Healthy Communities of Capital Area welcomes new board members

GARDINER — Ranae L’Italien and Patrick Cheek have joined its Board of Directors of Healthy Communities of the Capital Area.
L’Italien is executive director of Kennebec Valley YMCA. L’Italien and KVYMCA are longtime partners with HCCA, helping to implement youth obesity prevention and nutrition education programs. L’Italien brings a background in early childhood education and organizational management, as well as experience planning and implementing fundraising events and building community connections.
Cheek is an assistant professor of psychology at University of Maine at Augusta. His academic interests include family poverty, non-resident parenthood, the college trajectories of rural students, and family policy. Strengths Cheek will bring to HCCA’s Board of Directors include community connections, fundraising and development, grant writing, and advocacy.
“Our Board of Directors are critical community partners in HCCA’s public health work,” said Renee Page, executive director. “Given the current challenges in public health, it has never been more critical to bring in that community voice and drive to make change, and we’re thrilled Ranae and Patrick will join our mission.”
HCCA voted in its newest board members at its 2020 Annual Meeting on June 22. The meeting also brought three board members’ tenure to a close: Cecil Munson, Tom Warren and Fred White. White, a clinical psychologist based in Winthrop, served on the board for nine years and was board chair since 2016. Munson served since 2017 and brought a voice for downtown Augusta to the table. Warren, former KVYMCA executive director, joined the board in 2014 and acted as treasurer since 2015.