Staff

Corinne was born in San Francisco, raised in Cincinnati and graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a degree in Sociology. Her career in advertising and marketing led her to her husband, Scott, and her real dream job—Chief Executive Mommy to daughters Maggie and Kate. Corinne and Scott loved being young, single adults in urban Atlanta, but wanted a simpler lifestyle for their children. Corinne had taken a sea kayaking course in Maine and spent her junior year at Bowdoin College. Like Scott, she had never forgotten the charms of Vacationland.

Corinne handles the Inn’s finances, serves as Human Resources Manager for Midcoast Hospitality Group, and designs and implements all of Newagen’s interior renovations. “The initial renovation, right after we purchased the property, was sweeping and speedy and totally exhausting,” she recalls. “We threw a Grand Opening party in May 2001 before we opened, and our first guest turned out to be a whale that swam slowly, back and forth, in front of the Inn. We were told this was a sure harbinger of good fortune.  I knew then and I know now that we made the right decision to move to Maine.”

Scott was born in Bangkok, Thailand, and spent most of his early years in Indonesia and the Philippines. When his father retired to Atlanta, Scott attended the Georgia Institute of Technology and after graduation, began working in corporate events management. When his wife, Corinne, was expecting their first daughter, their search for a different quality of life for their kids led them to Boothbay Harbor, and to purchasing the Newagen Seaside Inn in 2000.

“We had only five months before we opened in 2001 to make the improvements we envisioned, and everyone said it couldn’t be done. We were moving furniture into place as guests checked in!” Scott remembers.

But for Scott, the Inn is a labor of love. “I first came to Maine on a vacation in my twenties and immediately fell in love,” he remembers. “It was the natural beauty. The simplicity. I’m driven, every day, to recreate that experience for our guests. They come to Newagen for the same reasons I did and I want them to have the same authentic, coastal Maine getaway.”

Scott oversees capital improvements to the Inn and supports his staff as they do what they do best—taking care of the Inn’s guests. “I’m surrounded by great people who love this property as much as I do,” he says. “It’s an honor to share it with our guests.”

John Pickford was born and raised in Chelmsford, MA, but spent perfect boyhood summers  swimming, fishing and riding the trails of southern Maine. While attending college in Boston, he worked in restaurants and played in bands, but after settling in Portland, he put his musical dreams on the back burner and decided to pursue cooking full time.  

It wasn’t easy.  Johnny worked at Portland’s Regency Hotel as Sous Chef and Banquet Chef through the night so he could pursue a culinary arts degree by day. His ambition to run his own kitchen came to fruition with jobs with Emerald Hotel Group in Freeport and Hilton Hotels in Portland.

When Johnny emerged from the kitchen, he discovered he had a real affinity for guest services. Doing the little extras to make people feel at home, chatting about their histories, discussing music and trivia….he realized his next chapter should be spent in front of people.

 After a season as Newagen’s Assistant General Manager, Johnny’s hands-on work ethic and easy-going nature made him a natural fit to take over as General Manager.  Johnny lives in Brunswick with his wife, daughter, son and two very good doggies.  

A native of North Andover, MA, Maura developed a love for the stage early in life which led to a degree in musical theater from Pace University in NYC. While at Pace, Maura found a second home performing summer stock theater at the Boothbay Playhouse. After realizing a performance career in NYC wasn’t her dream after all, Maura redirected her passion into a Master’s degree in Music Therapy and mental health counseling from Lesley University in Boston. Maura has been working as a music therapist for Early Intervention for the past five years.

After having been a guest at Newagen for years, Maura’s special ties to the property peaked when her husband, Patrick, proposed in the gazebo. They got married at Newagen in 2019, bringing the connection full circle.

Sandy was born and raised in Boothbay Harbor, making her an ideal source of “insider” information for our guests.  Sandy’s career has run the gamut from local restaurants and hotels in high school, to hair stylist just out of school, to a Master’s in Social Work from the University of New England.  While earning her degree and, later, working as an LMSW at an assisted living facility, Sandy worked seasonally at Newagen in nearly every capacity:  front desk, housekeeping, lunch cook, bartender, kitchen prep, event server and elopement coordinator.  Her decision to transition to full-time event coordinator stems from her desire to shepherd people through the happiest times of their lives.  In her “spare” time, Sandy is mom to three amazing children, ages 9 to 23.

A native of Western Massachusetts, Shawn graduated from Northfield Mt Hermon School and attended Hiram College where he studied English and History with the intention of becoming a teacher. He worked in restaurants almost as soon as he was old enough to work, stayed in them throughout high school and college and beyond, while he looked for a “real” job, and ultimately realized that teaching wasn’t what he wanted to do. He wanted to cook.

Shawn moved to Portland, Maine, in 1997, just before the food scene really exploded. He worked at several of Portland’s landmark restaurants, most notably as sous chef for Harding Smith at the Front Room and the Grill Room. His last position before coming to Newagen was as the executive chef at the Glen House in Gorham, New Hampshire, a boutique hotel and restaurant situated in the heart of the White Mountains.

 Shawn takes his culinary cues from various sources, always leaning towards bright flavors and contrasting textures. He appreciates the cuisine of many different cultures and seeks to blend them into dishes that are both seasonally and regionally appropriate, but still offer a unique and interesting take on what a guest might expect. As a chef, Shawn believes that his most important job after providing great meals for his guests is to be forever a student and always seek to continue learning and growing. As he likes to tell his staff: “Every day can be a school day.”

Debi was born and raised in the Italian neighborhoods of Boston, and her culturally-innate love of people and hospitality makes her the Inn’s most popular Guest Services representative. Our “Debs” has an educational background that is hard to pigeon-hole…from watercolor studies at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts School to sign language interpreter at the Baxter School for the Deaf in Portland, to licensed cosmetologist. Debi and her chef husband, Mark, moved to Maine in 1978 and raised a son and daughter on Westport Island. But you can’t take the Boston out of the girl: the Buscaneras ran a North End-style Italian restaurant in Wiscasset for 10yrs.

Working at Newagen since 2013, Debi says “I love the hospitality business. I feel like everyone coming to the Inn is entering my home for lodging, food & drink. My goal is for every guest to have the best experience possible at this beautiful & unique property.”