Western Mountains Alliance welcomes new board members

New board member Photo:

Linda Walbridge

FARMINGTON – The Western Mountains Alliance welcomed Lynn Thurston, Shaunacy Cobb and Linda Walbridge to the board of directors on November 13 at its annual meeting celebrating western Maine.

Lynn Thurston, owner of Blue Sky Produce, has been a food broker for over 25 years. She has strong ties to local agriculture, having farmed for 10 years in Scarborough before moving to Phillips to farm for another five years. Lynn works closely with wild Maine blueberry producers distributing their products nationally. She was also an advisor to the Western Maine Market (www.westernmainemarket.com), an on-line farmers market serving the Farmington, Rangeley, Kingfield and Wilton areas.

Shaunacy Cobb is the Project Manager for PlaceWorks – a consulting company that works with businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies to strengthen and implement “place-based” development strategies. She is a 1996 graduate of Rockland District High School and a 2000 graduate of the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. Working in the economic and community development arena draws upon her education as a Political Science and English major.

Linda Walbridge is the Director of the Western Maine Economic Development Council, the business and economic development organization for Oxford County. Linda is a dynamic leader of nonprofit, for-profit and community programs, with development and financial consulting background. Her previous experience includes serving as Executive Director of the Maine Conservation School, Development Director for the New England Forestry Foundation, Creator and Editor of the Maine Women’s Journal, and an Account Executive for Merrill Lynch & Co.

The Western Mountains Alliance is a non-partisan nonprofit celebrating over 23 years of grassroots community and economic development in western Maine. For more information please contact Executive Director, Tanya Swain at 778-3885 or tswain@westernmountainalliance.org.