Responsibilities
Belinda oversees GPCOG’s efforts to raise revenues to support the agency and its programs, while also helping to match potential regional projects with existing and new discretionary grant programs. Additionally, Belinda works to coordinate with organizational partners, state officials, and our congressional delegation on regional projects, and she serves as staff to GPCOG's nonprofit arm, the Center for Regional Prosperity.
Professional Experience
Belinda has a diverse background spanning business management, public service, writing, and education. She has taught writing and literature courses at Maine high schools and middle schools, at SMCC, and to a large and diverse group of homeschoolers in the Greater Portland region. Additionally, she has written 25 books for middle grade and young adult readers and published articles on sundry topics.
In 2006, she helped found the East Bayside Neighborhood Organization and served sequentially as its Vice President, President, and Community Organizer. In her community organizing role as well as in her role as a freelance writer, Belinda has written and managed numerous grants, leveraging funding and increasing capacity for local organizations.
Immediately prior to joining GPCOG she served as the Chief Operating Officer for a Portland design-build company where she oversaw finance, human resources, systems management, and strategic planning, while simultaneously serving on the City Council in Portland, Maine.
Belinda was elected to the Portland City Council in 2015 and served two consecutive 3-year terms. During that time, she served on the GPCOG Executive Committee and was president of the body in FY 2020. She also served on the Board of Directors for Greater Portland Metro, including a term as the Board’s president in 2019 and 2020. She has served on the Portland Public Libraries Board of Trustees and been involved in many regional planning initiatives, advisory committees, and groups.
Education
Belinda earned a bachelor’s degree in secondary English education from the University of Maine and is a graduate of the Nonprofit Leadership Institute of the Maine Association of Nonprofits.