BOARD & Staff

Shari Broder, Chair of the Marketing/PR Committee, is a labor arbitrator and Chair of the Maine Labor Relations Board and State Board of Arbitration and Conciliation. Although Shari loves helping people resolve disputes, her first love has always been the arts, both as a creator and volunteer. Since 1991, she has been actively involved in arts organizations, first as President of Maine Arts, Inc, which produced the Maine Festival of the Arts and New Years Portland. With her husband Eric Bryant, Shari created the Freeport Open Stage Coffeehouse, which she ran for 10 years. Shari chaired the Freeport Performing Arts Boosters, served on the Board of the Freeport Community Library, and was the volunteer coordinator for 317 Main’s HenryFest. She has performed in Freeport Players productions, was a member of the band Crabapple Jam, and is currently one half of the duo Attractive Nuisance, in which she plays the bass and sings. Before moving to Maine, Shari danced ballet with Eric Hampton. She has a B.A. in studio art and art history. Shari is incurably curious and loves to travel. In what’s left of her spare time, she practices yoga, is an accomplished gourmet cook and baker, and the mother of two fabulous adult children.

Penny Davis-Dublin, Chair of the Performances Committee, is a retired educator who  taught at the secondary and college level for well over thirty-five years. She has taught courses in American and British literature, theater, linguistics, women’s studies, expository writing, public speaking, and numerous communication courses. She has served on the Board of Directors at the Saco River Theater and The Freeport Players. Most recently, she served on the Board of Directors at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at USM. Penny has an MA in Theatre and an MA in American and New England Studies. She is passionate about art and culture, traveling, acting, directing, gardening, and tennis. Her goal is to put Meetinghouse Arts on the arts and cultural map of Maine and, hopefully, New England. Like Charlie Chaplin, she believes that “a day without laughter is a day wasted.”

Daric Ebert has been involved with the performing arts in Freeport for over 40 years, both as an actor/singer in many Freeport Community Players productions, and as a member of their board. Daric also has been a member of the band Not 2 Sharp as bass player and vocalist for more than 35 years. After 15 years of running Portland Appliance, Daric retired, but couldn’t live without the joys of retail, so he volunteered at Freeport Community Services, first in the Thrift Shop, and then also in the Reading for Success program and delivering summer meals. Daric lives in Freeport with his wife, son, and dog Rufus. Daric is chair of the Volunteer recruitment, training and scheduling.

Stacey Lodato moved from New Orleans to Maine in 1997. She has a BA in art and interior
design and has worked for architectural and design firms in Jackson MS, New Orleans LA, and
Portland ME. Now self-employed, she is the principal of Lodato Designs, a design and art studio
offering interior and building design services and original paintings. Stacey believes in the importance of supporting her community and schools. She served as the PTC president for Freeport schools for 6 years, was a board member and registrar for the Freeport United Soccer Club, served on the committee to create a fundraiser for the Freeport Historical Society (which later became Harraseeket Heritage Days) and helped build the Freeport Community Services BackPack program. She and her fellow committee members
received the Carol Kaplan Community Service Award for their work to create the BackPack
Program. Stacey values her community and is incredibly grateful for all it has given to her and
her family. When she is not volunteering, she enjoys spending time boating on casco bay, practicing yoga,
painting, drawing, and creating. She lives in Freeport with her husband, son and two crazy but
affectionate cats.

Scott Miller, Treasurer, is chair of the Finance Committee and a member of the Facilities and Executive Committees. Scott has more than 25 years of experience with performing arts organizations starting in 1994 with Freeport Players. Having both acted and sung for many shows he has now focused on company operations. He serves as Treasurer of Meetinghouse Arts, President of Una Voce Chamber Choir and Treasurer of the exceptional DaPonte String Quartet Foundation. He is past President of the Greater Freeport Community Chorus and of A Company of Girls in Portland Maine. A resident of Freeport, Scott worked at Acadia Insurance Company of Westbrook, Maine for 25 years, holds several insurance designations, and now operates his own business. The rest of the time he can be found outside.

Randy Mraz was born and raised in Aroostook County in a farming family that grew potatoes, peas, grains, and hay in the Fort Fairfield area. He graduated from Drexel University in Philadelphia and returned to the County where he built a house and raised a family with his wife Mary. They now live in Freeport and have 2 grown daughters. He worked for the Maine Department of Agriculture in various capacities including
working as the Director of the Emergency Food Assistance Program. This is the program that is responsible for the distribution of donated USDA foods to food banks, soup kitchens, food pantries and emergency shelters. He also managed the State’s food storage facilities and provided oversight to the 250 Emergency Feeding Organizations. Randy served from 2005 until 2010 on the Board of Directors of the American Commodity Distribution Association (ACDA) which is the national organization of all those entities involved in providing USDA food through all channels. Randy also served on the Board of Directors of the Good Shepherd Food Bank of Maine from 2010 to 2016. He retired from state government in the spring of 2010 and enjoys sailing, gardening, music, hiking, biking, cross country skiing and snowshoeing.

