Welcome New Board Members
Knox County Homeless Coalition welcomes Rickey Celentano, Leslie Eaton, and Sarah Sheldon to the board.
I am delighted to accept the invitation to join the Board and offer my professional experiences and expertise to the agency. Much of my professional life as a social worker in Midcoast Maine has been spent addressing the mental health and well-being of my community, with one of the most devastating challenges being homelessness. I am a firm believer in a systemic approach to problem solving and KCHC’s strong advocacy of involving multi-generations in addressing such issues resonates with me, deeply. I am so impressed with what the organization has already accomplished and am eager to focus my in-retirement energies to support its mission. I have met many of the administration and staff and am so impressed with their dedication and expertise and commitment to their clients. Thank you for this opportunity to make a difference.
Rickey Celentano has lived in Camden for 47 years. She and her husband started out as shop owners in the 1970’s, owning a toy store and then a craft gallery of fine Maine crafts, until she decided, in her late 30’s, to return to school and pursue her Masters in Social Work. She is now retired, after practicing for 28 years. Rickey worked in private practice for a number of years, serving individuals of all ages, as well as families. She also completed two stints at Penobscot Bay Medical Center, where she served ob/gyn, oncology, pediatrics, emergency room, intensive care and general med/surg patients. She initiated and implemented PBMC’s first Critical Incident Team. Her last two years there were spent as the Supervisor of Social Work Services. She was a contractual clinician for the Department of Human Services, the Opportunities Alternative School, Augusta Mental Health Institute and Margaret Palmer, Ph.D., Organizational Psychologist. She was a facilitator for groups of adult male sexual offenders and groups for partners of offenders, as well as groups for people addressing issues of sexual trauma, adolescent eating disorders and generalized anxiety disorders. Rickey also worked at Home Counselors as a clinician and then, for the last 4 years of her professional life, as its Director of Clinical Services and Supervisor of the Supervised Visitation Program. Her most recent board participations were at Parentworks, Home Counselors and Broadreach Family and Community Services. In her retirement she returned to school and two months ago earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Stonecoast at the University of Southern Maine. She is presently working on a memoir.
A resident of Maine for over 28 years, Leslie Eaton currently works alongside her husband Dan managing the finances for their landscape construction company. Leslie has over 12 years of banking experience as Vice President of Regional Administration at MBNA (1993 – 2005) and Senior Vice President of Corporate Services with Camden National Bank (2005 – 2014). She has served on various boards and committees and has dedicated over twenty years to serve on the board of the Teen Center in Camden and the local Penobscot Bay YMCA, where she has acted as Board Chair, CEO Search Chair, and Finance/Audit Committee Chair. Teaching and mentoring nonprofit leaders and boards are a true passion of Leslie. She resides in Rockport with her husband Dan, her dog Mossy, and enjoys spending her days surrounded by her children and grandchildren.
The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned. ~Maya Angelou
There is no greater gift you can give someone than to give a sense of home. And that is what KCHC gives physically and emotionally to it’s clients. I am so proud of be a part of an organization whose mission it is to make people be and feel safe.
Sarah Sheldon is a tax attorney currently employed by MetLife, Inc. who concentrates on indirect tax planning, transfer pricing, and state and local controversy. Prior to MetLife, Sarah worked for the IRS Office of Chief Counsel in Washington, DC. Sarah earned an LLM in Taxation, Cum Laude, from the University of San Diego, and J.D. from California Western School of Law. Sarah is admitted to practice law in the State of California, before the US Tax Court, and as in-house counsel in the State of New York. Originally from outside of Cleveland, Ohio, Sarah has a deep commitment to volunteerism. Her father started her county’s first free medical clinic in a church basement in the early 80s. Beginning in middle school Sarah volunteered with him and continued to do so through college and law school. In her DC days, Sarah volunteered regularly at the Arlington County Free Clinic and started an initiative to help uninsured patients identification numbers to get access to free medicine through the government. Sarah also serves on the board of the Rockport Boat Club, and various insurance professional organizations. Sarah is excited to join KCHC as she desires to give back to the community that has been so welcoming to her. Sarah moved to Maine three years ago to marry her husband Greg. She has a one year old son, and three “bonus babies” from Greg who are ages 12, 11, and 10.