Boston Fed President Susan M. Collins visited several communities along the Maine coast last week, meeting with residents and leaders to discuss local challenges related to child care, health care, housing, and economic development.

Collins began her trip in the Washington County towns of Perry and Calais near the Canadian border, where she met with Passamaquoddy tribal leaders and other community members. Discussions focused on efforts to expand employment and educational opportunities within the region.

During a stop in Pleasant Point, Passamaquoddy leaders gave Collins a tour of the Sipayik Community Clam Garden, an initiative aimed at revitalizing clam populations in tribal areas of Passamaquoddy Bay.

Later in Calais, Collins participated in a conversation about local economic conditions with tribal representatives and members of the Washington County Working Communities Challenge team. This challenge is part of the Boston Fed’s Working Places community development initiative that aims to strengthen rural economies across New England.

Team members highlighted their work to promote education and employment locally. They stressed that access to child care remains a significant concern for families whose work schedules are often irregular due to jobs in health care, fishing, or at area mills.

Susan Mingo, president of Washington County Community College, explained how inadequate child care can impact workforce participation: “It’s about those external barriers to success that, unfortunately, get in the way of their (degree) completion,” she said. Mingo noted that single mothers in particular experience some of the lowest labor force participation rates and highest poverty rates in the county because of these barriers.

Matt Dana, a tribal member leading the Working Communities Challenge team, described recent efforts by families, providers, and agencies to address these issues through a “child care vision day.” He said they are developing a local service hub for child care resources.

Housing costs were another concern raised during Collins’ visit. Elsie Flemings, executive director of Healthy Acadia, reported: “We really see a need for everyone coming together,” she said. She pointed out that while home prices have risen sharply over ten years—up 126% when adjusted for inflation—median household income has increased only 6%.

Business owners told Collins that labor shortages worsened after many residents retired early during the COVID-19 pandemic. Employers continue struggling to find qualified workers as incomes fail to keep pace with inflation.

“People are definitely pulling back on their purse strings,” said Ian Pratt, who owns a car dealership in Calais. “Some people are working really, really hard and they can't get ahead.”

On August 12th in Bar Harbor, Collins toured The Jackson Laboratory where staff described using technology to improve rural health care access. Mary Dickinson, Ph.D., chief scientific officer at the nonprofit lab explained: “Every cancer clinic in Maine participates (in this program), and it makes a 30% improvement in the outcomes of patient participants,” she said regarding their Maine Cancer Genomics Initiative.

In Portland at Northeastern University’s Roux Institute—a tech hub supporting entrepreneurship—Collins learned about efforts helping launch new startups. Chris Mallett from the institute shared its role guiding over 130 startups toward job creation by training people for high-tech fields like artificial intelligence and life sciences.

Warren Adams from Roux Institute discussed how collaboration benefits student entrepreneurs: “They all share similar struggles in building a business: How do you hire people? How do you get your first customers,” he said. “(At the institute), they can help each other in that journey.”

The visit provided insight into both longstanding and emerging challenges facing Maine communities as well as ongoing initiatives aiming to address them.