Carrie Gordon, MD
Medical Director, Let’s Go!
Carrie officially joined the Let’s Go staff in 2018, but has been associated with the program and the mission for many years, as a pediatrician at the MaineHealth Maine Medical Center Weight and Wellness program. Her passion for promoting the benefits of healthy food in the clinical setting lead her to change her clinical focus from Pediatric Nephrology to Childhood Obesity prevention and treatment. She has offered cooking programs for patients and medical learners for years, works to advance food security and increase awareness of the connections between nutritious food and health because of a heartfelt belief in the power of food in health and healing.
Emily Walters, MPH
Director, Let’s Go!
Since Emily joined Let’s Go! in 2008, she has particularly appreciated supporting a mission that integrates both clinical and public health approaches to positively impact entire communities. She is energized when forming collaborative relationships with colleagues and partners, and strongly believes that these relationships are a driving force behind Let’s Go!’s success. Emily enjoys staying active year, especially in the company of her family and friends.
Nicole O’Brien
Program Manager, Operations
Nicole quickly became fascinated with 5210’s mission by seeing it implemented in her own community. She holds a BS in Business Management with graduate studies in Nonprofit Management, Fitness Training and Nutrition. Nicole resides in Portland along with her husband, son and two bulldogs. A "foodie” at heart, she enjoys spending time in the kitchen and staying active with weight training, yoga, and spending time outdoors.
Ashley Edmondson
Program Manager, Community Implementation
Ashley is a Program Manager for the Let’s Go! Implementation Team who provides technical assistance to partners statewide while also coordinates program and resource development. After spending a decade working in public health field, Ashley has gained a tremendous amount of experience to effectively support communities in adopting environmental and policy level change, along with a deep understanding of the Let’s Go! program. Ashley is a trained facilitator, presenter and holds a BA in sociology and minor in holistic health from the University of Southern Maine. She lives in Portland, Maine with her husband, daughter and son and studies West African drum and dance in her free time.
Audra Buschagen
Program Manager, Health care
I joined MaineHealth Medical Group as practice manager in 2006. I have worked in both adult and pediatric specialty care practices. My role was operational, working closely with patients, providers, staff and other MaineHealth practices and teams to meet the health care needs of patients in Maine and Northern NH.
I grew up in the Lakes Region in Maine and love to spend time on any lake in whatever will float (kayak, boat, tube). My husband and I currently live in Scarborough and we continue to feel so lucky to live in such an incredibly beautiful state with so many wonderful places to visit, restaurants to visit and outdoor spaces to explore.
I love spending time taking some indoor cycle and/or bootcamp classes. I have found a really incredible and supportive group of people through the gym. My goal is to try and embrace yoga a little more. That is a slow work in progress.
I look forward to working with the Let’s Go! program and team and hopefully I can bring some of my practice operations experience to help support the needs of the Let’s Go! health care community.
Alyson Poland
Project Manager, Bright Bodies
Alyson joined the Let’s Go! team in 2024 to support the expansion of Intensive Health Behavior Lifestyle Treatment programs throughout MaineHealth. She enjoys supporting families with lifestyle changes, goal setting, and learning lifelong skills for wellness. She loves learning from each family in the program and the relationships that are built. Alyson is also a behavioral health clinician who has practiced in primary care settings for many years. Alyson enjoys spending her summers by the lake, winters on the snowmobile trails, and taking nature walks all year round with her husband and two dogs..
Meg Nadeau, M. Ed.
Program Management Specialist, Community & Health care
Excited by the opportunity to return to her professional roots promoting healthy eating and active living, Meg joined the Let’s Go! home office in 2018 after seven years of working in tobacco prevention and control. She is inspired by the simplicity of the 5-2-1-0 and Small Steps messages and behaviors and incorporates them into the daily life of her own family. As a life-long Mainer, Meg enjoys spending time outside of work with her family exploring all the state has to offer, particularly cycling throughout southern Maine and hiking & camping in the Rangeley Lakes region.
Sarah Carter
Program Management Specialist, Community Implementation
Sarah joined the central office team in 2021 after working as a Let’s Go! Coordinator in Oxford County since 2017. Before joining the Let’s Go! team, she worked as a nutrition educator with Maine SNAP-Ed. Sarah brings her passion for community to this work and views increased access to healthy eating and physical activity as foundational ways to build healthier communities. Outside of work, Sarah enjoys being outdoors with her family- skiing, biking, and trail running in the mountains of Western Maine.
Joel Richard
Program Management Specialist, Evaluation
Joel started his career with MaineHealth in 2008 and has been a part of the Let’s Go! team since 2014. A native of southern New Hampshire, Joel is a proud father of one who loves hiking, freshwater kayaking, and going on bike rides with his wife, Torey, and young son, Asa. When he’s not adventuring, you can find him keeping busy with home improvement projects, woodworking and listening to his prized record collection.
Peter Amann, MD
Dr. Amann worked for 17 years in primary care/family medicine where he actively used the 5-2-1-0 messaging with his pediatric patients. He joined Let’s Go in 2015 and helped to create the adult obesity program we call Let’s Go! Small Steps. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Obesity Medicine and now practicing full time obesity medicine as part of a comprehensive management and treatment program in Portland, ME. He and his wife have four children and a dog who keep them very busy. He enjoys playing soccer, hiking, kayaking, skiing and working on the vegetable garden during our (short) summers in Maine.