Creating Opportunities For Innovation Across the Lifespan
Held on May 16 and 17, 2025 | Sebasco Harbor Resort
Conference Proceedings
Keynote 1
The SafeSpot Hotline and Addressing Overdose from Solitary Drug Use
Solitary drug use significantly increases the risk of fatal overdose due to the absence of immediate help. This presentation introduces the SafeSpot Hotline — an innovative harm reduction service designed to provide real-time support and emergency response for individuals using drugs alone. Participants will learn how the hotline operates, its impact on overdose prevention, and best practices for promoting its use in communities.
Alexander Y. Walley, M.D., M.Sc., is Professor of Medicine at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, primary care physician and addiction specialist at Boston Medical Center focused on the medical complications of substance use, specifically HIV and overdose. He leads research studies on overdose and the integration of addiction specialty care and general medical care. He is a founder of the inpatient addiction consult service and low barrier walk-in substance use care clinic at Boston Medical Center. Dr. Walley was a founding director of the Grayken Addiction Medicine Fellowship and is the president of the American College of Academic Addiction Medicine. He serves as the medical director for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Bureau of Substance Addiction Services, the Overdose Prevention Program, and the Massachusetts Overdose Prevention Helpline.
Keynote 2
Understanding and Addressing Youth Cannabis Use
Cannabis use is common among adolescents and young adults, and during this stage of development there are increased risks for adverse outcomes. This presentation will include timely updates on cannabis use, adolescent development, and the implications of their intersection, followed by practical discussion of established and emerging approaches to address youth cannabis use disorder.
Kevin M. Gray, M.D., is Professor and Director of Addiction Sciences in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). He additionally serves as MUSC’s Assistant Vice President for Advancing Research Partnerships and as Co-Director of the MUSC Youth Collaborative, leading research, clinical, and educational efforts to understand and address substance use and mental health in adolescents and young adults.
Keynote 3
Infectious Disease Updates for Addiction Medicine Clinicians
Dr. Kinna Thakarar will review local epidemiology of substance use disorders HIV and other infectious diseases among people who use drugs (PWUD). She will also review prevention & treatment updates to HIV, viral hepatitis, and other infectious disease care. Finally she will discuss low barrier approaches to delivering infectious disease prevention and treatment services to PWUD.
Dr. Thakarar is an Associate Professor of Medicine at MaineHealth/Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM) and is board-certified in infectious disease, addiction medicine, and internal medicine. Her clinical and research interests include the infectious disease and substance use syndemic, particularly harm reduction, shared decision making and community-based work. She has partnered with local syringe services programs for both research and clinical care and is currently the PI of a federally-funded harm reduction grant, Project DHARMA (Distribution of Harm Reduction Access in Rural Maine Areas). She also enjoys working with trainees and is the co-director of the TUSM Scholarly Project Program and co-PI of a federally-funded T35 grant for Maine track medical students.
Keynote 4
Emotional Sobriety & the Science of Addiction
Using both his personal and professional experience with addiction, Dr. Seefeld reframes how we think about addiction and offers a non-pharmacologic approach to helping individuals engage in treatment, attain early sobriety, and develop patterns of thinking and emotional management that support long-term recovery. He has shifted away from focusing solely on the addictive substance and will instead guide us upstream to identify underlying issues—specifically, the maladaptive thinking and emotional breakdowns that increase the risk of problematic use in the first place. Throughout the discussion, we will explore the basic science of addiction and gain a deeper understanding of the complexity behind the “whys” of addictive patterns, including maladaptive thinking, emotional responses, and behaviors that hinder long-term recovery.
Dr. Andrew Seefeld is a board-certified specialist in both Emergency Medicine and Addiction Medicine. He earned his Bachelor of Science from UCLA and his Doctorate in Medicine from Penn State College of Medicine. After finishing his internship at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, he went on to complete his Emergency Medicine residency at UCLA Medical Center. Since residency, Dr. Seefeld has worked in community Emergency Departments throughout California, Colorado, and New Hampshire. In 2016, he joined Speare Memorial Hospital, where he currently serves as Medical Director of the Emergency Department and oversees the Trauma and Emergency Medical Services Programs. In 2024, Dr. Seefeld joined the New Hampshire Professionals Health Program as Associate Medical Director. The NHPHP is a nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting healthcare professionals facing challenges such as substance abuse, mental health issues, burnout, and work-related conflicts. Dr. Seefeld is deeply passionate about mental health and addiction medicine. He resides in New Hampton, New Hampshire, with his wife and children.
