February 11, 2011 — Portland, ME — Preti Flaherty is proud to announce that attorney Carlisle McLean has been selected to serve as a Senior Policy Advisor to Governor Paul LePage, effective February 21, 2011. Carlisle has practiced with Preti Flaherty's Environmental Law and Climate Strategy Groups since 2005. In her new role, she will be responsible for the areas of environmental and natural resource policy, specifically including the Departments of Environmental Protection, Conservation, Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Marine Resources and Agriculture.

As a Senior Policy Advisor, Carlisle will work directly with Governor LePage to advance his policy agenda at the Legislature and in the executive agencies. Carlisle's role will be particularly important because the Governor has placed a major focus on environmental and natural resource regulations as part of his overall regulatory reform agenda. He has made reducing the regulatory burden on Maine businesses a key priority, and his first package of proposed reforms – which focused on environmental issues – has already been released. These proposals were developed as part of the Governor's transition in a process that has involved extensive public input and review of existing regulations.

While practicing with Preti Flaherty, Carlisle handled matters ranging from permitting of energy and development projects, to obtaining LURC rezoning and development on behalf of private developers, to handling negotiations at Superfund sites throughout New England. She has also participated in DEP rulemaking activities, represented clients before the Maine Board of Environmental Protection and the Land Use Regulation Commission and has represented private wind developers throughout the permitting process before state agencies.

According to David Van Slyke, Chair of Preti Flaherty's Environmental Group and Co-Chair of its Climate Strategy Group, "Carlisle will be a tremendous addition to Governor LePage's team. She is an excellent lawyer and has been an integral part of Preti Flaherty's Environmental and Climate Strategy Practice Groups. We will sorely miss her enthusiasm, energy and wit."

Carlisle earned both her Juris Doctor from Pace University School of Law and a Master of Environmental Management from Yale University School of Forestry & Environmental Studies in 2005. She graduated in the top fifteen percent of her class at Pace and the top five percent of her class at Yale. Carlisle earned her B.S. in Environmental Studies from Bates College in 2000. She grew up in north central Pennsylvania and Vermont and currently resides in Portland, Maine.