Board of Directors

CELT’s volunteer officers, directors, and advisory council are your friends and neighbors. They contribute generously of both their time and resources. Any of them will be glad to share with you how you, too, can contribute to preserving the special character of Cape Elizabeth.

Officers

President: Liz Murley

Vice President: Chris Tullmann

Treasurer: Bob Ayotte

Secretary: Marybeth Richardson

Executive Committee Member-at-Large: Celeste Bannock

Board Biographies

Bob Ayotte is a retired financial executive who spent 32 years working for Textron Inc., a Providence, RI-based international manufacturer of aerospace, defense, and industrial products with annual revenues of $13 billion. During his career with Textron, he was the CFO of several business units, served as assistant corporate controller, and retired as a corporate officer and vice president of audit services. Prior to joining Textron, he worked for three years for a Boston-based CPA firm. Bob graduated with an accounting degree from Boston College, has an MBA from Babson College and was a Certified Public Accountant in Massachusetts.

In addition to serving on the board of the Cape Elizabeth Land Trust, Bob is involved with several local not-for-profit organizations. He serves as treasurer of Catholic Charities Maine, Wayside Food Programs, Maine Track Club, and Maine Running Hall of Fame. He is a board member for Maine Audubon, Victoria Mansion, and the Friends of Fort Williams Park where he is a past president. He is the former chair of Girls on the Run – Maine and former race director of the Maine Track Club Turkey Trot 5K.

Bob and his wife Linda have three grown sons and reside in Cape Elizabeth.

Lynn Bailets, with degrees in history and law, was a member of bar associations in Washington DC and Pennsylvania. He retired from NASA headquarters, Washington DC, where he worked in contract oversight, policy, and management. 

In November 2017 Lynn and his wife Katherine Crosson moved from Kensington MD, a suburb of Washington DC., to Cape Elizabeth.  Soon after their arrival, they participated in a CELT cross town walk and Lynn joined CELT as a member of the Lands Committee and, subsequently, the Conservation Leadership Circle.  In addition to involvement in CELT, Lynn is a member of the Governance Committee and the Board of Directors of the Friends of Fort Williams Park and a member of the Community Committee and Advisory Board of Directors of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Southern Maine.  An avid walker, conservationist, and nature lover, Lynn believes strongly in CELT’s mission.  In addition to all the outdoors activities that CELT and Cape Elizabeth offer, Lynn enjoys creating nonrepresentational wood sculptures, writing free verse, gardening, and practicing yoga.

Celeste Bannock has over 15 years’ experience working in the field of nonprofit fundraising, including twelve years working for the Appalachian Mountain Club. Celeste grew up in Cape Elizabeth and graduated from Cape Elizabeth High School, before earning a BA from Colby College and a Master of Liberal Arts Degree in Management from the Harvard University Extension School.

Celeste got involved with CELT when she moved back to Cape with her husband Brandon in 2016. “We feel fortunate to raise our two young sons in such a beautiful natural environment,” says Celeste. For their ages, the boys have logged quite a bit of “trail time” – and some of their favorite spots include Great Pond, Hobstone Woods, and Robinson Woods. Celeste loves hiking and Nordic skiing and has been lucky enough to hike in Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Big Bend National Parks as well as Italy and Patagonia.

Jill Darling has been a CELT volunteer on the Education Committee for over 10 years. She organizes community programming and leads field trips and classroom lessons for the schools. Jill taught Middle School Science in Massachusetts for 9 years, and in Maine for 3 years. She studied Biology and Environmental Studies at Bowdoin College, and later earned a Masters in Middle School Science Education. She is looking forward to continuing her partnership with CELT as a member of the Board and the Education Committee.  

Whitney Hess is an executive coach for leaders and teams on a mission to put humanity back into business. Her clients include design leaders, creative technologists, social entrepreneurs, and artist-activists who wish to cultivate compassionate and inclusive organizational cultures by starting with themselves. Previously, Whitney was a user experience consultant recognized for her work with the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, Foundation Center, and WNYC New York Public Radio. She is a two-time graduate of Carnegie Mellon University with a Master’s in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and a Bachelor’s in Professional Writing and HCI. She speaks at conferences and corporations worldwide.

A native New Yorker, Whitney and her partner Fredrick moved to Maine in early 2019 after
stints in the Florida Keys, San Diego, and Japan. Upon arriving in Cape Elizabeth, they became
devoted to the conservation of natural land in this very special place on earth. Whitney joined
the CELT Board of Directors in 2023 and is grateful to be of service in furthering its mission to
foster a love of the natural world—acknowledging we are on the unceded homelands of the
Wabanaki peoples, mitigating the impacts of climate change, and ensuring equal access for all.

