FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 29, 2021
Contact: Jacob Posik
Director of Communications
Office: 207.321.2550

Maine Policy Institute Announces the Addition of
Three New Members to Its Board of Directors

PORTLAND, Maine – Maine Policy Institute added three new members to its Board of Directors this month: Christopher A. Pierce, The Honorable Debra Plowman and The Honorable Amy Volk. The organization’s Board of Directors now consists of 13 members and continues to be chaired by Scott Wellman, interim general manager of Hardwood Products Company and Puritan Medical Products Company.

Pierce is the chairman and owner of The Dingley Press in Lisbon. The company is one of the leading mail order catalog printing companies in the United States, and currently prints and mails more than 330 million catalogs annually for 150 nationwide customers. The Dingley Press has 350 full-time employees and performs all of its manufacturing and distribution from its Lisbon facility.

Pierce served as the chief financial officer for the Department of Health and Human Services during the LePage administration. He has served on numerous corporate and non-profit boards and is currently the Chair of the Board for the George J. Mitchell Institute, which provides scholarship and program support for one graduating senior annually from each of Maine’s 133 public high schools.

Plowman was first elected to the Maine House of Representatives in 1992 and served for eight years on the Maine Legislature’s Judiciary Committee. She was elected to the Maine Senate in 2004 where she served eight years on the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee while also being elected Assistant Majority Leader.

In 2018, former Gov. Paul LePage selected Plowman to be the director of policy and programs in the Department of Education. Plowman and her husband are co-owners of P.D.Q. Door Company, which has 75 employees and six locations throughout Maine. She now works part-time at the law firm of Lanham, Blackwell & Baber in Bangor.

Volk is a former four-term lawmaker, chair of the Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development Committee and Assistant Majority Leader of the Maine Senate. While in office, Volk sponsored and passed several bills to address human trafficking in Maine.

In addition to serving on the board of the University of Maine Alumni Association, Volk was a charter member of the board of Maine Connections Academy and currently serves as a board member of the Maine Christian Civic League. Volk is the director of communications and public relations for Volk Packaging Corporation in Biddeford.

“These new additions to Maine Policy’s Board of Directors bring a wealth of professional and legislative experience that will help guide our organization for years to come,” said CEO Matthew Gagnon.

The complete composition of Maine Policy Institute’s Board of Directors is as follows:

Mr. Scott Wellman – Chairman
Interim General Manager
Hardwood Products Company and Puritan Medical Products Company

Mr. William W. Boeschenstein, Jr.
Principal
Cape Z Ventures

Timothy J. Bryant, Esq.
Partner
PretiFlaherty

Thomas A. Connolly, Esq.
Private Investor

Mrs. Susan Dench
Founder and President
Success & Company

Mr. Scott Forrey
Senior Director, Analytics Operations
Akamai Technologies

Mr. Jeffrey Kane
Retired President
National Distributors

Mr. Jason Oney
President
Strategic Maintenance Solutions

Mr. Christopher A. Pierce
Chairman and Owner
The Dingley Press

The Honorable Debra Plowman
Co-owner
P.D.Q. Door Company

Laurence Rubinstein, D.D.

The Honorable Amy Volk
Director of Communications & Public Relations
Volk Packaging Corporation

James Ward, JD
President and Principal
Patient Advocates

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Maine Policy Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that conducts detailed and timely research to educate the public, the media, and lawmakers about public policy solutions that advance economic freedom and individual liberty in Maine. Learn more about our work at www.mainepolicy.org.