Our Staff

  • Jen came to MCMA first as a parent and quickly realized the singular excellence of the Academy and its community of faculty and families. She joined the board of directors in 2017 and has served as its president for over two years.

    After finishing her degrees, she taught in public and private middle schools in North Carolina and Maine and served for several years as a social worker for children and families in Knox and Waldo counties. After the birth of her sons, she was introduced to and inspired by Peopleplace Cooperative Preschool, where she taught for ten years and, helped to develop a fledgling outdoor education program.

    Her musical experience began with a love affair with the eclectic mix of Mozart, The Kingsmen, Joan Baez, Dave Brubek, Kiri Te Kanawa and Sam Cook that was in constant rotation in her childhood home in Belgium. She started playing the flute as a child and added first alto and then tenor sax in young adulthood. Jen also studied voice in high school and college. Today, she is an accomplished musician and performs with several local bands in Midcoast Maine.

    When she is not at MCMA or band practice, she loves everything about spending time outdoors in Maine and making music with her husband and two sons.

  • Maddy was born and raised in Essex, England, before moving to Owls Head with her husband and young family in 2004. Since then, Maddy worked primarily in the RSU 13 school district, first as an Ed Tech and then as an Administrative Assistant at the elementary level.

    Maddy was first introduced to Midcoast Music Academy by Abi Nash back in 2015 when Abi suggested voice lesson for her daughter. Since then, she has been thrilled to watch the growth of this very important program, and has seen and appreciated the positive impact the Academy has had on her music loving child. Being part of this inspiring and dynamic group of faculty and volunteers opens a very exciting new chapter in her life.

    Maddy loves everything about living in Midcoast Maine, welcoming the laid back lifestyle and the amazing landscape, and enjoys spending as much time as possible outside. She is excited to explore her role here at Midcoast Music Academy and combine her love of music and MCMA with her skills in education.

Board of Directors

  • Walter Reitz is a member of the Midcoast Music Academy Board of Trustees. He retired to South Thomaston in 2007 after a 45-year career in a series of management and executive management positions in some of Massachusetts’ premier high technology companies.

    In Maine, Reitz has served as a Trustee at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art, the Budget Committee of the Town of South Thomaston and most recently as Chairman of the South Thomaston Selectboard. The role he likes most, however, is as a guitar player in the MCMA Adult Jam ensemble known as the “Better Late Band”. Walter has a BA from Bowdoin College and an MBA from Northeastern University.

  • Guy has 30 years of business experience as an operator, investor, and consultant. Guy is a principal of HealthTech Advisors, where he specializes in healthcare IT planning, technology design, implementation, and best practice IT service delivery. Guy is an expert on information systems planning and governance and published “IT Governance in Hospitals and Health Systems”, the HIMSS Book of the Month in November 2014.

    He is a member of the Adjunct Faculty of the Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University and serves as an Industry Adviser to Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies, where he serves on the syllabus committee for its Masters Degree Program in Information and Knowledge Strategy. Guy also served as a Board member for The Possibility Project in New York City, empowering teenagers to transform the negative forces in their lives into positive action.

  • Paul has over 40 years of business experience in the Blues music world as a promoter, manager, and consultant. He has lived in Rockland since 1973. In 1994, he started the North Atlantic Blues Festival, now in its 29th year. He produces six other festivals,as well as many other shows around the country. Paul was brought up on Jazz and Blues as a child by his parents. Over the years, his love turned to the Blues. He has served on the Maine Arts Commission, was the first person ever elected president of the Blues Foundation in Memphis TN that was not from Memphis. He still sits on a number of committees with the Blues Foundation. A long-time supporter of Midcoast Music Academy, Paul is devoted to promoting local music education and performance and helping to raise the next generation of local musicians.

  • Courtney Naliboff is a teacher, writer, and musician living on North Haven island. She is the K-12 music teacher, a middle and high school English teacher, and directs the theater program for North Haven Community School. She is the co-author of Your Postpartum Body: The Complete Guide to Healing After Pregnancy and writes the "Saltwater Cure" column for Working Waterfront. She also plays the bass and sings in Bait Bag, a Midcoast-based punk trio.

