For the past several years, Maine Magazine has identified 50 Mainers who are making important contributions to the well-being of our state. Today we speak with two people from the 2016 list: Don Gooding and Eliza Townsend. Don Gooding is the fomer Executive Director of the Maine Center for Entrepreneurial Development; Eliza Townsend is is the Executive Director of the Maine Women’s Lobby.
Guests
Eliza Townsend
Eliza is the Executive Director of the Maine Women’s Lobby. She represented part of Portland in the Maine House of Representatives for 8 years, then moved into the non-profit sector when she became the first Executive Director of the Maine League of Conservation Voters & Maine Conservation Voters Education Fund. During Eliza’s tenure, the Conservation Voters convened the Environmental Priorities Coalition, comprising two-dozen diverse groups that agree to and advocate for a common legislative agenda. Eliza left the Conservation Voters when she joined the Maine Department of Conservation, where she served first as Deputy Commissioner and later Commissioner. She joined MWL in 2011.
Don Gooding
Don Gooding has been Executive Director of the Maine Center for Entrepreneurial Development since October 2010, and is host of the Saturday evening television show Greenlight Maine. He served as Vice Chair of the Maine Angels for four years, and has taught or spoken about innovation and entrepreneurship at seven Maine colleges. Previously he was a telecommunications market analyst and venture capitalist for sixteen years, then founded and ran a global a cappella music business for sixteen years based out of Southwest Harbor. The “Gooding Cups” are now given out at the big college and high school a cappella competitions, the real world events on which the movie “Pitch Perfect” is based.