Staff and Board Members

Ben is the Chief Operating Officer at Thompson Financial Group in Presque Isle. Prior to that, Ben served as the Chief Business Officer at the University of Maine at Presque Isle for 5 years. Ben also had a variety of management positions at the Defense Finance and Accounting Service Center on Loring for 12 years, including serving as the Deputy Site Director. Ben has a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Maine at Presque Isle, and his Masters in Business from Husson University. Ben and his wife Sasha reside in Mapleton with their three boys, Reed, Grant and Myles.

Tim Crowley has served as president of Northern Maine Community College for 20 years. Since 2002 Crowley has focused on program development, striving to ensure the college meets local and state workforce needs. Crowley serves on the boards of Aroostook Partnership for Progress, LifeFlight Foundation, and the Presque Isle Rotary Club, which recognized Crowley as a Paul Harris Fellow in 2019. Crowley served on Maine Community Foundation’s Aroostook County Committee from 2009-2018, and currently serves on the board of directors. In higher education, Crowley has worked closely with the Center for International Higher Education and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, chairing accreditation teams for the commission in Connecticut, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Crowley completed his baccalaureate and master’s degrees at the University of Southern Maine.

Lee Umphrey joined Eastern Maine Development Corporation (EMDC) as President and CEO in October, 2018. EMDC fosters public private relationships while leveraging resources to support small business growth and workforce and economic development programs. Lee joined the LDA in 2021 with deep Aroostook County roots hailing from a family that helped found Washburn in 1852. He stayed connected to the county playing a lead role in the establishment of the Loring Job Corps Center in 1997. Lee was appointed to the Governor's Economic Recovery Committee in 2020 to develop policy recommendations to stabilize and grow the Maine economy during a national pandemic. He has managed business, education, training and healthcare programs while promoting public policies and best practices. He was Director of Communications for Maine Governor John Baldacci and Community Liaison in Belfast, Northern Ireland for Senator George Mitchell during the Northern Ireland peace negotiations.