About Us

Amanda is an Architect and co-owner (with her husband, Bryan Austin) of 2A Architects in Rockport. Born in Michigan, she received her Bachelor’s degree at Lawrence Technological University in Southfield, MI. Following her degree and the start of her professional career in Michigan, she continued her professional experience in the Seattle region and also received her Master of Architecture degree with a focus in Historic Preservation at University of Washington. She and Bryan enjoyed eight years of life in the beautiful Seattle region prior to finally pursuing their long-held dream of a life in Maine in 2009. Outside of her professional pursuits, Amanda’s main passions in life are cultural and creative – the enjoyment of music, art, crafting, food, and travel. With cultural understanding and enjoyment as its focus, she is proud to serve on the Penobscot Language School board. Amanda and Bryan live in Rockport, enjoying all the Midcoast has to offer with their Golden Retriever, Watson.

Matt Burke is a marketing consultant for technology and biotech companies. Prior to that he ran marketing and PR programs primarily at tech startups and in venture capital. Matt has also helped raise awareness and funds for non-profits in pediatric cancer research and urban youth services through volunteer marketing roles. He travels to other countries as much as he can, exploring the roads less traveled and learning about different cultures.

Penny has a long history of international and intercultural exchange. As a senior in high school her family hosted an exchange student, a young lady from Tehran, Iran, when little was known geographically or culturally of that country. Years later, Penny and her teenage daughter hosted exchange students from northern Lebanon and Brazil. She continues to be in contact with these
"family" members

Penny adopted her daughter from Ecuador and, to assure that her daughter would know the language and culture of her origins, they later moved to live in Ecuador for 18 months. Upon returning and moving to Rockport, Maine, Penny and her daughter began hosting Penobscot School English Immersion students. They have since hosted over 20 adult students from Ecuador, Colombia, Chile, Japan, Mongolia, Mali, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Russia, and Mexico.

In her own appreciation for international connections, Penny initiated and implemented a ten-day service trip for twenty Camden Hills High School students. The group formed lasting international relationships and contributed efforts in building Ecuador’s first high school in the rainforest. She reconnected with several of the Ecuadorean English Immersion students who welcomed and generously shared their hospitality with the student group.

Penny has traveled to England, Scotland, Europe, Mexico, Ecuador and Thailand for both business and pleasure. An active member of her local Rotary Youth Exchange Committee, she has counseled incoming and outgoing students, and local host families. Penny continues to support education and entrepreneurial development in Ecuador through the Yachana Foundation.
Penny is grateful for the opportunities to connect with people and cultures of the world through the many offerings of Penobscot School. She has served on the school’s board for several years.

• Email Penny Dunning

Amy grew up in Santa Barbara, California, and San Juan, Puerto Rico and has lived in MidCoast Maine off and on since 1984, finally settling in Thomaston in 2002.  She has also lived in Mexico, Costa Rica and the Czech Republic, and has travelled throughout Europe, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.  She attended the University of California, Santa Cruz and has a BA in Community Studies.  She has worked at Camden Hills Regional High School as a Spanish Teacher since 2007.  Prior to teaching at CHRHS, Amy was a social worker, working with immigrant families and gang affiliated youth in Santa Barbara, and homeless youth in Rockland.  She is continuing to study Italian, and has also studied Portuguese.  She is passionate about language learning, teaching and introducing the world to her students.

Amy has a daughter, Isabel, who is a 2019 graduate of Oceanside High School.  During the 2015-2016 school year Amy took a leave of absence from her job to live in Barra de Navidad, Jalisco, Mexico with Isabel, who is half Mexican.  Amy wanted to give Isabel the opportunity to learn about Mexican culture and to get to know her heritage and her Mexican side of the family.  While her daughter attended the local high school as a ninth grader, Amy taught at a language school, Cornerstone Idiomas, giving Spanish lessons to foreigners living in Barra.  Additionally, she gave English lessons to locals, and ran a group for teenagers called, “Todos somos americanos” (We Are All Americans).

Amy has been connected to the Penobscot School since 1992 when she first took an Italian class.  She has been the coordinator of two weekend Spanish Immersions at the school, and has volunteered with many other Spanish Immersions as well, including “Español en el bosque” at Tanglewood.  She is excited to be a new board member and to contribute to a school that has been such an integral part of our community for so many years.

Promoting positive Community and a healthy way of living.

Leslie retired from a long career as an engineer and a Manager for a lighting company.  She has always had a passion for helping people to improve their lives and has a deep sense of responsibility towards all living beings and the environment.   She is passionate about food and has taught several cooking classes.  Her love for hot yoga has led her to become a trained yoga instructor.  She has a strong belief that if you can form a good relationship with your anxiety and problems in your life, you can lead a very happy and healthy life.  She is a member of the Camden Rotary, a board member and member of the development committee of the Camden Conference and serves on the Education Committee of the Farnsworth.

Chris grew up in central Maine. His passion for languages and international cultural exchange was awakened in high school when he joined the American Field Service (AFS) club and participated in a summer abroad program in Spain. Since then, Chris has lived and traveled extensively in Spain, France, and England. Chris speaks French and Spanish.

For the last 23 years, Chris has been an attorney in midcoast Maine and has been deeply involved in the community. He served as chair of the Camden Planning Board for many years, he was a long-time member of the West Bay Rotary Club, he has coached the CHRHS mock trial team, and he was recently elected to serve on the Camden Charter Commission.

In his free time, Chris can be found playing softball, training for his next triathlon, hiking, and traveling. He plans to travel to Tanzania in October to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. He has begun studying Swahili in advance of the trip.

Jan grew up near Bangor and moved back to Maine in 2013. While away, she studied Spanish and Latin American studies at Grinnell College, including a semester in Ecuador, worked in a number of bilingual settings in Minneapolis and lived in El Salvador for about five years. She spent her time in El Salvador learning about community organizing, water rights and democratic self-governance from organized communities in rural areas. She is currently the Director of Advocacy and Policy at the Maine Mobile Health Program (MMHP), a statewide mobile health center serving migrant and seasonal workers. She is excited to be able to speak Spanish regularly in her work and is attempting to learn Haitian Creole at a functional level.

After a 35 year career in the Printing and Packaging industry, which afforded him the opportunity to travel globally as a business development manager, Pat joined his wife Nancy’s business in 2009 as Director of Marketing. FIORE Artisan Olive Oils & Vinegars, allows Pat and Nancy the opportunity to embrace the people and cultures of Northern and Southern hemisphere producers of extra virgin olive oils as well as producers of balsamic vinegars located in Modena, Italy.  Pat has been a student of Italian at PLS for the past 8 years affording him the opportunity to communicate with his Italian suppliers in person, via email and in frequent live conversation. Pat is Chair of the Marketing Committee for the school.

Dana Strout has been a long time student and board member at the Penobscot School, as well as serving as its President for several years.  He is on his third tour of being a board member and is committed to helping the school.  He speaks French, Italian and Spanish, all of which he learned at the school over the past twenty years.  He practices law locally when not involved with school activities.