Meet one of Kids First’s newest board members, Celine Couillaut. A Tax Principal at Baker Newman Noyes since 2001, Celine joins the Kids First team with a variety of experience and interests and is a welcome asset to the agency.
Celine, a native of Normandy, France, came to America years ago as a French teaching assistant at UMaine Farmington and never left. Moving on to teach French at UMaine Orono, she eventually entered their MBA program and landed the job in Portland at Baker Newman Noyes. With a degree in International Business and Foreign Languages, she learned on the job and soon went back to school to become a CPA specializing in international tax compliance and consulting. She serves numerous expatriates and inpatriates, and clients turn to her for advice with respect to foreign income, assets and investments.
Celine previously served for nearly thirteen years as a board member for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Maine. She has always been interested in agencies dedicated to improving the lives of children, and when she decided to move on from RMHC, she waited for the right opportunity to present itself for her next volunteer endeavor. When she heard that Kids First was looking to grow their board, she jumped at the opportunity, knowing how much their co-parenting education programs are helping children by helping their parents to stay on track and keep the kids out of the middle of their separation and divorce conflicts. In her work, Celine comes across many couples attempting to separate assets and knows from professional experience how difficult it can be on the whole family system.
A self-described outspoken advocate and not one who hesitates to ask questions, Celine is excited about her new role as a board member at Kids First and has already committed to the Finance and Fundraising Committees where she is working to help promote the upcoming Pickleball Tournament! As a new board member, she is looking forward to a time when the agency will resume in-person meetings and she can get to know her fellow board members in a more natural setting.
Meanwhile, in her spare time Celine enjoys time with her husband and two daughters, and travels back to France as frequently as possible!