PORTLAND – Deborah T. Cook has been named executive director of the Maine Small Business Alliance, a member-based advocacy organization for small business.

Cook has more than 20 years of experience in public policy and with Maine’s small business community. Most recently as president of Cook Consulting, she worked with the Center for Educational Services in Auburn and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration in Bethesda, Md. She has served as a vice president of the Maine Science and Technology Foundation, director of Communication for the Greater Portland Chamber of Commerce, media director and press secretary to the Clinton-Gore campaigns in Maine and in numerous civic leadership roles. She served as a board member and chairwoman of the Institute for Civic Leadership, board member of Maine Businesses for Social Responsibility, District Advisory Council member of Maine District office of the U.S. Small Business Administration and delegate to the 1995 White House Conference on Small Business. Cook lives in Portland.

The Maine Small Business Alliance speaks on issues including developing accessible and affordable quality health care, creating a vibrant business climate, preserving Maine’s natural environmental legacy and investing in education and training to ensure a skilled and productive workforce.

Jeff Sosnaud, the alliance’s former executive director, is deputy commissioner of the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development. The Maine Small Business Alliance is on the Web at www.msb-alliance.org and is located at 565 Congress St. in Portland.

Gayton hired

as consultant

POLAND – Joline Gayton of Poland recently became a consultant for Tastefully Simple Inc., a national direct sales company based in Alexandria, Minn.

As a consultant, Gayton conducts in-home presentations of upscale, convenience driven gourmet foods. During these interactive taste-testing parties, guests receive easy meal ideas, recipes and entertainment suggestions. Products are received at the party; gift boxes may be ordered for personal and corporate gifts. Gayton joins more than 15,500 consultants in 50 states and Puerto Rico.