Speakers

Roger Sevigny

Mr. Sevigny, a native of New Hampshire, was graduated from St. Anselm College with a B.A. in Biology. He holds a commission in the U.S. Army having retired at the rank of Colonel.

Prior to becoming Commissioner, Mr. Sevigny held the position of Assistant Commissioner at the N.H. Insurance Department. Before that he worked in the insurance industry at Travelers Insurance for over 30 years in a variety of technical and management positions.

Mr. Sevigny lives in Manchester with his wife Laura and daughter Ashley. His family also includes two adult children, Erik and Lisa, both living out-ofstate.

Steven Rowe

G. Steven Rowe was sworn in as Maine's 54th Attorney General on January 5, 2001. Attorney General Rowe's previous state government service includes four terms in the Maine House of Representatives from 1992 to 2000, serving as Speaker of the House in his last term. As a member of the Maine Legislature, Attorney General Rowe worked for affordable access to quality early child care, healthcare and higher education. He also worked to increase economic opportunities and protect Maine's environment.

Attorney General Rowe holds a law degree from the University of Maine School of Law, a master's degree in business administration from the University of Utah, and a bachelor's degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point. He served as an officer in the U.S. Army and the U.S. Army Reserve. Attorney General Rowe served as a litigation counsel with UNUMProvident Corporation prior to becoming Attorney General.

The father of four, Attorney General Rowe and his wife, Amanda, live in Portland.

Lynn Donohue

Before Lynn Donohue built walls for a living, she had to tear down a few.

Raised in a working class neighborhood in New Bedford, Massachusetts during the 1970s, Donohue entered her teens with virtually no sense of self worth, no life skills, and no plan for her future. A junior high school drop out at the age of 15, Donohue was living out of her car and earning minimum wage as a bartender at a local biker hang out when she stumbled onto an article in the newspaper about a new training program for women interested in the construction trades. Seizing the opportunity to steer her life in a new direction, she quit the bar and began taking classes towards becoming a professional mason. The brick masonry training taught her to develop inner calm and focus and gave her the structure and purpose she had been searching for her whole life.

Donohue entered the masonry trade as an apprentice and the only woman in her local union, which was dominated by men with little interest in diversity. As a mason's apprentice, she was subjected to harassment from her fellow co-workers on numerous construction sites. Every day she came back to the job with steely determination to get her weekly paycheck on Friday, which was more than she had earned in a month at the bar. In 1981, Donohue gained recognition for her skills by becoming the first (and to this day only) female apprentice bricklayer to win the state masonry competition. Even after winning the competition, which for a man would have secured his career with the union, Donohue could not get assigned to a crew. Finally, she was able to get the union to give her work on government-funded jobs requiring minority participation.

Donohue loved bricklaying - the rhythm of setting brick upon brick - and the rewards of meaningful work. She became a sponge, learning every aspect of the masonry process including estimating and bidding on jobs. She began reading books on finance, self-improvement and business - and she continued to develop her own skills in every aspect of her work. When the time came for her finally to bid on her own job, she didn't pick a small one. She made an ambitious first bid - a major drugstore chain was building a new store in a Boston suburb. Donohue won the contract to build the store, without having financing, a truck, or even one employee working under her. But the store got built - on time and on budget.

A believer in the resilience of the will in the face of adversity, Donohue channeled the negativity and discrimination she faced as a woman into a staunch resolve. In 1982, she founded Argus Construction. She hired a crew, many of whom were the same men who tormented her on earlier jobs. Now, she signed their paycheck - every Friday she put it in their hands personally and thanked them for their contribution to the success of the job. Eventually, Donohue grew her company into a multi-million dollar operation. Before the age of 40, the former drop out was a millionaire entrepreneur.

Today, Donohue devotes much of her life to taking care of her two children, Kelsey and Daniel, and to giving back to her community. In 2000, Donohue used her wealth and financial independence to found Brick By Brick, a New Bedford-based non-profit organization that helps teenagers foster creativity, and adults struggling with career choices enhance their personal and professional development. Passionate about education, Donohue returned to school and received her MBA from Lesley College in 2008. She is also the author of a critically acclaimed book, Brick By Brick: A Woman's Journey, which was a finalist for the 2001 Ben Franklin Award for best autobiography.

