About Us
Management
Laurence W. Gross, Executive Director
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Larry received a Master in Public Administration in 1976 and a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology in 1974 from the University of Maine. He has been executive director of the Southern Maine Agency on Aging since 1983. Larry is responsible for the management and operations of this 130+-employee agency with an annual budget of approximately $5 million dollars.
Deborah DiDominicus, Deputy Director
Debbie is a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW). She received her certificate in human resource management from the University of Southern Maine in 1993, and earned a Bachelor of Arts in sociology from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine in 1969. She has been working in the field of aging since 1969, and since 1980 at the Southern Maine Agency on Aging. She is responsible for overseeing all of our clinical services. Debbie is responsible for human resources and has developed many agency initiatives, including caregiver-training programs, the first conference on elder abuse in the region, and Money Minders, a check writing and budgeting program. Since 1995 Debbie has led the Southern Maine Long Term Care Working Group, an organization of over 50 provider groups and organizations who focus on information and advocacy for older persons.
Thomas O'Connor, Director of Finance
Tom has an undergraduate degree from Fordham College and a master’s degree in business administration from Western New England College. He worked for two years with Irving Trust Company, followed by seven years with Connecticut Bank and Trust. He was controller and then president of Brewster Corporation for 19 years. Since moving to Maine in 1998, Tom has worked in finance and accounting for the Maine Coast Hertitage Trust, The Friends of Casco Bay, and Catherine Morrill Day Nursery.
Katlyn Blackstone, Director of Community Services
Katlyn is a licensed social worker and has a Master of Science in education with a major in gerontology. She first joined the Southern Maine Agency on Aging in 2001 as an elder advocate and became a Medicare Part D specialist in 2004, responsible for educating the public about the changes to the Federal Medicare Program. In 2006, Katlyn accepted the supervisor position in the department and was named director in 2007.
Margaret (Peg) A. Brown, Director of Development
Peg is a certified fund-raising executive (CFRE) with an undergraduate degree in English from Kalamazoo College and a Master of Science in training and development from the University of Southern Maine. She directed fundraising programs at Westbrook College, Bowdoin College and the Univeristy of Southern Maine for a total of 25 years before joining the Southern Maine Agency on Aging in February 2005. Peg has particular expertise in major and planned gifts.
Ken Murray, Director of Volunteer Services
Ken began working with Southern Maine Agency on Aging in 1990, serving first as elder services planner. In 1995, Ken became the director of the Retired & Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP). This position was later expanded and renamed Director of Volunteer Services. In his position as director, Ken supervises a variety of volunteer-based programs that provide for seniors. He also continues to direct RSVP. Prior to joining the Southern Maine Agency on Aging in 1990, Ken served as an educator and minister. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Dartmouth College, a Master of Science in Educational Communications from the University at Albany and a Master of Divinity from Andover Newton Theological School.
Frank Schiller, Director of Supported Housing
Frank joined the Southern Maine Agency on Aging to develop the independent housing with services program in partnership with Westbrook Housing and to expand supported housing services to the tenants of Portland Housing Authority’s facilities. Frank worked with the Maine Department of Mental Health and Corrections as a planner, eventually directing a division where his responsibilities included plans for a single Department of Corrections, separate from mental health services. He was responsible for community support development, and was liaison with the legislature and the Governor’s office, as well as work with several national level organizations. Moving on to direct the Maine Council of Community Mental Health Services, a statewide association of service providers, he organized regulatory and legislative reforms, such as mandatory health insurance coverage for mental health and substance abuse treatment, and built coalitions with mental health consumer and family organizations. For several years Frank directed a community mental health organization, developing group homes and community support services. Frank holds a Bachelor of Arts from Lawrence University.
Debra Thomas, Program Manager, Truslow Adult Day Health Center
Debra has a Bachelor of Arts in social work. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy, Massachusetts where she received the Outstanding Senior in Social Work Award. She is a licensed social worker who has been working in geriatrics for more than 25 years. Her career began as a care manager for Senior Home Care in Boston. In 1983, she returned to her native Maine where she held various positions serving seniors. She was a social services director at two nursing homes and the administrator of an assisted living facility. She has been affiliated with the Southern Maine Agency on Aging for more than 25 years. She was hired in 1985 and worked as a case manager for seven years. She returned as an advocate in and was then promoted to her current administrative position to oversee the Adult Day Program in the fall of 2005.
Edward (Ted) Trainer, Director of Healthy Aging
Ted received both a master and a doctorate in public heath from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; his undergraduate degree is from Harvard College. He has worked as program manager for the United Nations Population Fund and Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and helped build an international public-private sector partnership for polio eradication as the program manager of PolioPlus with the Rotary Foundation. Before joining the Southern Maine Agency on Aging in 2006, Ted was a project officer for the Maine Cardiovascular Health Program.
Eileen Whynot, Director of Community Relations and Editor of “Senior News”
Eileen holds a Bachelor of Science in Human Services from New Hampshire College, an Associate degree in business from the University of Maine and graduate certification in language science. Prior to joining the Southern Maine Agency on Aging, Eileen owned Integrated Marketing & Public Relations. Her clients included: GrowSmart Maine, Habitat for Humanity and The Natural Resources Council of Maine. Before starting her own firm, Eileen was the manager of marketing and public relations at Mercy Health System of Maine. Eileen has more than 25 years experience in social services and home health care including holding the position of Director of Development and Public Relations for nine years. She joined the Agency on Aging in 2006.
