William Milliken is a benefit auctioneer and owner of WJM Auctioneers. He grew up in Augusta, Maine and, after four years in the U.S. Army, earned a political science degree from University of Southern Maine and a law degree from University of Maine School of Law.

Bill practiced as a criminal defense and labor attorney before moving into business, opening and selling several beverage stores and a coffee shop. As an attorney, Bill formed a number of nonprofit organizations, including founding Friends of the Saint Lawrence Church restoring a historic church in Portland’s East End into what is now The Hill Arts performing arts center. He also drafts bills as a legislative attorney for the Maine Legislature.

Bill entered the auction world in the 1990s working for Barridoff Galleries in Portland. In 2017, he became a licensed Maine auctioneer and co-purchased what became Barridoff Auctions, later selling it in 2025 along with Eastern Art Services, a business created to support the auction house.

He then founded WJM Auctioneers to focus on benefit auctions. Bill received his Benefit Auction Specialist designation, the only BAS designee in the State of Maine, and regularly attends the National Auction Association’s Benefit Auction Summit and other educational and industry events to keep up on on the latest fundraising techniques and benefit auction ideas.

Bill is a graduate of the Western College of Auctioneering and currently serves as President of the Maine Auctioneers Association. As a member of the National Auctioneer Association, he holds BAS (Benefit Auction Specialist), AMM (Auction Marketing Management), and GPPA (Graduate Personal Property Appraiser) designations and is a candidate in the NAA’s three-year Certified Auctioneer Institute program. Bill is also licensed in Massachusetts and a member of the Massachusetts Auctioneers Association.