Eric Meyer, LCSW, MBA
President & CEO
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Eric is President and CEO of Spurwink. Prior to joining Spurwink, he was the Senior Vice President-Operations of the national Behavioral Health Group at APS Healthcare and was responsible for operations at service centers located in Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, California, Georgia and Florida. Eric is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and has worked for many years in the Maine behavioral health provider community in a variety of roles, from therapist to program director. He obtained his MSW from the University of Maine and his MBA from the University of Southern Maine. Eric and his wife tend a small flock of chickens, some alpacas and a couple of horses on their small farm in Whitefield.
Daniel M. Bonner, LMSW
Chief Operating Officer
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Born and raised in Ireland, Dan received his BSc (hons) degree in psychology from the University of Liverpool, England. While working at a summer camp for disadvantaged NYC kids, Dan discovered his passion for working with kids and families faced with intellectual and behavioral challenges. Dan joined Spurwink in 1981 as a direct care worker and has spent his entire professional career with the agency. His career path at Spurwink has included roles as Case Manager, Assistant Director and Program Director within Adult Services. His mentors along the way included three leaders who each went on to become Spurwink’s CEO. At the urging of one of those mentors, Dan went back to school and earned his MSW in 2005, while serving as an Administrative Coordinator on the Senior Leadership Team. The most recent decade has included a half dozen years as Spurwink’s Vice President, a 6-month term as Interim President, and several years in his current role as Chief Operating Officer.
Amy Cohan, LCSW
Vice President of Outpatient & Community Services
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Amy began her career at Spurwink in 1994 as an outpatient clinician in the Lewiston Schools and has had her heart in the Outpatient and Community Services at Spurwink ever since. Since graduating with an MSW from Boston University School of Social Work in 1993, she has been working with children, youth and families in many clinical roles but her greatest professional joy comes supporting clinicians, case managers and teams. On the home front, Amy and her husband, Austin, keep busy with family, home and garden.
Al Durgin, LCSW
Vice President of CQI &Outcomes
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Al Durgin is a clinical social worker who serves as Vice President for Continuous Quality Improvement and Outcomes at Spurwink, where he has worked for 28 years in both outpatient and residential programs. He leads many of the agency’s compliance activities and tracks the various strategic planning streams. Al was born and raised in Maine and has degrees from Harding University and University of Texas at Arlington. He is the father of three adult daughters and Papa to two grandsons.
Kristen Farnham, JD
Vice President of Development
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Kristen leads our fundraising, marketing and communications teams. A graduate of Middlebury College and Boston College Law School, she joined Spurwink in 2015 with experience working with educational organizations, nonprofits, and in private practice. Kristen loves connecting people – with each other, with ideas, and with opportunities to make a difference. Outside of Spurwink, she can be found with her family, usually on or near the water.
Kane Loukas, LCSW
Vice President of Children’s Residential & Education Services
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Kane has worked with children and families for 35 years. After graduating from Western Michigan University with a Masters Degree in Social Work, his first clinical job was with Spurwink. After working for many years with other agencies, in 2014 Kane returned to his roots at Spurwink as Vice President of Children’s Services. He highly values Spurwink’s clinical models and the quality of services provided to children and families. Kane loves to run and hike, and attempts to play golf.
John McAnuff, CPA, MBA
Chief Financial Officer
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John leads Spurwink’s Finance and IT teams, ensuring that Spurwink staff are well supported and deliver programming that meets the organization’s mission. He especially enjoys building and expanding new programs, working with colleagues to bring their passion for working with Spurwink’s clients to fruition. Hailing from Brooklyn, New York, with an BA from Boston University and an MBA from the University of Southern Maine, John has been with Spurwink for more than twelve years. When he is not working on budgets with program directors, John enjoys supporting his three children in their pursuits, and spearheading family game night while perfecting new recipes.
Jonathan Normand, MS
Vice President of Educational Services
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Jon directs Spurwink’s schools and education programs, which serve hundreds of students at 10 locations throughout Maine. An alum of Gettysburg College, College Year in Athens, and University of Southern Maine, Jon has worked at Spurwink for over 15 years. Beginning his career as a special education teacher in day treatment, he has worked in a number of capacities throughout Spurwink, including roles related to Admissions, IT, CQI, Spring Harbor Hospital, Training, and Educational Services. In his free time, he enjoys family, cooking, playing golf and tennis, and time at the beach.
Mary Celia O’Neil
Vice President of HR & Professional Development
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Mary Celia joined Spurwink in the summer of 2014. In her role as VP of HR & Professional Development, she enjoys oversight of a broad array of human resources functions and manages Spurwink’s Employer of Choice strategic initiatives. As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, she provides direction and leadership in the development, coordination, compliance, and administration of all human resources functions. Prior to joining Spurwink, she served as Human Resources Director at Hospice of Southern Maine. Mary Celia graduated summa cum laude from Granite State College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Adult Learning & Development and she is a past Vice President of the Maine Employee Benefits Council. She enjoys spending time with her husband, bragging about her son, experimenting with different chocolate cake recipes, and playing with her Akita, Gabby.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Alistair Y. Raymond, Chair
Theresa A. Kelly, Vice Chair
Tari Advani, M.D.
Richard Berthy
Catherine Breen
Thomas Daffron
Daniel Fishbein, M.D.
Jim Giberson
Melissa Lalumiere, Esq.
Catherine Liston
Rose McManus
Francoise Paradis, Ed.D.
