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Waterville business accelerator's new program manager brings business, policy experience

By Renee Cordes

Jeff Frank, a former entrepreneur with a range of business and policy experience, has been named program manager of Dirigo Labs, a Waterville-based startup accelerator. 

Jeff Frank of Dirigo Labs
Photo / Courtesy of Central Maine Growth Council
Jeff Frank, Dirigo Labs

Frank succeeds Emalee Hall, whose LinkedIn profile shows that she is now a senior program officer with VentureWall, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit. Frank will also serve in an expanded program manager role following the recent departure of Managing Director Susan Ruhlin to start her own business venture. 

Dirigo Labs is administered by the Central Maine Growth Council.

Garvan Donegan, the council’s president and CEO, told Mainebiz that the managing director role has been restructured into the crucial program manager role, an integral part of the seven-person Dirigo Labs team.

“This program manager position serves as a key leadership driver for Dirigo Labs, working alongside our entrepreneurs-in-residence, a network of 100-plus mentors and interagency partners to deliver focused, individualized support to entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses both locally and statewide,” he said.

Jeff Frank brings a diverse background in private-sector innovation, public policy and community development.

His leadership experience in Hawaii spans four companies, including roles as CEO of Hoana Medical Inc., COO of Smart Yields, product lead at Oceanit Labs and operations lead at Elemental Excelerator.

In the public sector, Frank spent five years on Capitol Hill as a senior staff member to two U.S. senators, served as a senior research analyst at the Brookings Institution and served two years with the U.S. Peace Corps, in the Central American country of Belize.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from the University of Maine and a master's in community development and applied economics from the University of Vermont. 

"Entrepreneurship is one of the most powerful tools we have for building economic strength and resiliency in rural Maine,” Frank said.

“At Dirigo Labs, we connect founders with the tools, capital, and expertise needed to succeed and scale," he added. "I’m optimistic about the future of central Maine’s startup community and invite anyone interested to get involved.” 

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