and completed various certifications in Nonprofit Management and Development through the USM Center for Continuing Education. She resides in Scarborough with her husband Rick where she enjoys painting and gardening. They have two adult children and one grandchild.

Dr. Marwaha, MD, FHM, is the Senior Vice President and Chief Quality Officer for Northern Light Health. She is passionate about process and systems improvement with the goal of supporting clinical teams to help deliver the highest quality of care. Dr. Marwaha also recognizes the importance of a positive healthcare experience for Northern Light patients. She enthusiastically contributes to building a high reliability organization striving for clinical excellence with a goal of zero patient harm. Prior to joining Northern Light in 2020, Dr. Marwaha held several leadership roles including Medical Director of Adult, Intensive Care, and Pediatrics Hospital Medicine programs, Medical Director of Quality and Patient Safety, Chief of Medicine, and Vice President of the medical staff at Cooley Dickinson Health Care. She aspires to “Be truthful, gentle, and fearless.”

LEGAL COUNSEL For over 25 years, Christopher has been serving the legal needs of businesses and entrepreneurs. He often serves as general counsel to clients and his experience covers the spectrum of the business cycle, from start-up, to investment and growth, to succession planning and exit strategies. Chris also has considerable experience with business disputes and has successfully handled commercial litigation in both state and federal courts.