At its 37th annual meeting on March 10, CEI was pleased to announce the election of Ellen Seidman as the new incoming chairman of its board of directors, Betsy Biemann as vice chairman of the board of directors, and Chip Newell as a new member of the board of directors.

Seidman is currently a senior fellow at the Urban Institute, focusing on housing finance and community development. She is also a research fellow of the Filene Research Institute. She is a resident of Washington, D.C., and Spruce Head.

Biemann advises companies, nonprofits, foundations and government agencies on strategies to drive innovation, growth and economic opportunity. She currently leads the Maine Food Cluster Project of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at Harvard University. She lives in Brunswick with her husband, Sean Callahan, and two children. Biemann joined the CEI board in 2012.

Newell is a principal in The NewHeight Group, a real estate development and marketing consulting firm. Newell’s 35-year real estate career includes extensive experience from complex mixed-use urban projects to single-family homes. Newell is a resident of Portland.

Find out more at www.ceimaine.org.