Jamie Peloquin is an active member of the Programming and Marketing Committees. He has been drawn to art since early childhood and moved to Maine in 1990 to attend Maine College of Art, earning a BFA in Graphic Design. After graduating, he worked at MeCA managing the Design Lab, teaching various classes and workshops, and as an assistant coordinator at the Maine Summer Institute in Graphic Design. Jamie has held several graphic design roles in Portland and New York City and ultimately started a small design studio in Maine, working with such clients as Major League Baseball, Hypertherm, TypeCulture, Council of American Jewish Museums, and Crane Papers. Jamie has been working more recently with process change in the software industry. While working in the software and technology industry, he saw the vast underrepresentation of women, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ people. He has been working to affect change around equity and inclusion within the industry. Jamie also volunteers as the website coordinator for the Maine Prisoner Advocacy Coalition, which is working to make significant changes in Maine’s correctional system. He continues to explore his creative outlets through writing, design, painting, printmaking, and creating attractive (and often functional) objects.

Audrey Piltch (she/her) A senior at Freeport High School, Audrey is involved with theater, Civil Rights Team, and The Clarion magazine. She loves to travel, spend time with her two dogs, and listen to music. Her current endeavors include continuing to learn and speak French and working at the local Ben & Jerry's. Joining the Meetinghouse Arts Board team in summer 2023, she is excited to create new connections and bring more of the arts to Freeport.

Lynn Shaffer, President of the Board of Directors, is a retired architect who practiced in Portland and Los Angeles. She moved to Maine with her family in 1991. In Maine Lynn has served in various capacities, including president, on numerous non-profit boards. As an architect Lynn practiced with Scott Simons Architects and later as a sole practitioner.  Her interest in urban design and planning compelled her to participate in Freeport’s Downtown Revisioning process and she is excited about the role Meetinghouse Arts is playing in making the Downtown Vision a reality. In addition to her passion for architecture, Lynn enjoys travel, visual arts, dance, theater, and fully experiencing Maine’s great outdoors.  She has been married to Jim Shaffer for 54 years.  They have two grown sons and four grandchildren.

Kate Werner practiced law in Maine for several years, eventually leaving to open Azure Café, an independent restaurant in Freeport.  Over 17 years, Azure won multiple national, regional, and local culinary and community service awards. Kate organized and ran local charitable events, tirelessly pursued the improvement of education in local schools, and oversaw the donation of tens of thousands of dollars each year from Azure to the Freeport community. She co-founded a Freeport advocacy group supporting transparency and excellence in public education with a focus on arts and gifted arts programming. Kate and her husband, Jonas, have raised two children in Freeport. Her entire family has a passion for theater. Her youngest is a professional actor in New York City and Jonas has performed in many Freeport Players productions. Kate served on the Yarmouth High School Playmakers Board and on the Marketing Committee for Freeport Merchants Association (now VisitFreeport). She and Jonas together have won the Freeport Merchants Association’s Members of the Year Award, Freeport Community Service’s Carol Kaplan Community Service Award, and have been selected as Freeport’s Citizens of the Year. Kate cofounded Balsam Realty in 2021, an independent real estate agency, and continues to serve the local community and support local arts.

Suzanne Watson, Executive Director, has been a great fan of the theater, arts, and culture for over fifty years. She started her work in the arts in college and has continued since moving to Maine in the mid-70s with the Chocolate Church in Bath and as a board member of the Theater Project/Young People’s Theater in Brunswick. After graduating from Bowdoin College and law school she took up environmental and clean energy policy work in Washington, DC., Boston, and Maine, serving in various policy advising roles with the US Congress, the White House, and the State of Maine. She founded the Maine Environment & Energy Center (E2 Center) in 1998 as an affiliate of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, an organization that is now known as the E2Tech Council. She moved to Freeport in 2005, buying a house and building an in-law suite as a turn-key opportunity to come and go from her various posts without moving a stick of furniture. Now settled in Freeport once and for all, she welcomes the opportunity to take on the role of Executive Director of a critical contributor to the economic and cultural dynamic of her community.