Episode # 19 - Castaway: Tom Handel

On August 13, 2012 Tom Handel landed on our deserted island sharing his "Desert Island Discs" playlist and the stories surrounding his life. Tom is the Executive Director of the Community Television Network in Portland, Maine, - a position he's held for the last 16 years. Jocularly, he says he has "no particular claim to fame"; a statement imbued in modesty. After graduating from Colby College in Waterville, Maine with aspirations of becoming a screenwriter Tom studied film making at Columbia University in New York. Eventually he returned to Maine and began a career working in the non-profit sector leading him towards earning a master's degree in Public Policy from the Muskie Institute at the University of Maine. He applies the concept of self-advocacy to his work at CTN and is dedicated to putting the most advanced communications technology in the hands of people who are least able to access it empowering them to use the power of the media to produce content that is meaningful and relevant. Tom continues to write as well as act and direct with The River Company, a small stage company he and his wife Andrea founded in Newcastle, Maine. Tom is heard weekly on WMPG Radio every Monday from 1:00-1:30pm as the co-host of the program "Community Update"