PARIS – The Rape Crisis and Education Hotline has announced six new members to its board of directors.

Debbie Dembski, executive director, said, “I am heartened that the new board members, in spite of many other commitments, have decided to put their energies into assisting REACH in raising awareness about efforts at ending sexual violence. Each of them brings a unique set of skills that will benefit REACH.”

New board members include:

Sharon Bouchard, a sales representative for the Sun Journal, has worked for the newspaper for 19 years. She writes a weekly column for the Bethel Citizen, “The Way I See It,” and a monthly piece for “Just Read It.” She has also published two collections of columns.

She is vice president of the Norway Business Association and has served on the Oxford Hills Area YMCA board, the Oxford Hills Chamber of Commerce, the Norway Appeals Board, Norway Police Advisory Committee, Norway Budget Committee and the Key Bank Economic Development Counsel.

Bouchard and her husband, Henry, reside in South Paris. They have two children, and three grandchildren.

Mark Cayer, a lieutenant in the Rumford Police Department, is in charge of the Criminal Investigation Division. He has been in law enforcement since 1990, and was the first sexual assault/domestic violence investigator for Franklin County. He attended training offered by Sexual Assault Victims Emergency Services, which is a sister program to REACH for Franklin County.

Cayer is certified in arson investigations and is a field training officer and a crime prevention officer. He has served on the SAD 9 board, is involved with the River Valley Growth Council and was a Farmington selectman.

Linda Cohen joined Hanley and Associates, PA, in 1999 from her legal practice in Washington State. Cohen’s career includes a variety of positions in state and municipal government, the private sector, as well as the political field.

As an assistant district attorney, she spent most of her career on a trial team prosecuting robberies, murder, assaults, burglaries and other felonies. She also served as a trial attorney for the sexual assault unit with a specialization in sexual assaults or physical abuse of children. The district attorney also selected her as the “Omnibus Drug Deputy.”

While city attorney, Cohen drafted legislation to curb crimes associated with and facilitated by adult entertainment establishments. Her areas of practice now include criminal law, litigation, adoption, municipal law and work as a guardian ad litem.

She is a graduate of Ohio State University summa cum laude and received her juris-doctor degree from George Washington University. She is also a board member of the St. Francis Sanctuary for Wolves. She is admitted to practice law in Washington, Ohio and Maine.

Robert Federico has been the Norway police chief since 2004. He is a member of the Maine Chiefs of Police Association and has been active with 4-H clubs, including serving as president of the Oxford County 4-H Leaders’ Association for several years. He has lived in South Paris for 17 years with his wife, and has five children and four grandchildren.

Federico is an avid outdoorsman. He is committed to serving on the REACH board from a professional perspective and also because he hopes “to better help victims of sexual assault.”

Cathy Jordan, LCSW, is a clinical coordinator of outpatient services at the Oxford Hills Unit at Tri-County Mental Health. Prior to that, she worked in the homebased family therapy program.

Jordan is “committed to serving the needs of Oxford County’s most at-risk residents, whether they be struggling and recovering from mental illness, substance abuse or traumatic events in their lives.”

Jordan serves on the Oxford County Domestic Violence Task Force and the Oxford Hills Technical School advisory board. She graduated from Bates College in 1988 and obtained her MSW from the University of Maine.

Katie Letourneau has been in the banking industry for 21 years and with Norway Savings Bank for the past seven. She is treasurer of the REACH board. She is current co-president of Norway Downtown, an active member and treasurer of the Hebron PTA, volunteers in SAD 17 schools and represents Norway Savings Bank in area elementary schools.

REACH provides crisis and intervention support services for victims and survivors and concerned others in the towns of Oxford County and the towns of Bridgton and Harrison. It also offers an educational program for schools and is available for presentations to the community. Services are free and confidential.

The REACH 24-hour support line number is 1-800-871-7741; REACH office phone number is 743-9777.


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