ConnectME Authority Members

Jean Wilson, Chair

Jean Wilson is the Vice President of Information Services at LL Bean in Freeport, ME. Prior to her 9 years at LL Bean, Jean worked at UNUM Life Insurance Company for 11 years where she held a variety of leadership roles in Information Technology and Risk Management. She began her career as a computer programmer at Merrill Lynch and Chemical Bank in New York City.

Jean graduated summa cum laude from Bates College with a major in mathematics. She went on to earn a Master of Science degree in Statistics at New York University. Jean currently has membership on the Board of Trustees for the Cancer Community Center, the Advisory Board for the Bates Dance Festival, and the USM Computer Science Advisory Council.

Mitch Davis

Mitch W. Davis is the first Chief Information Officer for Bowdoin. The CIO position was created three years ago because of the strong and vital role technology plays in our academic program," Bowdoin President Barry Mills said. "Mitch Davis is superbly qualified to lead Bowdoin in achieving a clear information technology mission and vision. With his expertise, energy, and creativity, Mitch will be instrumental in making Bowdoin one of the most technically advanced liberal arts colleges in the country."

Davis will assume the key leadership role in the collaborative analysis and redesign of the College's technology strategy and resource allocation in support of learning and teaching, faculty research, and institutional management. Reporting to the President and overseeing a staff of approximately 45, he will be responsible for coordinating technology for all academic and administrative departments.

Davis will help guide the use of technology for teaching and research at Bowdoin, lead the development of a comprehensive IT budget including capital needs, oversee the development of a Web strategy, and evaluate the College's administrative/academic systems and supervise there redesign and implementation.

Before coming to Bowdoin, Davis was at Stanford University for five years, as one of the first Executive Directors in IT at Stanford University. He worked with the CIO and three other Directors to transform an IT staff of six hundred with a budget of over 98 million into a client services and consulting team that was integrated into the academic mission of the University.

As an Associate Dean and CIO for Stanford Law School, and the Assistant Dean for Information Technology at the University of Oregon School of Law, Davis worked with others to design and build the law school of the future where technology was integrated into the teaching and practice of law.

Davis specializes in organizational change management to quickly build cost effective professional IT consulting staffs and teams who are aligned with the academic mission and business of the College. His work in higher education includes developing and introducing many new ideas and technologies, while at the same time creating a new strategic role for IT and the CIO.

Davis is committed to forging alliances between business, government and academia.

Dick Thompson

Dick Thompson is the Chief Information Officer for Maine State Government, working within the Department of Administrative and Financial Services since April 2003. He hit the ground running in several areas, providing assistance to agencies involved in complex projects under development, implementing a project management methodology to improve oversight. To change IT governance, he initiated a complete analysis of IT governing policies to take advantage of best practices identified across the country. He is leading implementation of a new model for IT in Maine state government, making the CIO the responsible IT manager for the Executive Branch.

In July 2005, Dick commenced a major transformation of information technology (IT) in State Government. IT in the Executive Branch had previously been organized around independent State agencies but is now governed with an enterprise approach.

Dick was formerly the Director of the State of Maine, Division of Purchases for twelve years. His responsibilities included: chairing the State Purchases Review Committee; procurement of goods and services (totaling $618,000,000 in FY 2002); and management of state warehousing, printing services, vehicle central fleet program, and the state’s postal system. In 1998, Dick was awarded the “Public Administrator of the Year” award by the Maine Chapter of the ASPA.

On the national level, he served on the Executive Committee of the National Association of Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) and is chair of the Procurement sub-committee.

Active since 1986 in the National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO), he is a former President. He received the Association’s 1999 Guilio Mazzone Distinguished Service Award for his continued service to public purchasing.

Dick’s broad background in the business operations of the State of Maine gives him insight into the needs of government operations. He has twice been named Manager of the Year by the Department of Administrative and Financial Services.

Kurt Adams

Kurt Adams was appointed to serve as Chairman of the Maine Public Utilities Commission in June of 2005. From 2003 until his appointment, Chairman Adams served as Chief Legal Counsel to Governor John E. Baldacci. He was a lawyer in the law firm of Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer & Nelson from 1997 to 2003. Chairman Adams received his Juris Doctor from the University of Maine School of Law in 1997. He also received an M.A. in International Affairs from The George Washington University in 1990 and a B.A. in Government from Skidmore College in 1988. Chairman Adams’ term expires in March 2011.

Authority INFORMATION

ConnectME Authority Members

Jean Wilson, Chair

Mitch Davis

Dick Thompson

Kurt Adams