Leadership Team

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.

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.

James joined Katahdin Trust Company in September 2023 as a Vice President, Commercial Services Officer, where he serves the banking needs of various commercial clients across Northern Maine. James has extensive experience in the Agricultural, Forest Products, and Transportation industries. Prior to joining Katahdin Trust Company, James has worked as a Vice President, Commercial Relationship Manager at TD Bank and as a Relationship Manager at Farm Credit East.

James attended college at the University of Maine, where he graduated in 2015 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Financial Economics and a minor in Business Administration. Subsequently, he received his Master of Business Administration Degree with a concentration in Finance from the University of Maine in 2021. In addition to Ignite Presque Isle, he is a member of the Caribou Development Committee, the Presque Isle Rotary Club. James currently resides in Caribou with his wife Sierra and their four children.

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.

LeRae was born and raised in Mapleton, Maine. She spent 24 years at SAD 1 as both a teacher and administrator before transitioning to the leadership role at Ignite PI in November 2022. She has extensive nonprofit and grant writing experience, securing more than $1 million for SAD 1 during her tenure. Her creativity and community connections will prove to be an asset for Ignite PI.

LeRae attended University of Maine at Farmington where she earned a BS in Secondary Education and earned her master's in educational leadership from University of Southern Maine. In addition, she has a certificate in Leadership from Harvard Business School. She was recognized as Adult Education Director of the Year in 2017 and was recently inducted into the Worldwide Women's Association. She resides in Mapleton with her husband Kevin and two daughters, Libby and Molly.

Karen Morgan was raised in Monterey, California. She graduated with a BA from MPC. After a successful 25-year career in the automotive industry, she found new satisfaction working with non-profits. She worked for The Gathering for Women in Monterey for ____ year and has traveled to orphanages in Haiti and South Sudan on mission trips. Karen moved to Presque Isle, Maine in September 2022 to pursue a new challenge as the Administrative Director of Ignite PI.

Karen enjoys spending time with her two grandsons and new adventures with her partner Brad and sweet little dog, Pippa.

Chris, a Presque Isle native, earned his bachelor's degree in finance from the University of Maine and his MBA from Bentley University. He is an insurance and risk management expert, retiring as President & CEO of United Insurance, one of New England's largest independent insurance agencies.

Throughout his career it has been important to Chris to give back to the community. He would share that it has been his privilege to be in leadership roles with the following organizations: United Way of Aroostook, Presque Isle Rotary Club, Presque Isle Snowmobile Club, AMHC, Maine Independent Insurance Agents Association, Yarmouth Colts Soccer Club and Fort Fairfield Girls Varsity soccer team.

In his free time he still enjoys racing bikes, hiking tall peaks and skiing black diamonds.

He resides in Presque Isle with his wife, Denise and has two grown daughters, Abby and Rachel.