Rosa Scarcelli, 40, is a recognized business and community leader in Maine, a wife and mother of three children. Now she's ready to be Maine's next governor.

Her background isn't in politics. Her experience comes from building a successful business, a company that employs over 100 people and provides quality affordable housing to thousands of people in Maine and across the country - the elderly, veterans, single moms and disabled individuals. Through her hard work, she provides a place that offers a sense of security for the elderly, more opportunities for the disadvantaged and the ability for many to be part of a larger community. Her company does this in over 35 towns across our state, from Madawaska to Old Orchard Beach.

Rosa took over and turned around a company facing challenges, reshaping it into one of the top ten affordable housing companies in the country. In her nearly twenty years in business, she has been directly responsible for $500 million dollars of business development across Maine and 13 other states.

Rosa knows what it's like to deal with big bureaucracies and cut through red tape to get things done. She knows how to be successful within government constraints. Rosa has sat across from fortune 500 companies at the bargaining table and she has operated business in a heavily regulated area.

In the last year alone, Rosa has created new jobs, injected millions of dollars into Maine's economy and nearly doubled the size of her portfolio, all in the worst economic backdrop since the great depression.

Rosa grew up in Wilton. Her dad taught for 35 years nearby at the University of Maine at Farmington.

Rosa's mom worked for the Maine State Housing Authority and later started her own housing company. Public service was a big part of Rosa's early life. "It was just something we did," she says. In fact, her dad and his friends started the first Democratic Party Pancake Breakfast in Farmington that is still held every St. Patrick's day. It's a ‘can't miss event' for any candidate who's running in Maine. The next one will be Rosa's first as a candidate.

Rosa was George Mitchell's first senate page in 1987. She later worked as an intern in his office, where she listened to and helped address the concerns of Maine people-an experience that taught her the value of listening and incorporating the ideas of others both in business and in tackling the greatest problems facing our state. Rosa went on to attend the University of Maine and graduated from Bowdoin, where she was named a James Bowdoin scholar.

In the summer of her freshman year in college she met Thom, who would later become her husband. She was 19 and he was 21.

When she got out of college, things were very much like they are today: Maine was in the midst of a recession. There were very few jobs available. Young people were leaving the state to find work elsewhere. "I was lucky," says Rosa. "I had an opportunity to join my family business. But let me tell you, I had to work hard to earn my keep. I learned the ropes and within two years took charge of my first downtown re-development in Portland."

In 1999, she founded her own real estate management company, DE Property Management LLC. Six years later, she had an opportunity to take over what is now Stanford Management, a provider of affordable housing. "The family had not been actively involved in running the business for several years. No one was minding the store and the company was facing a sizeable loss. There were a lot of inefficiencies." Rosa renegotiated contracts, rebid agreements with vendors, got new insurance quotes, and brought in new, capable employees and held them accountable. She changed the culture of the company and turned a profit in the first year.

"Turning around the company was the most challenging and exciting experience I've ever had," she says. All the hard work paid off, and just this year the company added 30 new properties to its portfolio making Stanford Management one of the largest woman-owned businesses in Maine. Rosa was featured last year as one of the top 50 Affordable Housing Owners in the nation by Affordable Housing Magazine.

Last year she served on the New England Finance Committee for Barack Obama. She is a member of Young Presidents Organization (YPO), a group whose mission is to develop "better leaders through education and ideas." She is also a member of the Women's International Network of YPO, the International Women's Forum and the Maine Women's Forum, and has served on a number of civic and community boards. She has served as a Board Member of Ingraham, a non-profit social service and mental health care provider, where she received the 2004 Outstanding Leadership Award.

Rosa was recently named to the Aspen Institute's 2009 Henry Crown Fellowship Program, one of 20 "emerging leaders" across the country from business, politics and the arts whose past recipients have included Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Delaware Gov. Jack Markell.

Rosa's experience is what makes her stand out among a crowded field-she's created jobs and she's made a payroll. Her approach emphasizes common-sense solutions, accountability and responsible leadership. Rosa is the candidate who will make the fundamental changes in Augusta -changes we need in order to see our government operating efficiently and effectively. Moving Maine forward will require more than another political insider. The problems facing Maine won't be solved by the same thinking that created them. Putting our state back to work will require fresh ideas and a new perspective.

Join Rosa in bringing change to Augusta so that we can begin to get our state back on track!