EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Meg joins the Rural Youth Institute (RYI) as its first Executive Director, bringing 25 years of visionary and innovative leadership experience in equity and education. Meg’s connection to the foundational work of RYI stretches back to 2016 when she was one of the original Aspirations Incubator Program Managers, creating and growing the KW Leads Program at Kieve-Wavus Education. From 2018-2021, Meg continued her commitment to the expanding work of the Aspirations Incubator as a board member of the Rural Futures Fund. 

Over the course of her career, Meg has created and delivered programs that have expanded access to opportunity while driving transformational change for young people and communities. She is a relationship-centered leader, with a deep belief that a brighter future is possible when we open ourselves to new ideas and the diversity of relationships that exist all around us. Meg is particularly excited to bring her experience and optimistic energy to nurturing a bright and hopeful future for youth across rural communities.

When she’s not dreaming up ways to create brighter futures for young people, Meg loves to get her hands in the dirt at Twin Villages Foodbank Farm, a grow-for-donation farm in Lincoln County that she co-founded with her partner Sara and daughter Adley in 2015. She is an avid reader, a farm-inspired cook, and lover of the Maine outdoors!

PRESIDENT

Don is a visionary and cause-driven leader with over 35 years of experience in youth development and senior management. Known for his engaging and optimistic personality, he has been at the forefront of social enterprise, creating impactful projects and organizations that empower young people to thrive. A proven change agent with an entrepreneurial spirit, Don believes that lives are transformed through the relationships built within programs and organizations, not the structures themselves. He has dedicated his career to fostering these connections, developing innovative, student-centered models that build resilience and aspiration in youth. Don lives on the St. George peninsula in mid-coast Maine with his wife, Sheryl.

VICE PRESIDENT

Owen McCarthy is the President and co-founder of MedRhythms, a digital therapeutics company that uses sensors, music, and software to build evidence-based, neurologic interventions to measure and improve walking. In addition to his work at MedRhythms, he has become a leader in the field of digital therapeutics by co-chairing the reimbursement working group of the digital therapeutics alliance and acting as a roster of experts in Digital Health for the World Health Organization.

In the state of Maine, Owen currently serves the higher education system as the Vice-Chair of the University of Maine Board of Visitors (after serving as Chair from 2017-2019). Owen is a graduate of Katahdin High School, the University of Maine, and the Harvard Business School.

Owen is honored and inspired to be on the Rural Futures Fund’s board of directors. He says, “As a first-generation college student from rural Patten, ME, I was fortunate to have a strong support network of mentors that helped me raise my aspirations -- I now want to find a way to give this opportunity to countless others students in rural Maine.” Owen serves on the Communications Committee of the Rural Futures Fund’s board.

TREASURER

After spending 15 years in the nonprofit sector, Erin has been on the leadership team at the Rural Futures Fund in Portland, ME since 2013, and currently serves as Associate Director. Erin also works with the Rocking Moon Foundation, and recently moved into her current role as Executive Director there after serving as a grantmaking advisor since 2016. She earned a Master of Public Policy and Management degree from the Muskie School at the University of Southern Maine in 2005, and recently completed a term as Board Chair at the Maine Philanthropy Center. She and her husband Ben Slayton have two children, ages 12 and 9.