AUGUSTA — Julie A. Shephard, a trust associate with KeyBank in Augusta, has joined the board of the Children’s Center. She has 22 years of experience in the banking industry, and involvement teaching for the Kennebec Valley Junior Achievement program. Shepard is an adoptive and foster parent familiar with Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services programs and processes.

For the past 45 years, the Children’s Center: Early Intervention and Family Support, a private, nonprofit organization, has been a valued resource for families in central Maine. The focus of the Children’s Center is to create nurturing environments for children with diverse abilities, some of whom receive specially-designed instruction and therapy services at the center while still being in classroom settings with their peers. The center also offers childcare at its Augusta location, and targeted case management in both its Augusta and Skowhegan locations.

Shepard joins current board of directors members Dana Hamilton, president; Patsy Garside Crockett, vice president; Elisa Paylor, treasurer; Don Lemieux, secretary; Elizabeth Pohl, Fernand LaRochelle, Randy Liberty, Maria Hays, Lori Fowle and Diane Smith Howard.