AUGUSTA — Governor Janet Mills has nominated Jed Beach of Lincolnville to the Maine Technology Institute Board (MTI) of Directors.

Beach owns 3 Bug Farm, a diversified organic vegetable farm in Lincolnville and has operated FarmSmart, an entity he has run since 2014 that provides comprehensive business services for Maine Farms.

MTI’s Board of Directors is responsible for providing strategic direction to MTI’s mission of accelerating growth, innovation, and entrepreneurship in Maine’s technology sector.

The Board consists of 13 voting members and two non-voting members. 10 voting directors, eight of whom must be representatives of targeted technologies. The other two directors must have demonstrated significant experience in finance, lending or venture capital.

The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, the President of the Maine Community College System, and the Chancellor of the University of Maine System are ex officio voting directors. The Director of the Governor's Office of Policy Innovation and the Future is an ex officio nonvoting director, and the Maine Technology Institute Director is also a nonvoting director.

Beach’s appointment is a personal appointments made by the Governor and does not require approval by the Legislature.