John Burns, CFA
Fund Manager
John has over 26 years of experience in institutional investing. Prior to joining SEGF as the Fund Manager in 2000, he served as Second Vice President and Portfolio Manager for UNUM Corporation, where he managed domestic and international portfolios. With the SEGF, he has played a role in bringing capital to more than 30 Maine companies to date, and has steered the SEGF through a number of returns of capital to the Fund.
Mr. Burns holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation, and has held the Series 7 NASD license. He holds an MBA, with high distinction, from Babson College, and a MS degree in Resource Economics from Penn State University. Mr. Burns completed his undergraduate work at the University of Maine.
Mr. Burns serves on the following Boards of Directors:
- Maine Innovation Economy Advisory Board
- CEI Community Ventures, Inc.
- MCED TopGun Advisory Board
Desmond "Des" FitzGerald
Entrepreneur-In-Residence
Des joined the SEGF in December 2012. He has had a long running interest in the role of leadership in successful enterprises and has been involved in many start ups as both a partner, founder, employee and consultant.
Des moved to Maine in 1978 and founded Ducktrap River Fish Farm the following year. In 1999 Des sold a portion of his company to Continental Grain and a year later was named CEO of ContiSea, a holding company made up of Ducktrap River Fish Farm and Atlantic Salmon of Maine. ContiSea had 200 +/- employees with over 50 million in annual sales. Des sold his remaining shares in ContiSea and left the company in 2002. He worked as a management consultant with Brimstone Consulting for 2 years and co-taught a class on “Leadership for the 21st Century” at the University of Maine, Orono Business School through 2007. In 2006 he co-founded Dirigo Wind, a regional land based wind development company, along with 4 other partners and was also the co-founder and CEO of BlueMarvel Inc., an HD video company. In December of 2008, Des became the VP of Business Development for Principle Power Inc. a deep-water wind technology company based in Seattle, Washington.
Des has had a long relationship with volunteer boards serving on the board of The Natural Resources Council of Maine, The Camden International Film Festival, The Camden Conference, The Maine Chapter of the Nature Conservancy, Maine Businesses For Social Responsibility, Coastal Mountain Land Trust and two local school boards.
Jayme Okma Lee
Fund Associate
Jayme joined the SEGF in 2005 as a Fund Associate. Prior to joining the SEGF, Ms. Okma Lee worked for General Motors as a marketing and financial analyst, and as a management consultant in the pharmaceutical industry. In 2004, she and her husband came to Maine where they established his veterinary hospital in Rockport. Since moving to Maine, Ms. Okma Lee has provided management consulting services to several Midcoast Maine businesses including Brace Management Group.
Ms. Okma Lee received an MBA from the University of Maine where she had the highest cumulative GPA in her class. She graduated Magna Cum Laude, with honors, from Bowdoin College with an A.B. in Economics and Mathematics.
Terri Wark
Fund Administrative Associate
Terri joined the SEGF in 2001 as Administrative Associate. Prior to that, she was employed for nearly ten years with the Finance Authority of Maine (FAME) in the Small Business and Commercial Loan Division.
Ms. Wark attended the University of Maine.