Read Article Noël Bonam of Portland is eager to enhance age-friendly living as the new state director for AARP Maine. Noël Bonam believes aging neighbors, friends and relatives are important members of our communities and have much to offer. “Sometimes, people forget that,” he said in a recent telephone interview. Bonam is working as the new state director for AARP Maine to raise awareness of the vitality and social value of people older than 50. The native of India moved to Portland in 2000, then took an “international gig” as head of The Global Institute, a public benefit organization (with operational hubs in Denmark, India and the United States), specializing in social equity, leadership development and organizational sustainability.