    Courtney is the administrative crew chief and education coordinator for North Haven EMS, and has been volunteering for the organization as an EMT for over a decade. She previously served on the town's planning board. She also sits on the board of Fox Islands Concerts. 

    As a music teacher in a geographically isolated community, Courtney sees the benefits of the enriching programming MCMA offers. Several of her students travel to Rockport on the ferry each week for private lessons or daily in the summer to take advantage of the performance camps. Those same students bring their talent and skills back into the school music program, elevating the experience for all. 

  • Kyle Von Neumann is an educator, musician, sailor, and man of eclectic interests who joined the board in 2025.

    After growing up in Ohio and studying music education at Miami University, he moved to Atlanta where he was the assistant director of Ecelctic Music, a school much like MCMA. He also started an instrumental music program at a K-12 private school whose mission was to serve the gifted and twice-exceptional community. Then, with a mission to make ensemble playing an accessible and exciting experience, Kyle started a steel drum program in Atlanta alongside the wind band program.

    Looking to feed his hunger for learning, Kyle moved to Rockland in 2019 to study boatbuilding and seamanship at The Apprenticeshop. At the conclusion of his two-year apprenticeship, Kyle volunteered with the youth boatbuilding program at the Apprenticeshop and taught music and cultural studies at a local K-8 school.

    Now a licensed captain, Kyle spends his summer on Morning in Maine as the senior deckhand, runs boats for The Apprenticeshop’s free community sailing program, and offers harbor tours and sailing lessons with The Sail, Power, and Steam Museum. You can also find him leading midcoast Maine’s community steel drum band, Pen Bay Pan.

    With a passion for values-based programming and leadership, Kyle is excited to bring his energy and experience to MCMA.

  • Piet is a lifelong resident of the Midcoast and is thrilled to be joining the MCMA Board. He taught himself to play the drums at 12 years old and realized a life-long dream playing with Just Teachers, Midcoast Maine’s preeminent (and only) all educator cover band. His day job for the past 26 years has been as a certified School Counselor and Administrator, most recently at the high school level for 23 years - and counting. Diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2018, Piet decided to “PD proof” his life; that is, find or create opportunities to remain involved in music that wouldn’t be impacted by the neurodegeneration associated with PD. The formula “loves music + loves kids” unequivocally equals MCMA. Long a beneficiary of Just Teachers’ philanthropic giving, it is in many ways an organic progression from playing with JT to supporting others playing at MCMA. In addition to his background as a musician and educator, Piet has extensive experience building community engagement, fundraising, and grant writing.

  • Kate moved to Maine in 2020, and one of her first adventures in her new community was taking a class at MCMA. Now retired after a 42-year career in education, she is proud to support MCMA’s mission by serving on the Board of Directors.

    Throughout her career, Kate held a wide range of leadership and teaching roles, including Superintendent, Principal, Special Education Director, and special education teacher for grades 2–12. She also taught High School Chorale and served as Co-Director of the Tufts Children’s Theater programs in Medford, Massachusetts. Kate holds a master’s degree from Boston College and a CAGS from Northeastern University. Prior to retiring, she was President of the Midcoast Superintendent’s Group and recently served on the Library/Community Center Commission for the Town of South Thomaston. She is also a board member of the People’s Fitness Cooperative and volunteers at Earth Flow Yoga Studio in Rockland.

    Music has been a grounding force throughout Kate’s life. Growing up in suburban New York with exceptional music teachers, she experienced firsthand how high-quality musical opportunities can shape a person’s growth. Participation in musical activities improves health and wellbeing, enhances problem solving skills and creativity, and strengthens social connections. MCMA’s excellent and accessible programs offer those same opportunities for everyone, strengthening the wellbeing of the community as a whole. MCMA provides a crucial service in the Midcoast region—providing space and inspiration for people to innovate, collaborate and create in a safe, welcoming environment.