After working in social care and as a professional baker, Rachel began woodworking in 2011, learning to build wooden boats at The Apprenticeshop in Rockland, Maine.  She continued her education at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship, then became an on-site carpenter for the design/build company PHI Builders and Architects in Rockport. After two years working on projects ranging from the new Rockport Library to countless high-end residential houses, Zoot Coffee shop to timber framing, she moved into the cabinet shop and soon became the foreman. Now, with her own house renovation, a month-long Japanese woodworking course, and a wonderful array of challenging projects under her belt, she has initiated a millwork and cabinet making apprenticeship program through Hay Runner (formally PHI) and in conjunction with Educate Maine to bring the next generation of woodworkers into the trade.  

Jamie Snook came to carpentry from a diverse background of eco-centered, physical work after studying fine art, education and environmental science at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. After deciding she wanted to spend the rest of her life outside working with her hands, she made her way from Massachusetts to Vermont and then finally to Maine, where she found and fell in love with the building industry. After connecting with the earth-based mission that GO Logic stands for, she decided to go work for Alan Gibson, where she would become a staple on the site crew, doing everything from framing to finish work, and specializing in HVAC systems. After being with the company for almost 5 years, Jamie has worked her way into a foreman position, leading a crew of mostly men building passive houses in the greater Belfast area. With a lack of women in both her company and the industry at large, she has reached out to other tradeswomen in the area who have teamed up to form the Tradeswomen of Maine. She is thrilled to bring community and education to the present and future tradeswomen in her state. 

Emily is a cabinet maker and owner of Appenzeller Woodworking LLC. She began her career as a cabinet maker through working for the museum on contemporary art in Los Angeles when a visiting artist needed specialty benches made for an exhibit. This led to a career change from hopeful fine artist to the trades. After a few years as an apprentice furniture and cabinet maker she wanted to be taken more seriously by her male peers and decided to study furniture craftsmanship in Maine. After years of pointed conversations with her peer Rachel Davis on the unique experience of women in male-dominated labor trades, the two founded Tradeswomen of Maine to continue that conversation and build a community with like-minded women. 

After graduating from Maine College of Art in 2004, Carrie started working as a carpenter out of desperation for a paycheck. First hired as a painter, the contractor soon realized that Carrie knew her way around power tools, and slowly started putting her to work as a carpenter. She quickly went to work for a more well-known contractor in the area and became proficient in trim. Fast forward twenty years, Carrie has taken some time off from carpentry, dabbled in fashion, art, and the restaurant industry, all to be brought back to the trades. Carrie currently works for her own company CJB Fine Carpentry, specializing in high end finish carpentry.

Originally from New York, Nina left her job teaching middle school science in Harlem and moved to Maine in 2015 to learn how to build and sail boats at The Apprenticeshop in Rockland. After graduating from the 2-year apprenticeship program, she decided to stay in the Midcoast, eventually settling in Thomaston. She continued her tenure at The Apprenticeshop, first teaching high school programming and then joining the staff full time as the Director of Student Affairs and Outreach. In 2023, she left her position at the Apprenticeshop to work as a freelance carpenter, eventually joining a local construction crew where she has been working since. (Photo credit: Erin Tokarz)