Ignite PI is led by a team with decades of proven success.

The organization is governed by a daring Board of Directors devoted to making Presque Isle thrive.

Ryan Pelletier

Board Chair

Ryan D. Pelletier was appointed County Administrator effective June 19, 2017.  Prior to his appointment Ryan had served nearly two decades in local and regional government.  He began his career as the Town Manager of Wallagrass, Maine in 1998, followed by 11 years as the Town Manager of St. Agatha, Maine.  In 2010, Ryan was hired as the Director of Economic and Workforce Development at Northern Maine Development.  During this time, he served as both the Executive Director of the Aroostook and Washington Counties Local Workforce Investment Board and Executive Director of Leaders Encouraging Aroostook Development.  Ryan returned to local government management in 2015 and served two years as Town Manager in Madawaska, Maine before taking on his current role at the County.  Ryan has a master's degree in Public Administration from Norwich University and undergraduate degrees in political science and business management from the University of Maine, Fort Kent.  He and his wife Jennifer live on long lake in Northern Maine and have 4 children.

Patricia Sutherland

Secretary

Patricia Sutherland is a retired educator and college administrator who now works part-time as a writer/copy editor for Sutherland Weston Marketing Communications, a full-service marketing firm in Bangor.  Pat is a native of Chapman in Aroostook County where she is now serving her sixth term on the Chapman select board and has been the chair for a number of years. Previously, she was chair of the municipal planning board for a lengthy time.   
Pat served two terms in the Maine Legislature and has been a very active member of several regional and state boards including the Maine Municipal Association Executive Committee, ACAP, and a long-time member of the executive board of the Northern Maine Development Commission, where she is on a number of committees.  Pat also chairs the Aroostook County Tourism board.

Bruce Sargent

Bruce was born and raised along with his 10 siblings on the family farm in the nearby town of Bridgewater.  When Bruce left High School he bought his first truck and started a career in long haul trucking.  Bruce worked for a brokerage business in nearby Mars Hill, and then along with a partner, opened a trucking and brokerage business.  Bruce has been in the trucking and brokerage business for over 40 years, and in 2015 opened Falcon Transportation located in Presque Isle.

Cathy Beaulieu

Cathy was born and raised in Fort Kent and moved to Presque Isle in 1993.  Cathy attended Northern Maine Community College, and later the University of Maine, Presque Isle. Cathy has degrees from the Gemological Institute of America. 
A married mother of 3, Cathy bought the original Wilders Jewelry Store on Main Street in 1996 and has continued to build a thriving business in the heart of the City.  She served as President of the Downtown Revitalization Committee, and on the Board of Northern Maine Development Committee.    
Cathy feels that one of her biggest achievements was to help the Downtown survive the closure of the airbase at Loring, and to grow and thrive.

Kallie Bard

Kallie was born and raised in Madawaska, Maine. She is a graduate of the University of Maine at Presque Isle and holds a degree in Business Management.  Kallie has been working at Thompson Financial Group for 6 years now and has her Life and Health License allowing her to help individuals and families protect and plan for their future. Kallie is on the Central Aroostook Chamber Board and loves being active in the community and helping in any way she can.  Kallie resides in Caribou with her husband Joey, and their two children, Cullen and Teagan.

Julie Libby

Julie was born and raised in Presque Isle, Maine, and spent her professional career in New York City. She began her career in 1990 at Arthur Andersen LLC where she was a manager in the Capital Markets Group overseeing audits and consulting projects for broker-dealers, mutual funds, and commodity pools. Subsequently, in 1996 she joined Fred Alger Management, Inc., a boutique growth Institutional and mutual fund manager, where she became Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer with responsibility for sales , marketing, and operations. Most recently, Julie held two simultaneous positions at OppenheimerFunds, Inc., an asset manager with over $250 billion of assets under management. First as Senior Vice President, Head of Marketing Operations and Program Management as well as President and Chief Operating Officer of OFI Private Investments Inc., the high net worth subsidiary of OppenheimerFunds, Inc. which included separate accounts, the RIA channel, 529 College savings business and all packaged products, retiring in 2016.

Julie graduated in 1990 with high distinction from the University of Maine with a B.S. in Business Administration with concentrations in Finance and Accounting and is a certified public accountant. In addition to Ignite PI , she also serves as Board Member and Secretary of the Portage Lake Association.

Upon her retirement, Julie returned to Presque Isle where she currently divides her time between here and Florida.

Angie Helton

Angie Helton founded Northeast Media Associates, a multimedia public relations firm, in 2006. Through the skillful use of diverse traditional and social media channels, she and her team have consistently met and exceeded the unique PR goals of their clients, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), WEX, The American Hot Rod Foundation, Whole Oceans, Maine State Lottery, Live + Work in Maine, Ramblers Way, FocusMaine and Institute for Family-Owned Business among others.

Before founding NEMA, Angie was COO for 480 Digital of Portland, during which time she earned a national Telly Award and two New England regional Emmy nominations. For more than a decade, she produced television news investigative reports in several major Northeast markets, for which she won two regional Emmys among six nominations. Angie, a South Portland resident, serves on the boards of directors for the South Portland/Cape Elizabeth Chamber of Commerce, Boys and Girls Club of Southern Maine, Maine Sports Hall of Fame and Ignite PI.