The Importance of Maine’s Downtowns: Strengthening Communities Through Place, Human Connections and Design
VFW, 687 Forest Ave, Portland, ME 04103
Please RSVP for the event here.
Hosted by MPHA & MDF's Maine Downtown Center
Speakers:
- Anne Ball, Sr. Program Director, Maine Downtown Center, Maine Development Foundation
- CJ Opperthauser, Executive Director, Friends of Congress Square Park, Portland
- Kristina Cannon, President & CEO, Main Street Skowhegan
- Teresa Valliere, President, Friends of Woodfords Corner, Portland and Clinical Social Worker in private practice
- Lisa Miller, Retired and Co-founder of Maine Alliance for Health and Prosperity
Maine's downtowns are places that build human connections through good design and bringing people together. Local revitalization efforts work hard to design spaces that create shade, are safe, walkable and bikeable, provide trail connectivity, create seating for conversation or reflection and preserve buildings. These local downtown programs intentionally bring people together for yoga in a park, a walk along the waterfront, festivals, farmers’ markets, creating events in parks and alley way and shopping at local businesses. Maine has amazing downtown leaders around the State who are revitalizing their communities and neighborhoods with the goal of building human connections, preserving places, and driving economic development. This panel presentation and networking event will highlight the work being done in different Maine downtowns and the ways they are improving human connections and public health.
Learning Objectives:
- Participants will learn at least 2 new things they can do in their community to increase human connections and quality of life.
- Participants will gain a thorough understanding of the connections between mental health, place and design, and intentional programming to increase human connections and quality of life.
More about the speakers:
Anne Ball (Moderator)
Sr. Program Director, Maine Downtown Center, Maine Development Foundation
Anne joined the Maine Development Foundation in 2012 as a contractor where she oversaw a number of major projects including Healthy Maine Streets and Grants to Green. In 2016 she became the Program Director of the Maine Downtown Center (MDC). MDC serves as the statewide coordinator for Maine’s National Main Street Center and serves as a statewide resource for downtown and community development. Anne is skilled at getting diverse partners to work together, learn each other's languages and bring new energy to their work. She has a strong passion for the preservation of downtown communities and sees the clear connection between the health of our communities and strong economic growth and vibrancy.
Lisa Miller, MPH
Retired and Co-founder of Maine Alliance for Health and Prosperity
Lisa recently retired in 2018 from her job of 20 years running a small health-related charitable endowment in Maine. Prior to that job she spent many years as a consultant in such areas as access to health care, public health policy, community health, occupational health and safety, and health professions training. Starting in 2004, Lisa served as an elected Representative in the Maine House of Representatives for six years, serving a district of five small rural towns, serving on the Appropriations and Health and Human Services Committee.
CJ Opperthauser
Executive Director, Friends of Congress Square Park, Portland
C.J. Opperthauser is Executive Director of Friends of Congress Square Park, working to activate and manage a small plaza in downtown Portland, Maine. He has over a decade of experience in placemaking and has spent time in many downtowns around Maine helping them create spaces where people want to linger and connect.
Kristina Cannon
President & CEO, Main Street Skowhegan
Kristina has been the central coordinator of Main Street Skowhegan’s strategic projects for 10 years. Under her leadership, MSS has become a major player in rural economic development, having raised more than $13 million for regional revitalization initiatives. The organization is spearheading a comprehensive approach to community transformation through outdoor recreation and local food, weaving together civic infrastructure development, business support and entrepreneurship, programming, youth engagement, and visitor attraction. Kristina was recognized as a Biden-Harris Administration Rural Innovator, one of 14 nationally recognized rural leaders who are taking action to ensure their communities thrive for generations to come; she was also named one of the 2024 Mainebiz Women to Watch and the 2023 Maine Outdoor Industry Leader of the Year.
Teresa Valliere
President Friends of Woodfords Corner, Clinical Social Worker in Private Practice
Teresa Valliere is a licensed clinical social worker, addiction specialist and clinical supervisor with a Bachelor and Master in Social Work. Since 1997 she has worked with adults with mental illness and addiction in a variety of inpatient and outpatient settings. She also has training in many other aspects of mental health from trauma treatment to chronic pain and stress reduction, anger management, and spirituality. Outside of her day job, Teresa is also the President of Friends of Woodfords Corner, an Affiliate program of Maine Downtown Center located in Portland that began in 2015 and was designated as an affiliate program in 2019.