Breakout A1
Contingency Management for Stimulant Use Disorder Treatment in Maine
Contingency Management (CM) is an evidence-based treatment that has been shown to be the most effective approach to treating stimulant use disorder. Beginning in January 2024, Spurwink Adult Behavioral Health has been implementing one of Maine’s first CM pilot programs in the Bayside neighborhood of Portland, serving clients with complex needs including serious mental illness, polysubstance use and housing insecurity. This presentation will provide attendees an overview of Contingency Management for stimulant use disorder, discuss Spurwink’s outcomes at one year of implementation, and review current CM developments on a state and federal level.
Josh McQueen, LCSW, LADC, CCS is the Associate Director of Spurwink Adult Behavioral Health and oversees Spurwink’s Contingency Management, Opioid Health Home, and Rapid Access programs. Josh developed Spurwink’s Contingency Management pilot program serving individuals struggling with stimulant use disorder, complex behavioral needs and often homelessness. He has worked in Portland’s Bayside neighborhood since 2019.
Breakout A2
Expanding the Focus : Affected Others
Affected Others are an extremely vital, yet often underserved community. This panel discussion will explore the innovations taking place in Maine serving Affected Others. Participants will not only learn about current resources, but also what is on the horizon for care for loved ones.
Clifford “Mike” Gray is a retired Air Force SNCO who traveled the globe for two decades. During his military career, Mike worked in intelligence, command & control, and wrote for the Air Force’s history and museum programs. Mike is a recipient of the Frank Futrell Award for his work The First and the Last: America’s 911 Wing at War, a book he coauthored that details the first 105 days of combat in Afghanistan. He is also the recipient of four other “best in the Air Force” and seven “best in the command” awards for his writing and program management achievements. After retiring from active duty, Mike focused his education and work experience on serving at-risk youth and other underserved populations as a teacher, peer support worker, case manager, and program manager. He currently oversees the Substance Affected Youth Program for Penquis CAP Inc., where his team finds and supports adolescents and teens who have been impacted by substance misuse in their homes and communities. The work ranges from facilitating supportive groups to teaching basic life skills. When Mike isn’t working with his amazing team, he can be found paddling a canoe in pursuit of trout or smoking the best barbecue east of the Penobscot River.
Joe Costello is a graduate of Bangor High School and University of Maine Augusta. He has over 20 years experience as a Mental Health and Rehabilitation Technician/Community. During that time he has provided community-based behavioral and mental health case management services as well as supervised residential programs for adolescents. While the bulk of his professional life has involved work with children and teenagers, Joe has also served Maine’s Veterans in a program that focused on co-occurring disorders. When he’s not helping kids, you’ll likely find Joe on the Penobscot in his boat, camping at his secret spot, or riding an ATV along a dusty trail.
Breakout A3
Street Medicine Team: Bridging the gap to healthcare for our community’s most vulnerable population
Discover how Bangor’s OPTIONS program is saving lives and reshaping community response to the overdose crisis. Through police partnerships, medical outreach, and widespread Narcan distribution, this innovative approach is reducing overdose rates and changing perceptions—one connection at a time.
Amelia Hersey, PA-C, is the medical director of Hope House Clinic at Penobscot Community Healthcare where she does street medicine, recovery and homelessness medicine. She has also been the lead provider for the New Horizons Detox Unit in Hampden (a ten-bed withdrawal management unit for acute opioid and alcohol withdrawal) since it opened in 2018. She had previously worked as the lead physician assistant with the Community Care and Geriatrics team at PCHC, working in skilled nursing and long-term care for the 8 years, where she treated patients in nursing facilities for opioid and alcohol use disorders.
Amy West is a Family Nurse Practitioner who currently practices in addiction medicine at Penobscot Community Health Care. She completed her Bachelors of Nursing in 2009 and Masters of Nursing in 2014, both at Northeastern University. Prior to working for PCHC, she worked for Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program both as an RN and FNP for 9 years. While working in Boston she developed a passion for helping patients navigate barriers to quality healthcare. She has been able to continue this passion with PCHC and their community partners. In addition to public health, Amy also has a love of education. She has worked with the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Northeastern University Bouve College of Health Sciences and the University of Maine as an adjunct faculty.
