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I learned two things which have shaped my career more than anything else: that the truth about any community comes from within it, and all aspects of community life are interrelated and cannot be fully understood independently.” In 2004 and 2005 Michaud worked in Damariscotta as the outreach and evaluation manager for the IGERT National Recruitment Program, an office funded by the National Science Foundation to provide student recruitment and retention support for 126 interdisciplinary science PhD programs nationwide. In 2005-2006 he served as coordinator for the Institute for Molecular Biophysics, an interdisciplinary research partnership of UMaine, The Jackson Laboratory and the Maine Medical Center Research Institute. He was responsible for managing an annual budget of $3 million. From March 2006 to May 2007 Michaud was the “innovation coordinator” at Maine Rural Partners, a rural development program at UMaine. While there he spearheaded development of a rural community-building program that included the highly acclaimed “Washington County: One Community” coalition. He also guided research and analysis for the Northern Forest Sustainable Economy Initiative. “Nate’s energy, enthusiasm and dedication inspired many to work together toward common goals,” said Hayes, his boss at Maine Rural Partners. Michaud worked briefly at Eastern Maine Development Corp. before being named, in August 2007, executive director of the Challenger Learning Center of Maine, a NASA-inspired nonprofit organization in Bangor that educates schoolchildren and the public about space exploration. “Nate did a lot to bring stability to the operation of the Challenger Learning Center,” said Susan Jonason, who coordinates fundraising for the center. “He was very committed to its mission to inspire students about science, technology, engineering, math and space exploration. He was very excited about seeing all the kids come through there and watching their excitement.” Michaud enjoyed literature and music, especially jazz, and played the saxophone, sometimes at impromptu musical gatherings on Vinalhaven. He was a member of the Bangor Rotary Club. On June 2, 2001, Michaud married the former Christie Lynch at a ceremony on Vinalhaven. They had two children, Charlotte Winifred Michaud, who was born in 2004, and McRea Rose Michaud, who was born in 2006. Michaud was predeceased by his father, who died in 2005, and his mother, Linda M. McRea, who died in 2007. Besides his wife and daughters, he is survived by a brother, Corey P. Michaud and his wife, Jessica Mahalingappa, of Takoma Park, Md.; two sisters, Sarah Charland and her husband, Matthew, of Fayette, and Maggie Haines and her husband, Jay, of Bangor; a grandmother, Barbara Webster McRea of Bangor; a grandfather, Hermel Michaud of Augusta; his mother-in-law, Norma Lynch of Enfield, Conn.; his father-in-law, Burke Lynch of Vinalhaven; his stepfather, Timothy Allen of Bangor; and several nieces and nephews. The family plans to hold a private funeral and burial service on Vinalhaven. An informal gathering of Michaud’s friends and colleagues is being planned at the Challenger Learning Center of Maine. For more information, call 990-2900. Those wishing to honor Michaud’s memory may contribute to a fund established in his daughters’ names. Checks made payable to Charlotte and McRea Michaud may be sent to University Credit Union, 977 Union St., Bangor, Maine 04401.