MEET OUR STAFF
MATHEW EDDY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Mathew has over 40 years of experience in local, regional, and state planning and development, most recently as the Planning and Development Director in Biddeford. He has worked extensively throughout the region, including tenures in Brunswick, Bath, and Camden. Mat has experience in land use planning, economic and community development, housing program delivery, land trusts and environmental planning, transportation planning, and grant development and programming. Mr. Eddy makes his home in Brunswick, where he and his wife raised their two daughters.
BRIAN DANCAUSE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST
Brian Dancause has over 30 years’ experience in various economic and community development capacities at the state, local and regional level. In 2006, Brian was appointed Director of Small Business and Entrepreneurship for the State of Maine, and he later advised entrepreneurs, as a Maine Small Business Development Center counselor. His areas of expertise include project financing, business planning, and grant writing and administration. Brian earned a BA in Political Science from Boston College and an MA in Public Policy and Management from the University of Southern Maine’s Muskie School of Public Service.
MAX JOHNSTONE, PLANNING CONSULTANT
Maxwell Johnstone moved to Harpswell when he was seven years old and grew up as an active volunteer in the region, including achieving the rank of Eagle Scout and graduating from Mt. Ararat High School in 2013. In the summer of 2016, Max joined our organization as an intern through the Margaret Chase Smith Program. Max graduated from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada in 2017 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Affairs and Policy Management with a minor in Law, and immediately joined MCOG as a full-time staff member. Since graduating, Max has provided planning and technical assistance to a variety of communities, which includes working directly with Planning Boards and municipal leaders, obtaining federal and state grants to improve the local economy, and providing direct assistance on updating Comprehensive Plans. Today, Max serves as the Senior Planning Consultant for MCOG and still enjoys having direct conversations with municipal leaders that are looking for ways to improve the quality of life in the region.
MEG RASMUSSEN, COMMUNITY RESILIENCY PLANNER
For nearly 30 years, Meg Rasmussen has been making communities better places to live, work, and play. Most recently, as the executive director of the Georges River Land Trust, she led the charge in conserving Maine’s great outdoors and made sure wild places would be protected for generations to come. Meg knows how to get things done: she has worked as a senior landscape architect and project manager, creating public parks that enhanced cities and towns, supporting sustainable economic development. One project turned a derelict oil storage facility on the banks of the Hudson River into a vibrant waterfront park, and elsewhere she helped build an award-winning public preserve, bringing the rich history buried in the ruins of a civil war era foundry to light. Public engagement is at the heart of it all and Meg enjoys supporting others who want to shape their communities right now and into the future. Her passion is playing outdoors in any season, which she shares with her husband and daughter every chance she gets.
CHARLOTTE NUTT, GIS/MAPPING SPECIALIST
Charlotte Nutt grew up in Edgecomb where her father was a boatbuilder and her mother worked at local hospitals. She attended Lincoln Academy for the first few years of high school but moved to India for two years where she graduated from high school at the Mahindra United World College of India in Pune, Maharastra in 2014. She came back to the east coast of the United States to attend Dartmouth College where she studied Earth science and economics. After college, Charlotte worked as an assistant clerk/tax collector at the Town of Topsham. There, several staff members pushed her to apply to the Muskie School of Public Service where she began her master’s degree in Community Planning and Sustainable Development in 2020. She now works as the GIS/Mapping Specialist for MCOG where she gets to combine her love of maps with her passion for community planning and building climate resilience. In her free time, Charlotte likes to ski, ride and race her mountain bike, cook locally sourced food, and hang out with her cats.
MICHAEL MARTONE, REDEVELOPMENT PLANNER
Michael was born and raised in northern New Jersey, received his bachelor's degree from Arizona State University, and returned to New Jersey where he earned his Master of City and Regional Planning from Rutgers University. After relocating to Maine, where his siblings had been living, Michael reengaged as a Planning consultant, serving communities across eastern New England. In his personal life, Michael likes to spend his time skiing in the winter, sailing in the summer, and hiking any time. Michael holds an AICP certification, New Jersey Professional Planner's license, and Maine real estate license; in addition to being a member of the American Planning Association, Congress for New Urbanism, Maine Real Estate and Development Association, and the Greater Portland Board of REALTORS®. In short—Michael loves buildings, enjoyable spaces, and the development of places people can thrive.
HANNAH SISK, WEBSITE DEVELOPER
Hannah Sisk moved to Midcoast Maine in her early childhood and has lived here on and off ever since. Hannah graduated from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida with a double Bachelor’s Degree in French and International Studies with minors in Journalism and Mandarin Chinese. Prior to MCOG, she worked as the Administrative Assistant for the Assessing, Planning, and Code Enforcement departments for the Town of Rockport. While there, she became certified as a Maine Tax Assessor. Hannah brings experience working as an elementary school French and English teacher, both in Maine and abroad, and now works in the field of Emergency Medical Services. She joined MCOG in 2020 and has assisted Midcoast communities through grant writing and administration, Comprehensive Plan work and now focuses on MCOG's website management.