Doug Sanford
Matthew G. Winch
Alistair (“Al”) Raymond, Esq. serves as the Chair of Spurwink’s Board of Directors and is a member of its Executive Committee. Al is Vice President – Chief Compliance Officer for Avangrid, Inc., and is responsible for the company’s corporate compliance and ethics program. Avangrid is the parent company of Central Maine Power and a subsidiary of global energy company, Iberdrola, S.A. Prior to joining Avangrid, Al practiced as a business law attorney at Verrill Dana, LLP, one of Maine’s largest law firms. Al’s commitment to improving services in the field of children’s mental and behavioral health came in part through his pro bono legal experiences. Al has been a member of Spurwink’s Board since 2007.
Theresa Kelly is committed to sustainable farming practices on her farm in Pownal, Maine. She retired from 40 years working in the IT field, ranging from application development to complex project management. Theresa is Vice Chair of the Board, Chair of the Executive Committee, Chair of the Finance/Audit Committee and a member of the Development Committee. The Spurwink board and organization has greatly benefitted from Theresa’s understanding of improving efficiencies, reducing costs, and optimizing resources. Living in rural Maine with a public school educator has invested Theresa with a passion to make a difference in her community.
Tari Advani, M.D. is an emergency medicine physician at MidCoast Health System. Tari estimates that about 20% of the patients she sees have mental health issues contributing to their visit. Consequently, she has developed an extensive knowledge of services available and needed for children and adults with developmental disorders, mental health issues, intellectual disabilities, and drug and alcohol addiction. These factors have created a deep commitment to improve available services and accessibility to those services.
Richard Berthy is the CEO of Foreside Financial Group, LLC. Foreside is a distribution and compliance services firm serving the investment management industry. Rich serves on the Spurwink Board because he has witnessed friends with children on the autism spectrum struggle with obtaining services.
Senator Cathy Breen has lived in the Portland area since 2000 and joined the Spurwink Board in 2013 and Chairs the Governance Committee. Cathy is the Maine State Senator for District 25. She has served on the Falmouth Town Council as well as on the Board of Directors of Community Counseling Center, and graduated from the Institute for Civic Leadership’s intensive training in collaborative leadership. Her experience in organizational development, strategic planning, fundraising, policy development, writing, advocacy, and mental health care supports her commitment to improve mental and behavioral health services for children and their families.
Melissa Coulombe, Esq., is the Chair of the Development Committee. Melissa became interested in Spurwink due to her work as a Guardian Ad Litem, (GAL) advocating for children in the welfare system. Many children represented by GALs come from unstable family backgrounds and have multiple special needs. Melissa quickly learned to find resources to assist the children in her community, and is motivated by the belief that more resources are always needed.
Thomas Daffron has held a wide variety of senior positions in both government and the private sector. His government service included periods as chief of staff to three Senators, including Bill Cohen of Maine, and as a speechwriter for a fourth Senator. He also held management positions with private enterprises ranging from Washington government consulting firms to a major league baseball team. Tom has consulted on or managed several political campaigns, including those of Maine Senators Cohen and Susan Collins, as well as a national presidential campaign. His son, Tommy, was a Spurwink client in the Limerick Group Home for more than 20 years. Tom has served on the Spurwink board since 1988.
Daniel Fishbein, M.D. is the President of Sun Life Financial U.S., and has served on Spurwink Boards for nearly twenty years. During his tenure as Chair of the Board (2009-2013), Spurwink fully utilized Dan’s experience in strategic planning, mergers, and organizational leadership. Dan currently lends his expertise to the Executive Committee. He is committed to furthering the betterment of services for children with Autism and developmental disorders in Maine.
Jim Giberson is a Maine native who moved back to the state and settled in Portland with his wife in 2012 after earning his degree in Construction Engineering and Management from Purdue University and beginning his career in the Chicago area. He serves as the Commercial Marketing Manager for Wright-Ryan Construction, supporting strategic and business development initiatives. Jim also serves on the Boards of the Society for Marketing Professional Services, Northern New England chapter, and Architalx. Growing up with two parents who were public school educators, Jim is passionate about providing access to opportunities and paths to success for all people. He developed a stronger interest in Spurwink upon completion of the Emerging Leaders program led by Lift 360 (formerly the Institute for Civic Leadership). Jim is proud to support the organization’s behavioral health and educational mission through service on the Development and Finance/Audit Committees.
Catherine Liston has more than 30 years’ experience in the Insurance industry, particularly leading large multi-site organizations. Cathy is currently the Vice President of Sun Life. Cathy joined the Spurwink Board in 2009, bringing her expertise in financial & business management, Human Resource management, plus strategic planning and leadership skills. Cathy is Chair of the Investment Committee and now serves on the Executive Committee.
Françoise Paradis, Ed.D. provides psychological services at Hidden Springs Psychological Services, her private practice, in Saco, Maine. She offers individual and marriage psychotherapy for adults, and psychological/neuropsychological evaluations for children and adults. Her passion is creating beautiful spaces in the landscape around her home in Buxton.
Matthew Winch is an Architect with varied experience in the planning and design of educational, health care and health and human service-related facilities for the private and non- profit sectors. As the proud dad of three youngsters, Matthew is especially invested in furthering community services for children, prevention programs, and education. Matthew recently ended a 3-year term as the Board Chair, and continues to lend his expertise to the Executive, Governance, and Investment Committees.
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