Kevin Jordan grew up in Cape Elizabeth. After graduating from Cape Elizabeth High School, he went away to college and graduate school in western Massachusetts. He earned an advanced degree in Computer Science and worked on supercomputer operating systems and data communications networks at the University of Massachusetts for ten years before moving to Minnesota where
he spent most of his professional career developing operating systems and enterprise-scale software. He returned to his roots in Cape Elizabeth in 2010. Kevin turned from software executive to farmer at the beginning of 2020. He currently collaborates with his brother to operate Jordan Brothers Farm, a 10-ish acre hobby farm in Cape Elizabeth, growing lots of garlic and pumpkins. He also enjoys traveling as much as possible
with his best friend and wife, Holly. In addition to serving as a member of the CELT Board of
Directors, Kevin serves as Vice President of the Cape Farm and Fishing Alliance. He’s passionate
about helping to preserve the rural character and agricultural heritage of the town.

Dennis Leiner has been trying (unsuccessfully) to retire since selling his medical device company in 2010. He currently works as a consultant for startups in the medical device industry and serves as vice-president of the Bioscience Association of Maine and as Chairman of the Board for the Optics and Electro-Optics Standards Council.

Dennis moved to Cape in 2001 with his wife Jayne. At the time, they knew of Portland as a sea kayaking destination but didn’t know much about Cape’s outdoor spaces. They were introduced to the land trust by friends who were designing the CELT maps, and soon became members.

In addition to kayaking, Dennis is an avid swimmer, but also enjoys sharing more terrestrial activities with his grandson and granddaughter, who both live in Cape Elizabeth.

Liz Murley often refers to herself as a recovering lawyer, having practiced corporate law in Boston years ago. She lived in London for many years, doing a lot of volunteer work using her legal training to help several non-profits. Moving back to the U.S., she and her husband, Tom, considered San Francisco, Austin, and Portland,
and kept coming back to Cape Elizabeth because of its rural feel, only minutes from the city. Her favorite walk in the woods is the Great Pond trail, which makes her feel like she’s a million miles away, even though it’s only 15 minutes from her front door.  She is also able to work remotely for an executive search firm in Boston that specializes in academia and non-profits. Off the clock, she sings in two choirs, Portland Community Chorus and Choral Art Masterworks, and gets out in the woods.

Marybeth Richardson has a Bachelor of Science degree in environmental science from Rutgers University. She and her husband, John, and their two children moved to Cape Elizabeth in 1994. For over 25 years, she has worked for the Maine Department of Environmental Protection in various roles, notably as the southern Maine regional office supervisor of Land development licensing and currently as the regional office’s director. She coordinates the Maine Harvest for the Hungry program at Maxwell’s Community Garden, which donates produce to Judy’s Pantry, and also serves as an associate supervisor of the Cumberland County Soil and Water Conservation District. Aside from gardening and running the roads in town, Marybeth enjoys hiking and cross-country skiing.

Rick Rosu-Myles is originally from Canada, but has enjoyed living in Maine since 1994. His love of the outdoors led him on many adventures throughout Maine and is a primary reason he and his wife (Tori) chose to raise their two children in Cape Elizabeth.  Rick has many hobbies that include fishing, skiing, white water sports, snowmobiling, hunting, woodworking and cycling. Professionally, Rick is an Executive Director for Morgan Stanley and has worked in financial services since 1994. Before moving to Maine, Rick attended Boston University and was a two-year captain of the varsity basketball team.

Chris Tullmann has recently returned (2016) to Cape Elizabeth after living away for 8 years. Chris has a degree in Civil Engineering (WPI) and has worked with land use and transportation planning. He has been working and playing in the outdoors his entire life and sharing that with family and friends. Chris brings experience to his role as chair of the Stewardship Committee from the other places he has lived and the many other land conservation and trail organizations with which he has worked. Chris and his wife, Paige, have two young sons, with whom they enjoy spending time outside on foot, bike, boat, or skis.

David Wennberg currently serves as a board member for CELT, SchoolCare (an innovative startup supporting school nurses through technology), Pyramid Heathcare (a provider of acute care services for people with alcohol and opioid use disorders). Prior to 2021, David worked for Quartet Health, a growth stage company creating integrated mental and physical health care. At Quartet served as CEO from 2018-2021. Prior, he was Quartet’s Chief Data Scientist and led the Business Development team. David previously served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Northern New England Accountable Care Collaborative (NNEACC), and as the Chief Executive Officer of the High Value Health Collaborative at The Dartmouth Institute. A co-founder of Health Dialog Analytic Solutions, the analytic division of Health Dialog, David served as Health Dialog’s Chief Science Officer. David received his MD from McGill University and MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health, and was a member of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice faculty.