Six University of Maine alumni and community leaders are among the 2026 Maine Center Award recipients, which honor distinguished alumni, emerging leaders and innovators connected to the Maine Center’s academic partners.
The awards celebrate alumni and professionals affiliated with the Maine Graduate School of Business, University of Maine School of Law, Maine College of Engineering and Computing and the Muskie School of Public Service, as well as leaders contributing to economic growth and innovation in Maine.The 2026 Maine Center Awards ceremony will be held on June 8.
Barbara Kerr Hamilton, senior director of process technology at Packaging Corporation of America, received the Distinguished Alumni Award. A UMaine alumna with a background in chemical engineering, Hamilton has held leadership roles in engineering, industrial automation, process control and operational technology while remaining actively involved with UMaine through the Pulp and Paper Foundation and UMaine Board of Visitors.
Ron Roope, senior vice president and director of business banking at Bangor Savings Banks, received a Distinguished Alumni Award. Roope has built a career in commercial banking and business leadership while maintaining a longstanding involvement with UMaine, including as a cooperating faculty member for the Maine Business School for five years. He has also served on Maine Business School Advisory Board, the Katahdin Area Council Boy Scouts Board and the Business and Industry Association of New Hampshire Board.
Andrew Murry, an audit manager at Baker Newman Noyes, received an Emerging Leader Award. A MaineMBA alumnus and certified public accountant, Murry specializes in healthcare and nonprofit assurance services and remains active in mentorship and professional service throughout Maine’s accounting community. He is active in the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Maine Society of Certified Public Accountants, and serves as treasurer of the Healthcare Financial Management Association’s Northern New England Chapter.
Kyle Warren, CEO and co-founder of Evergreen Additive Inc., received an Emerging Leader Award. Warren earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in mechanical engineering from UMaine and previously led advanced manufacturing initiatives at the Advanced Structures and Composites Center, including work on the world’s largest 3D-printed logistics vessel for the U.S. Department of Defense.
Mark Skinner, founder of Skinner Retirement and Benefits Consulting and executive chairman of Daybright Financial, received the Maine Center Award for Innovation. A UMaine Business alumnus, Skinner has spent decades leading retirement and employee benefits organizations while helping develop integrated financial and benefits strategies used nationally. He has served as a corporate academy liaison for the National Academy Foundation and participated in Habitat for Humanity rebuilding efforts after Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy. He continues to support the University of Maine Graduate School of Business as an architect and advisory board member of the Maine MBA Academy.
