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W O R K F O R M E / S P R I N G 2 0 2 5 10 when she was in high school and progressively got worse through the years. After moving back to Maine with her husband and two young children, she eventually sought help at the insistence of her sister, went into rehab and got sober. From that experience and volunteering at the Cumberland County Jail as part of her recov- ery, the idea for MaineWorks was born — she would combine her know-how as a recruiter with her volunteer work with marginalized people in society. She started her company at a kitchen table in her Portland apartment after her divorce. MaineWorks is a for-profit business with a social mission to compassionately support people in recovery or who were recently incarcerated to help them make better lives for themselves. The businesses she works with sup- port that same mission. From a business perspec- tive, MaineWorks has done well. Walsh works with about a dozen construction companies in southern Maine, including Wright-Ryan, AlliedCook, Con- sigli, PC, Sheridan and Zachau. Last year she employed 133 peo- ple, who are paid a minimum of $20 an hour when working for those companies. Annual revenues have grown to more than $3 million. She has three full-time staffers in the office every day. While all of that is good, the real satisfaction comes from helping people who are in a tough situation. Her support goes beyond providing simply a job. She and her sister, Elaine Walsh Carney, co-founded the United Recovery Fund, a non- profit that raises money to pro- vide transportation, housing support, health services and things like work clothing, food and other necessities to Maine- Works employees. "Along with a good job," Walsh said, "they get housing, help and hope." For the most part, her em- ployees have done well on the job, with just a few reports of « C O N T I N U E D F R O M P R E V I O U S PAG E C o n s t r u c t i o n / T r a d e s We have to hire through discretion. We aren't drag-netting. It's more like fly-fishing. — Margo Walsh At MaineWorks, the morning campfire circle is a daily ritual. P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F M A I N E W O R K S