Board of Directors

Syntiro Board

Debbie Gilmer, President
is the President of Syntiro and the Project Director of the Employment for ME Workforce Development System funded by Maine DHHS and VR to certify, support, teach and mentor Employment Specialists across the state. She directed Maine HEP program, a statewide high school equivalency program serving migrant and seasonal farm workers. She previously served as the co-director of the Healthy & Ready to Work National Resource Center funded by the federal Maternal and Child Health Bureau as well as the 2005 Maine State GEAR UP program funded by the US Department of Education’s Office of Post- Secondary Education as well as Associate Director and Acting Director of the University of Maine’s Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies. She has served as a special education teacher, transition coordinator and directed Maine’s statewide inclusive schools project, LEARNS. She served as co-state lead of Maine’s US DOL Employment First State Leadership Mentoring Program and was a founding member of the Employment First Maine Coalition. She served as a board member of Disability Rights Maine, the Maine Department of Education’s Consensus Based Rule Making Panel on Restraint and Seclusion, past president of Maine APSE and currently serves on the national APSE public policy committee. She has provided technical assistance and consultation to the Think College National Resource Center and served on their Advisory Committee. She has conducted technical assistance and training on transition and employment across the country for many years. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology and a Master’s Degree in Special Education from the University of Maine.

Nicholas Gannon, Secretary
Nicholas Gannon is the director at the Capital Area Technical Center in Augusta. Prior to working at CATC , Nicholas was principal at Richmond Middle/High School, part of RSU #2, and principal, assistant principal/athletic director, and math teacher at Lisbon High School in Lisbon Falls, ME. Nicholas’s current work at CATC focuses on workforce development through program creation/expansion to meet the current labor needs and educating communities on the amazing opportunities for students at CATC. Through this work he hopes to help students find and be engaged in school programs that are of high interest and that lead to jobs that are satisfying in high skill/high wage industries. Nicholas's work in Richmond focused on establishing learner agency and structural supports for personalized learning in a proficiency based teaching and learning system. He has presented at state and national conferences as part of a team of RSU #2 representatives. Nicholas' personal education interests include Career and Technical Education, alternative pathways to graduation, and school culture improvement through cultivating hope in all learners. Nicholas holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Brandeis University, completed course work for education certifications at Salem State College, and holds a Master's degree in Educational Leadership from New England College. He lives in Sabattus with his wife Lindsay, children Helen (8) and Wallace (7), three cats, and a one-eyed dog.

Rick Wilson
Rick Wilson is a retired educator who had a 44-year career in education in a variety of capacities. Rick began his career as a music specialist in the Salem (MA) Public Schools. He moved to Maine in 1983 to begin working in the Maranacook Area Schools teaching music at grades K-6 at all the district’s elementary schools. In 1992 he became the Principal of Manchester Elementary School and remained in the position until 2010. He also became Principal of Mt. Vernon Elementary School during his last year in the school district. After leaving public education, Rick served as the Operation Coordinator of Syntiro, working on a variety of educational projects throughout the State of Maine until 2015. At the time, he joined the staff of the Forman Acton Educational Foundation in New Jersey, serving as the Scholarship Director of that organization until his retirement in December 2021. In addition to serving on the Board of Syntiro, he is on the Boards of a variety of community and educational organizations, including the Maranacook Education Foundation.

Jean Roesner, Treasurer
Jean Roesner knows how just one caring adult can change the trajectory of a lifetime. As a first-generation college student whose family knew the necessity of stretching a dollar, she is committed to raising student aspirations and helping others navigate those barriers that can make or break post-secondary academic success. Her work with Syntiro allows her to support economically disadvantaged students across the state of Maine and dovetails with her commitment to her community's children. Even after 20 years of teaching in Maranacook Area Schools, Jean commits herself to doing what is best for her students each and every day. The best part of Jean's job is being an advisor, where she can help kids learn more about themselves and their post-secondary dreams through relationship building, conversation, and encouragement. Jean currently resides with her family in Readfield, Maine. She enjoys traveling and spending time with her family and friends.

Beth Lambert
Beth is the Chief Teaching and Learning Officer at the Maine Department of Education where she leads a wide range of innovative initiatives that provide important and necessary supports to students and educators. The Office of Teaching and Learning includes State Standards, English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), Multi-Tiered Systems of Support, Early Learning, Interdisciplinary Instruction, Learning through Technology, and Maine’s Digital Content Library (MOOSE).
In her over 20 years in education Beth has been a school administrator as well as taught at the middle and high school levels where she served in a leadership capacity around standards, curriculum and assessment, student-centered teaching, and teacher leadership. She has also served on her local schoolboard and chaired the policy committee.

David Twitchell
With a diverse background in education, community service, and management, David's journey has been shaped by a genuine passion for youth and quality education. His father, an experienced educator who specialized in 4th grade, instilled in him the value of dedication to the learning process. Over the years, he actively participated in his father's classroom activities, particularly relishing opportunities like field trips. His wife, Shelley, brought her own dedication to the field of education, serving as a teacher, counselor, and contributing significantly at the Department of Education. In the realm of community involvement, he served on the School Board in Dover-Foxcroft and, more recently, with Maranacook. David's early post-college experiences included roles as a house parent and substitute teacher at a prep school, camp counselor, and substitute teacher in Brewer and Bangor, all of which deepened his commitment to young people and quality education. Post his BA from SUNY at Stony Brook in 1980, his career transitioned into various management positions in retirement homes across NY, CA, and MA. Subsequently, he ventured into vendor work for a couple of years in Bangor, Maine. Since approximately 1995, David has been dedicated to direct service provision (DSP) roles, with intermittent certifications. His journey in this field began with the Charlotte White Center in Dover-Foxcroft, and he is currently associated with the Independence Association in Brunswick, Maine. His overarching mission remains focused on contributing to the well-being and education of individuals, particularly in the realm of direct service provision.

Leilani Mortland
Leilani recently joined the board of Syntiro. She is currently teaching Spanish at Presque Isle High School and serves as the World Language Chair, Varsity Club Advisor, and ESL advocate for English-learners in her district. After she and her husband served as missionaries to the deaf in Mexico and Uruguay for seventeen years, they moved their family to Maine in May of 1999. Leilani homeschooled their ten children for twenty-five years before beginning to serve migrant students and their families through the Migrant Education Program, the High School Equivalency Program, and the Maine Migrant Health Program. It was the perfect mix of her experiences living abroad, speaking Spanish, teaching, and just plain old loving people. After eleven years of direct migrant services and with a growing number of grandchildren (21 and counting) scattered around the USA, Leilani has chosen to concentrate on her high school students and in-home studio piano students, while still having time to travel to see the grandkids during vacations. It is Leilani's hope that serving on the Syntiro Board will give her a chance to once again be involved in meeting the need of providing equitable education and developmental opportunities for students and their families.