Building still remains central to Donohue's life. As a masonry consultant for a construction material manufacturer, Donohue continues to blaze her path in a world almost exclusively run by men. A leadership and sales motivator, she travels nationally as a speaker, presenting to companies, women's conferences, and trade associations on the topics of perseverance, positive attitude, and overcoming obstacles to personal and professional success.

Jimmy Dunn

Comedian Jimmy Dunn is a Boston favorite and national headliner. Sports fans will recognize him as the host of Fan Attic on NESN and from his regular appearances on the Boston Red Sox pre-game rport during the historic 2004 season. He has also appeared on: Comedy Central, CMT's Hit Parade, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and Inside this Old House as well as in the Movie "Stuck on You" in a jail cell with Matt Damon.

Matthew Eversmann

Matthew Eversmann is a testament to the true nature of war and heroism. He was immortalized in the epic film Black Hawk Down (his character was played by Josh Hartnett), which tells the heroic account of a group of elite US soldiers sent into Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1993 as part of a UN peacekeeping operation. Young Rangers and veteran Delta Force soldiers fight side by side, outnumbered and surrounded, for 18 hours in the most hostile district of Mogadishu until a rescue convoy could be mounted to retrieve them. As a part of that mission, both as a survivor and a hero, Eversmann brings to life the horrors of his experience, what he took from it, and humanizes the creed by which he lived: “Never shall I fail my comrades…RANGERS LEAD THE WAY!”

Eversmann enlisted in the Army as an infantryman in December 1987, and was stationed at Fort Drum, NY, with the 10th Mountain Division. In 1992, he reenlisted and arrived at Fort Benning, GA, for his assignment in the Third Battalion, Seventy Fifth Ranger Regiment. He spent eight-and-a-half years in the Regiment, serving as a squad leader, a weapons squad leader, the battalion airoperations sergeant, the battalion liaison sergeant, and a platoon sergeant. Eversmann also was the officer in charge of the 75th Ranger Regiment’s Pre-Ranger Course that helped train future leaders to pass the grueling Army Ranger School.

While serving as a sergeant in the Ranger Regiment, Matt traveled the world. From Panama to England, Korea to Egypt, he met and trained with soldiers across the globe. In August of 1993, Matt and his company deployed to Mogadishu, Somalia, in support of Operation Gothic Serpent.

Eversmann has attended many military schools: Airborne, Ranger, Sniper, Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape or SERE School, the Primary Leadership Development Course, the Army’s Basic Noncommissioned Officers Course, as well as the Advanced Noncommissioned Officers Course. He was the Leadership Award winner at Ranger School, the Primary Course, and the Basic Course. He also graduated from the Master Fitness School, Jumpmaster School, Special Operations Tactics course, and the Equal Opportunity Course. Eversmann wears the following awards and decorations: the Army Service Ribbon, the National Defense Service Ribbon, eight Army Achievement Medals, four Army Commendation Medals, a Meritorious Service Medal, the Ranger Tab, Master Parachute Wings, Royal Thai Jump Wings, British Jump Wings, Egyptian Jump Wings, and the Expert Infantryman’s Badge. For his service in Somalia, he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Valor device and the Combat Infantryman’s Badge.

In August 2000, Eversmann was awarded an honorary bachelor’s degree from Hampden-Sydney College in recognition of his service to his country.

Eversmann has lectured on his experience in Somalia all over the world. He has given presentations to soldiers at all levels, from officer candidates at Fort Benning to colonels at the Army War College. He has represented the Army on Larry King Live and on Dateline with Stone Phillips, and has lectured the cadets and faculty at West Point, Annapolis, and the Air Force Academy. Eversmann’s list of presentations to the professional community is impressive. He has appeared before audiences at Ford, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Goldman Sachs, Merck, RAND, the Bakersfield Business Conference, USA Today, and the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce. Eversmann has been to many colleges across America, too, from Penn State to Notre Dame, Virginia Tech to Ball State, and he makes lasting impressions on every campus he visits.

Eversmann recently returned to the United States after serving 15 months in Iraq. He retired from the Army as an Infantry Company First Sergeant after 20 years of service. He continues to serve others as the founder and president of Freeman Phillips LLC, a leadership development company. Eversmann is co-author of The Battle of Mogadishu (2004).