The people behind the work.
A founder, a former intelligence analyst, engineers who drive from out of state to teach, a board full of Maine expertise, and volunteers who show up every week because young people need them to.
In the makerspace
Who's in the building.
A founder, a former intelligence analyst, and two SOLIDWORKS directors who drive to Farmington to teach kids how to make things.
Bonita Tompkins
Founder & CEO
A social entrepreneur from New Sharon. She built CES from a classroom idea into a store, a makerspace and six acres — and led the tiny home partnership with Maine Cabin Masters and thirty Maine businesses. She holds a Certificate in Youth Entrepreneurship Education from the Youth Impact Lab and Babson Academy at Babson College. Her mother, father, brother and uncle were all U.S. Marines; three of her four grandparents served, including a grandmother in the WAVES.
Christina Bobrow, PhD
General Manager
Thirty years in government service and national security, including at the White House. She was also a rural Maine kid, born in Farmington and raised in Temple. At CES she builds the organizational architecture and runs volunteer development.
Sal Lama
Director of Product Definition, SOLIDWORKS
Two decades in product development and engineering, and co-creator of Our Next Make. He runs the advanced fabrication lab every other Friday, taking young people from idea to prototype to a thing you can hold.
Chinloo Lama
Director of User Experience, SOLIDWORKS
Mechanical engineering at Rensselaer, an MFA in computer graphic design at RIT, and patented product work at Polaroid. Co-creator of Our Next Make. On Wednesdays she teaches design thinking in the makerspace — that innovation is a craft, not a personality trait.
Who's steering.
Amanda Coolong
Strong, Maine
Award-winning digital media strategist and founding partner of TechZulu. She has covered CES, SXSW and Microsoft Ignite, and consulted for IBM, Cisco, HPE and NetApp.
Brian Ellis
New Portland, Maine
Navy veteran and higher education professional at the University of Maine at Farmington. Through the American Legion he has connected CES to the veteran community across the state.
Susie Sampson
Belgrade, Maine
Works with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs at Togus, including homeless veteran services. She carries forward the legacy of her mother, the artist Lyn Snow.
Ashley Tompkins
Stamford, Connecticut
Director of Human Resources at Frette, previously with Loro Piana, Ralph Lauren, Alexander McQueen and Marc Jacobs. Luxury retail operations and workplace culture strategy.
Judy Vining
Farmington, Maine
Recently retired business administrator who ran operations at E.L. Vining & Son alongside her husband Kevin, through decades of growth and the eventual sale to Sargent Corporation.
Anthony Mariello
Saco, Maine
Designed and maintains CES's digital presence at cesmaine.org — telling the story of the store, the makerspace, and the young changemakers at the center of it.
Who's in our spaces.
Lynne Buchheit
Sewing, product design & creative enterprise
A professional seamstress and artist from Wilton who leads the Thursday sewing class — and is, by some distance, the most beloved adult in the building.
Andrew Moffitt
Outdoor services & property operations
An electrical journeyman from Wilton with a background in construction and renewable energy. He first found CES as a customer. He mentored the youth crew through the Tiny Home build.
Connor Malone
EPIC entrepreneurship curriculum
A student leader at UMF and two-time class president. He assists Bonita in teaching Babson College's EPIC program to CES youth.
Bessa Axelrod
Key volunteer · arts & food security
A retired educator with 23 years working with at-risk and neurodivergent teens. Master Gardener, steering committee member of the Greater Franklin Food Council, owner of Birchwood Studio.
Michael Hoehne
Key volunteer · design
A freelance graphic designer from Wilton, and a member of The Wheelmen — the national society devoted to riding and preserving antique bicycles from the 1800s.
A hand-up, not a hand-out.
Donors and business partners see their investment in the young people, directly. That's the whole point.