Hello, Class of 2013—Richard and Laura Duran Qualey here! We have recently stepped into the role of reporting Class of 2013 updates and achievements for the UMaine alumni magazine. We are both graduates of the chemical engineering program, where we met and years later became a “Bear Pair.” We live in Portland, ME, where Laura continues to work as an engineer and is pursuing graduate school; and Richard is now serving as a law clerk at the Maine Supreme Judicial Court after graduating from the University of Maine School of Law.
We love staying connected to the UMaine community, and we hope to see many of you next year at our 10-year Reunion! Please reach out with updates that you would like to see reported here —either about yourself or your fellow classmates. And now, some updates:
Krystal Martin was promoted to senior manager in the information systems and risk assurance practice at Baker Newman Noyes. After UMaine, Krystal earned her master’s in accounting from UNH. She has worked at Baker Newman Noyes in Portsmouth, NH, for more than eight years.
In Hawai’i, Ethan West was honored in the 2022 class of 40 Under 40 by Pacific Business News as one of the state’s best and brightest young leaders and community impactors. He was also one of the recipients of the Fire Award from Pacific Business News in the category of food independence and agriculture for his work as CEO of Piko Provisions.
Congratulations to Josh Rosen, the first graduate of the joint MaineMBA and JD program. He was honored with a MaineMBA Alumni Award not only for academic excellence, but also for helping to organize a webinar on environmental and climate justice, serving as a consultant to Maine cities and towns on sustainability and climate policy, and sharing his expertise on offshore wind energy and supply chain development. Josh has joined the Boston firm Foley Hoag, where he specializes in energy and climate law.
Courtney O’Donnell became Bangor’s city manager last spring. She worked with Bangor’s city manager in 2015-2017 before serving as town manager of Stockton Springs, and later town manager of Casco.
Sam Ascanio is an associate attorney at Bernstein Shur in their Portland office. He previously worked at Cooley LLP in Boston. At Bernstein Shur, he works with the firms’s business law practice group.
Sonja Birthisel G, ’18 Ph.D. is director of the Wilson Center on campus. She has been involved in youth ministry for over 15 years. Sonja is also a member of the Orono town council. She has experience as a scientist, teacher, community organizer, and activist.
Jessica Woods is financial planning analysis manager at Diversified Communications, where she was recognized with a 7Cs Award.
Have a great winter, and plan to come to Homeoming for our 10th class Reunion next October!