Susan L. Curtis Foundation hires new director, elects board chair

PORTLAND — The Susan L. Curtis Foundation has hired a new executive director and elected a new board chairman.

The Board of Trustees recently welcomed Kathryn R. Pierce as executive director. She holds a master’s degree in public administration from the Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania. A strong advocate for collaboration as a necessary step toward solving any social sector issue, Pierce brings substantial experience in developing strategic partnerships to maximize mission impact, as well as knowledge of nonprofit strategy and capacity building from her past work as a consultant at TCC Group. Most recently, Pierce was a program officer with the Maine Health Access Foundation, where she developed a deep understanding of the impact adverse childhood experiences have on youth development.
Pierce assumed her new position at the Susan L. Curtis Foundation April 8.
The Board of Trustees elected Matthew Cyr chairman of the Board of Trustees. Cyr is a LEED AP project manager at Zachau Construction in Freeport.
A graduate of the University of Maine at Presque Isle, Cyr has more than 17 years of construction industry experience and resides in New Gloucester with his wife and two children. Cyr has served on the Board of SCF since 2015. He is also a member of the ACE Mentoring Program board of directors. Cyr’s two-year term began in January.
Since 1974, the youth development programs of the Susan L. Curtis Foundation have been teaching critical life skills and character development to economically disadvantaged Maine youth from grades three through 12, removing barriers and shifting the trajectory to a path of promise and potential.
Referred by their schools, youth return to Camp Susan Curtis year after year, transitioning to teenage programs. Camp Susan Curtis hosts about 500 Maine boys and girls ages eight to 18 to teach life and leadership skills — including financial responsibility — visual arts, environmental stewardship and literacy activities in a residential camp setting.