Sector Spotlights events feature industry leaders who will share the latest in innovation and collaboration, while providing partnership opportunities through in-person connections.
Networking
Thursday, July 16, 2026
4:00 – 6:00 PM
Island Institute
386 Main Street, Rockland, ME 04841
MITC members $10 / Non-members $25
Hors d’oeuvres and cash bar
Enjoy bites and beverages, network with fellow business professionals, and gain valuable insights into innovations and opportunities in Maine’s dynamic Blue Economy sector.
SPONSORED BY
Lunch & Learn
Tuesday, July 21, 2026
11:30 AM – 1:30 PM
Wolfe’s Neck Center for Agriculture & the Environment
184 Burnett Road, Freeport, ME 04032
Members-only event
No charge
Lunch provided
Event Schedule
11:30 – Networking
12:00 – Program Presentation
Next Level Innovation in Maine’s Blue Economy
Tim Dyson, Co-Founder, Bluesonde
Blaine Grimes, Founder, Ocean House Consulting
Kyle Pepperman, Executive Director, Downeast Institute
12:45 – Q&A
1:00 – Networking
Optional Tour
1:30 – 2:45 PM
As a nonprofit, Wolfe’s Neck Center draws upon a rich history of innovation and experimentation through regenerative farming, innovative soil health research, and visitor interactions to create a healthier planet for all.
Maine’s blue economy spans fisheries, aquaculture, marine biotechnology, ocean monitoring, and offshore energy – industries with deep coastal roots and a growing global reach. The state’s research institutions are producing technologies that compete on the world stage, new policy frameworks are creating coordinated sector infrastructure, and innovators on the working waterfront are redefining sustainable seafood production. Maine is not only a steward of ocean resources; it is becoming a hub for the partnerships, technologies, and talent that will shape the blue economy’s next chapter.
Lunch & Learn Description
Maine is at an inflection point in its blue economy. New legislation has established a first-of-its-kind institution to coordinate the sector’s growth. Technology companies rooted in Maine’s research and development ecosystem are developing tools that are attracting global attention. And aquaculture innovators are rewriting what’s possible in sustainable seafood production while cultivating the workforce to scale it. This Lunch & Learn session brings together three voices at the center of that story: a policy architect who helped write the blueprint, a technology founder turning research into market-ready solutions, and an aquaculture pioneer pushing the boundaries of Maine’s coastal economy.
Top Reasons to Attend
- Understand the policy landscape shaping Maine’s blue economy and the new institutions designed to accelerate it
- Hear from an emerging technology company competing globally from Maine’s own research ecosystem
- Explore aquaculture innovations creating new production capacity and export opportunities
- Connect with the companies, institutions, and partners building Maine’s reputation as a North Atlantic blue economy leader
- Discover new opportunities for your business in this growing sector
Lunch & Learn Speakers
Tim Dyson
Co-Founder, Bluesonde
Tim heads up electrical engineering and system testing while driving key business operations such as marketing and market research. He has a decade of experience working on successful hardware products in industrial monitoring, automated test equipment and consumer electronics before making the move to blue tech.
BlueSonde is a Maine-based company advancing scalable water intelligence through next-generation real-time monitoring systems. Their compact, low-maintenance platforms make it possible to deploy monitoring networks of any size, reducing costs and vessel trips while streaming actionable data for water management, research, and climate adaptation. Tim will share how companies like BlueSonde are turning Maine’s ocean science strengths into globally relevant technology, and what that means for the state’s blue economy competitiveness.
Blaine Grimes
President, Ocean House Consulting
Blaine Grimes is the President of Ocean House Consulting and a veteran of the ocean economy for 20 years. In 2019, Blaine founded and built Gulf of Maine Ventures, the entrepreneurship and innovation arm of the Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI), to create, scale, and invest in blue economy companies that solve global ocean challenges. For the past 5 years she has been a leader in a statewide effort to create a Center for Blue Economy in Maine to house and build regional R&D capacity, entrepreneurial ventures, workforce development, commercial partnerships and collaborations across the North Atlantic Rim.
Her passion is reimagining the future of our ocean-dependent industries and in particular finding a pathway for sustainable seafood industries to increase productivity and profitability, reduce waste and welcome new technologies to enhance growth, sustainability, and well-being.
Blaine’s expertise is in leveraging private sector opportunities with regional scientific knowledge and industry networks. She currently serves as an advisor and mentor to multiple blue economy start-up companies as well as NOAA- funded ocean enterprise accelerators on both the east and west coast. Today, Blaine is focused on enabling technologies in six major areas of the blue economy: sustainable seafood, ocean products (value add), ocean renewable energy, ocean data, marine shipping, and climate adaptation/resilience.
Kyle Pepperman
Executive Director, Downeast Institute
Kyle Pepperman is the Executive Director of Downeast Institute and a graduate of University of Maine at Machias. With more than 20 years of experience spanning the hatchery, nursery, and grow-out phases of bivalve aquaculture, Kyle has built a career focused on strengthening Maine’s coastal economy through applied marine science, aquaculture innovation, and workforce development. His expertise includes shellfish hatchery operations, oyster farming, seed production, and the commercialization of sustainable aquaculture practices that support working waterfront communities throughout the Northeast.
As Executive Director, Kyle oversees the organization’s work in marine research, education, and innovation while helping guide strategic partnerships with fishermen, aquaculturists, researchers, educators, nonprofits, and government agencies. He is passionate about connecting science with industry needs and expanding opportunities for students and young professionals to gain hands-on experience in Maine’s growing blue economy. Under his leadership, the institute continues to advance research and production efforts involving oysters, mussels, scallops, soft-shell clams, and other commercially important marine species while promoting the long-term resilience of Maine’s coastal communities.