Saturday, September 9, 2017
Our Guests:
John Butera
Commissioner
Maine Dept. of Labor
Julie Rabinowitz
Director of Policy,
Operations & Communications
Maine Dept. of Labor
John Butera was sworn in by Governor Paul R. LePage as Commissioner of the Maine Department of Labor on June 14, 2017.
Commissioner Butera served as Governor LePage’s Senior Economic Advisor from the time the Governor took office in January 2011 until taking office as commissioner. In that previous role, he advised the Governor on economic development and job creation issues. His policy responsibilities included economic and community development, business finance, workforce development and employment issues.
Before joining the LePage Administration, Commissioner Butera was the Executive Director of the Central Maine Growth Council for nine years. His nearly 30-year career in economic development includes positions with the Maine Department of Economic & Community Development, a site location consulting firm and public-private economic development organizations.
A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Commissioner Butera holds both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Regional Science. He is a former President of the Northeast Economic Developers Association and a past member of the Economic Development Council of Maine and the International Economic Development Council.
Julie Rabinowitz holds a Master’s Degree in Communication Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she studied public policy argument, and undergraduate degrees in Communication Arts and History from Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York.