Ashley has been a Drug and Alcohol Counselor for the last 5 years. She became an OPTIONS liaison 4 years ago, working in both Penobscot and Piscataquis Counties. Prior to becoming an OPTIONS liaison, Ashley worked in various roles within a Primary Care Practice, with 5 of those years directly in an MOUD program. She is an affected other, who strongly believes in supporting families affected by mental health and substance use, as well as the client. She was born and raised in Maine and has chosen to stay and raise her family here, along with her beloved Pug and Ducks.
Jessica Taylor MSN BSN RN CCCTM is a Maine native, and enjoyed growing up in Maine as part of a very large family. I have two children, and love to spend time hiking, gardening, and on the coast. I have been a nurse for 23 years. I began my career as a surgical nurse then transitioned to supporting vulnerable populations within the community, as a home health/hospice nurse, care manager within the practices/supporting victims of trafficking/homeless/elderly, and as director of care management for Community Care Partnerships of Maine. I was also involved in the beta testing for the predictive analytics platform within our state-wide health information exchange, Health Info Net. Jessica’s current role, as Senior Director for Population Health, and Care Transitions at St Joseph Healthcare, I am involved in the work and lead services lines that are supporting some of the communities most vulnerable, those struggling with homelessness, substance use disorder, behavioral health, elderly, and chronic diseases both in the ambulatory care setting, community, and in the hospital. I enjoy working within the community caring directly for those in greatest need as it allows me to collaborate with other community partners and aligns with our mission at St Joseph Healthcare.
Megan Harrigan graduated from the University of Maine, Augusta, with a Bachelor’s Degree in the Science of Human Services. She has been working for 20-plus years in the field. Her focus is mental health, substance use disorder, folks experiencing homelessness, combating stigma, and building rapport with law enforcement in Penobscot and Piscataquis Counties. She is currently employed at Community Health and Counseling Services in Bangor as the OPTIONS Liaison for Piscataquis County.
Breakout B2
Project DHARMA: Evolution of Drug Checking in Maine
This session will describe key partners for drug checking initiatives, review the history of drug checking and the importance of programs being designed by and for people who use drugs, illustrate how syringe services program staff and chemistry experts interpret results, and outline a plan for examining the feasibility and acceptability of drug checking programs in Maine.
Dr. Thakarar is an Associate Professor of Medicine at MaineHealth/Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM) and is board-certified in infectious disease, addiction medicine, and internal medicine. Her clinical and research interests include the infectious disease and substance use syndemic, particularly harm reduction, shared decision making and community-based work. She has partnered with local syringe services programs for both research and clinical care and is currently the PI of a federally-funded harm reduction grant, Project DHARMA (Distribution of Harm Reduction Access in Rural Maine Areas). She also enjoys working with trainees and is the co-director of the TUSM Scholarly Project Program and co-PI of a federally-funded T35 grant for Maine track medical students.
Anna McConnell (she/her) is the Interim Executive Director and Co-founder of Maine Access Points, a state-wide harm reduction organization that provides overdose education and naloxone distribution, syringe access services, and drug user health services. Anna graduated from the University of Southern Maine with a MS in Nursing as a Family Nurse Practitioner. Prior to attending nursing school in Maine, Anna worked in San Francisco at GLIDE Foundation providing harm reduction services in the Tenderloin.
Dasan M. Thamattoor is the J. Warren Merrill Professor in Chemistry and Natural History at Colby College in Waterville, Maine, USA. He received a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) degree in chemistry from the Government Arts and Science College, Karwar, India and a Master of Science (M.Sc.) degree in organic chemistry from Karnatak University, Dharwad, India. After obtaining a Ph. D. from Princeton University, he spent a year at Oberlin College as a Visiting Assistant Professor. He then worked for a year as a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Notre Dame before joining the Colby College chemistry department in 1999. Over the years, he has established a robust and productive research program in physical organic chemistry driven by a diverse group of undergraduates. His research work has been supported by various funding agencies such as the National Science Foundation, Department of Health and Human Services, the Petroleum Research Fund administered by the American Chemical Society, and the Research Corporation for Science Advancement. Das was also appointed a Fulbright Global Scholar to Japan, the Czech Republic, and Singapore. He has extensive global collaborations with scientists in these countries as well as in Hong Kong, Italy, Germany, and Portugal. Undergraduate students often accompany Das on his scientific research trips overseas to live and work alongside international colleagues. Das has received several teaching awards in his career, including the Charles Bassett Teaching Award at Colby College which is determined by Colby students. Besides chemistry, Das enjoys cooking, traveling, baseball, and acoustic blues.
