Our Staff

  • After finishing her degrees, she taught in public and private middle schools in North Carolina and Maine and served for several years as a social worker for children and families in Knox and Waldo counties. After the birth of her sons, she was introduced to and inspired by Peopleplace Cooperative Preschool, where she taught for ten years and, in the past year and a half, helped to develop a fledgling outdoor education program.

    Her musical experience began with a love affair with the eclectic mix of Mozart, The Kingsmen, Joan Baez, Dave Brubek, Kiri Te Kanawa and Sam Cook that was in constant rotation in her childhood home in Belgium. She started playing the flute as a child and added first alto and then tenor sax in young adulthood. Jen also studied voice in high school and college. Today, she is an accomplished musician and performs with several local bands in Midcoast Maine.

    Jen came to MCMA first as a parent and quickly realized the singular excellence of the Academy and its community of faculty and families. She joined the board of directors in 2017 and has served as its president for over two years. When she is not at MCMA or band practice, she loves everything about spending time outdoors in Maine and making music with her husband and two sons.

  • Maddy was born and raised in Essex, England, before moving to Owls Head with her husband and young family in 2004. Since then, Maddy worked primarily in the RSU 13 school district, first as an Ed Tech and then as an Administrative Assistant at the elementary level.

    Maddy was first introduced to Midcoast Music Academy by Abi Nash back in 2015 when Abi suggested voice lesson for her daughter. Since then, she has been thrilled to watch the growth of this very important program, and has seen and appreciated the positive impact the Academy has had on her music loving child. Being part of this inspiring and dynamic group of faculty and volunteers opens a very exciting new chapter in her life.

    Maddy loves everything about living in Midcoast Maine, welcoming the laid back lifestyle and the amazing landscape, and enjoys spending as much time as possible outside. She is excited to explore her role here at Midcoast Music Academy and combine her love of music and MCMA with her skills in education.

Board of Directors

  • Walter Reitz is a member of the Midcoast Music Academy Board of Trustees. He retired to South Thomaston in 2007 after a 45-year career in a series of management and executive management positions in some of Massachusetts’ premier high technology companies.

    In Maine, Reitz has served as a Trustee at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art, the Budget Committee of the Town of South Thomaston and most recently as Chairman of the South Thomaston Selectboard. The role he likes most, however, is as a guitar player in the MCMA Adult Jam ensemble known as the “Better Late Band”. Walter has a BA from Bowdoin College and an MBA from Northeastern University.

  • Merle Rockwell has over 35 years’ experience as a professional mediator and executive leadership coach. She holds a BA from Alverno College, graduate studies in collaborative dispute resolution from George Mason University and professional coach training from Coaches Training Institute.

    Merle has a long history of community service. Before moving permanently to Maine, she was appointed to the Maryland Ethics Commission and Multicultural Proficiency Committee and has served on several international committees of ICF. Currently, she is a volunteer certified mentor for SCORE Maine, volunteer and board member of the Marshall Point Lighthouse committee and grant writer for Midcoast Music Academy.

    Merle’s love of music has its roots growing up with a father who played stand-up bass in a Dixieland band and held monthly jam sessions in their home. The music gene landed on her eldest son who attended Berkeley College of music and continues to write, produce emerging musicians, teach, and play bass guitar. For Merle, being a part of the MCMA family brings that all full circle.

  • Guy has 30 years of business experience as an operator, investor, and consultant. Guy is a principal of HealthTech Advisors, where he specializes in healthcare IT planning, technology design, implementation, and best practice IT service delivery. Guy is an expert on information systems planning and governance and published “IT Governance in Hospitals and Health Systems”, the HIMSS Book of the Month in November 2014.

    He is a member of the Adjunct Faculty of the Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University and serves as an Industry Adviser to Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies, where he serves on the syllabus committee for its Masters Degree Program in Information and Knowledge Strategy. Guy also served as a Board member for The Possibility Project in New York City, empowering teenagers to transform the negative forces in their lives into positive action.

  • Claire Donnelly (she/her) is a former Midcoast Music Academy student and joined the Board of Directors in 2021. She grew up in Southern Maine but has made Midcoast her home since 2008. She is dedicated to community development through live music and currently plays drums in the feminist punk band Bait Bag which has shared the stage with punk and indie legends Deerhoof, Screaming Females, and Rough Francis.

    She holds a BS from the School of Film and Photography at Montana State University and an MS from the School of Design Strategies at Parsons School of Design. In 2011 she launched her own successful graphic apparel brand, Fox Island Printworks, which she sold in 2017. She then spent three years as a Community Development Officer at the Island Institute and is currently working as a freelance Marketing Director. She recently stepped off of the North Haven Economic Development Corporation board of directors and is excited to bring time and energy as a new board member to MCMA.

  • Paul has over 40 years of business experience in the Blues music world as a promoter, manager, and consultant. He has lived in Rockland since 1973. In 1994, he started the North Atlantic Blues Festival, now in its 29th year. He produces six other festivals,as well as many other shows around the country. Paul was brought up on Jazz and Blues as a child by his parents. Over the years, his love turned to the Blues. He has served on the Maine Arts Commission, was the first person ever elected president of the Blues Foundation in Memphis TN that was not from Memphis. He still sits on a number of committees with the Blues Foundation. A long-time supporter of Midcoast Music Academy, Paul is devoted to promoting local music education and performance and helping to raise the next generation of local musicians.

  • Courtney Naliboff is a teacher, writer, and musician living on North Haven island. She is the K-12 music teacher, a middle and high school English teacher, and directs the theater program for North Haven Community School. She is the co-author of Your Postpartum Body: The Complete Guide to Healing After Pregnancy and writes the "Saltwater Cure" column for Working Waterfront. She also plays the bass and sings in Bait Bag, a Midcoast-based punk trio.

    Courtney is the administrative crew chief and education coordinator for North Haven EMS, and has been volunteering for the organization as an EMT for over a decade. She previously served on the town's planning board. She also sits on the board of Fox Islands Concerts. 

    As a music teacher in a geographically isolated community, Courtney sees the benefits of the enriching programming MCMA offers. Several of her students travel to Rockport on the ferry each week for private lessons or daily in the summer to take advantage of the performance camps. Those same students bring their talent and skills back into the school music program, elevating the experience for all. 

  • Piet is a lifelong resident of the Midcoast and is thrilled to be joining the MCMA Board. He taught himself to play the drums at 12 years old and realized a life-long dream playing with Just Teachers, Midcoast Maine’s preeminent (and only) all educator cover band. His day job for the past 26 years has been as a certified School Counselor and Administrator, most recently at the high school level for 23 years - and counting. Diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2018, Piet decided to “PD proof” his life; that is, find or create opportunities to remain involved in music that wouldn’t be impacted by the neurodegeneration associated with PD. The formula “loves music + loves kids” unequivocally equals MCMA. Long a beneficiary of Just Teachers’ philanthropic giving, it is in many ways an organic progression from playing with JT to supporting others playing at MCMA. In addition to his background as a musician and educator, Piet has extensive experience building community engagement, fundraising, and grant writing.