Governor Janet Mills announced today that she has appointed Ryan Fecteau of Biddeford, former Speaker of the Maine of House of Representatives, as Senior Advisor for Community Development and Strategic Initiatives in the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future. In this new role, Fecteau will work on developing innovative policy solutions in areas such as housing development and land use, as well as workforce, innovation, and economic opportunities.
As Speaker from 2020 to 2022, Fecteau sponsored housing and community development legislation, including the single largest affordable housing investment in Maine’s history, the Maine Affordable Housing Tax Credit, and comprehensive legislation enacted in 2022 to advance affordable housing and housing-friendly zoning and land use regulations. He also spearheaded legislation that invested in career and technical education, implemented a permanent child care worker wage stipend, and expanded dental coverage to more than 200,000 Maine people.
Fecteau also served as the Maine House Assistant Majority Leader and as Chair of the Committee on Labor, Commerce, Research, and Economic Development during his service in the Legislature from 2014 to 2022.
Also, Governor Mills announced that Elizabeth Gattine of Westbrook, an expert in policy and programming for older adults at the national, state, and local level, has been appointed as coordinator of the Governor’s Cabinet on Aging.
Created by Executive Order in June 2022, the Cabinet brings together State government agencies to help Maine prepare for and address demographic changes by advancing policies that support Maine people in aging safely, affordably, and in ways and settings that best serve their needs.
The Cabinet is led by the Commissioners of Health and Human Services and Labor, and also consists of Commissioners of Administrative and Financial Services, Economic and Community Development, Professional and Financial Regulation, Public Safety, and Transportation, as well as the Director of the Maine State Housing Authority. It is housed within the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future.
Prior to joining GOPIF, Gattine was a Senior Policy Associate specializing in disability and aging issues at the Catherine Cutler Institute, part of the Muskie School of Public Service at the University of Southern Maine.
She also spent over 15 years in State government, including as program manager in the Office of Aging and Disability Services overseeing Maine’s system of long-term services and supports for older adults and adults with physical disabilities. She is a graduate of Dartmouth College and the Columbia University School of Law.