Breakout B3
Invisible: Older Adults and SUD Geriatric Teams
Although substance use disorders are frequently associated with young to mid-adulthood, they are prevalent and becoming more prevalent in the older adult population. Yet, this vulnerable population is under-identified and not treated. Through a case presentation, this panel will explore the challenges and opportunities of addressing SUD to build a comprehensive care system across the healthcare system.
Amelia Hersey, PA-C, is the medical director of Hope House Clinic at Penobscot Community Healthcare where she does street medicine, recovery and homelessness medicine. She has also been the lead provider for the New Horizons Detox Unit in Hampden (a ten-bed withdrawal management unit for acute opioid and alcohol withdrawal) since it opened in 2018. She had previously worked as the lead physician assistant with the Community Care and Geriatrics team at PCHC, working in skilled nursing and long-term care for the 8 years, where she treated patients in nursing facilities for opioid and alcohol use disorders.
Rhonda Selvin is a family nurse practitioner currently working in Addiction medicine at Groups Recover Together where she serves as the New England Regional Medical Director and helps to develop patient care services. She has many years of experience in ME as a primary care provider for folks and their families across generations and has a passion for individualized whole-person care. She has experience working to integrate BH and SUD care into the primary care office and has served as the clinical consultant to ME Care Health Homes.
Jessica Taylor, MSN, BSN, RN, CCCTM, is a Maine native, and enjoyed growing up in Maine as part of a very large family. I have two children, and love to spend time hiking, gardening, and on the coast. I have been a nurse for 23 years. I began my career as a surgical nurse then transitioned to supporting vulnerable populations within the community, as a home health/hospice nurse, care manager within the practices/supporting victims of trafficking/homeless/elderly, and as director of care management for Community Care Partnerships of Maine. I was also involved in the beta testing for the predictive analytics platform within our state-wide health information exchange, Health Info Net. Jessica’s current role, as Senior Director for Population Health, and Care Transitions at St Joseph Healthcare, I am involved in the work and lead services lines that are supporting some of the communities most vulnerable, those struggling with homelessness, substance use disorder, behavioral health, elderly, and chronic diseases both in the ambulatory care setting, community, and in the hospital. I enjoy working within the community caring directly for those in greatest need as it allows me to collaborate with other community partners and aligns with our mission at St Joseph Healthcare.
Jesse Higgins MSN, MPH, RN, PMHNP, is the Director of Integrated Behavioral Health at Northern Light Acadia Hospital in Bangor, Maine. An Acadia provider since 2010, Jesse has practiced consultative psychiatry in a family medicine practice at Eastern Maine Medical Center since 2011. She developed and directs an integrated program that leverages licensed clinical social workers and psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners on-site and via telehealth in outpatient medical practices throughout the state of Maine. Jesse is a clinical leader and national speaker on topics that include perinatal mental health, older adult mental health, substance use, and strengthening medical practices as a trauma-informed access point for patients presenting with mental illness and substance use disorders. Jesse is also proud to serve on the Board of Trustees at Partners for Peace, an intimate partner violence resource center serving Penobscot and Piscataquis Counties.
Keynote 5
Drug Supply Insights and Falling Overdose Rates
Senior Scientist, UNC Injury Prevention Research Center Innovation Fellow, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health Dr. Nabarun Dasgupta is a scientist at the University of North Carolina (USA) with 2 decades of experience in harm reduction, focused on overdose epidemiology and prevention. His passion is telling true stories about health, with numbers. His multidisciplinary approach draws on large database analytics, qualitative field studies, analytical chemistry, randomized message trials, and community-based interventions. At UNC he works at the Opioid Data Lab (OpioidData.org), a team of scientists exploring difficult questions in overdose prevention. He is a co-founder of Remedy Alliance For The People (remedyallianceftp.org), a groundbreaking non-profit distributor that makes bulk naloxone purchases easy. He also co-founded the UNC Street Drug Analysis Lab (streetsafe.supply), which provides mail-in drug checking services to 160+ programs in 35+ states. In 2023 Dr. Dasgupta was named to TIME 100 Next list of emerging global leaders: “Few Americans have done more to prevent drug–overdose deaths than Nabarun Dasgupta.”