About Us

The Co-Occurring Collaborative Serving Maine in partnership with and funding from the Maine Department of Health and Human Services supports Prescribing Clinicians and their Teams to provide more evidence-based treatment to individuals and their families affected by Substance Use Disorders and Opioid Use Disorder (SUD/OUD) to promote recovery and reduce drug overdose deaths. The aim is to increase the number of prescribing clinicians offering evidence-based treatments and the number of patients that they serve. The Statewide SUD Learning Community offers an array of education and support modalities for Prescribers (physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants) and their entire Practice Team through an array of highly accomplished faculty consultants and with support from Muskie School of Public Policy e-learning team and AdCare Educational Institute Maine.

The Faculty

Leah Bauer

Leah Bauer, MD is Medical Director of MaineHealth's Comprehensive...

Leah Bauer

Leah Bauer, MD is Medical Director of MaineHealth's Comprehensive Addiction Psychiatry Services (CAPS) program in Brunswick and Damariscotta. She is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine, and is board certified in Adult Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine. Dr. Bauer graduated Alpha Omega Alpha from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and went on to residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital and McLean Hospital adult psychiatry program, where she served as administrative chief resident. In her current clinical role at MaineHealth, Dr. Bauer leads a team of providers and behavioral health clinicians overseeing a robust MOUD program, provides psychiatric consultation and management across the continuum of addiction care, and particularly with pregnant and post-partum women. She has worked collaboratively across systems of care in clinical and administrative capacities to develop innovative programs including a Contingency Management program, and one of the first Emergency Department buprenorphine initiation programs in the nation. She is vice-chair of MaineHealth's Addiction Specialty Council and serves on the State of Maine's Clinical Opioid Advisory Council. Dr. Bauer has presented on issues relating to psychiatry and addiction medicine at local and national levels. In addition to her work in addiction medicine and psychiatry, she enjoys playing music and being outdoors in Maine with her family. Leah Bauer, MD (she/her) Medical Director Comprehensive Addiction Psychiatry Services, Brunswick/Damariscotta Partial Hospitalization Program, Brunswick MaineHealth Behavioral Health, MaineHealth

Nicolette Centanni

Nicolette Centanni, PharmD, BCPS, BCGP, BCPP is a clinical pharmacist at...

Nicolette Centanni

Nicolette Centanni, PharmD, BCPS, BCGP, BCPP is a clinical pharmacist at Mainehealth Maine Medical Center Portland Campus focusing on psychiatry and addiction medicine and Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry in the Tufts University School of Medicine. She graduated from MCPHS in Worcester, MA in 2004 and has been practicing at MHMMCP since 2009. Dr. Centanni is triple board certified as a Pharmacotherapy Specialist (BCPS), a Geriatric Pharmacist (BCGP) and a Psychiatric Pharmacist (BCPP). She is passionate about the care of people with substance use disorder and is committed to increasing access to evidence-based care in all settings.

Nabarun Dasgupta

Dr. Nabarun Dasgupta is a street drug scientist...

Nabarun Dasgupta

Dr. Nabarun Dasgupta is a street drug scientist at the University of North Carolina, whose passion is telling true stories about health with numbers. At the UNC Opioid Data Lab his team has analyzed ~20,000 street drug samples donated via front line public health organizations, health departments, clinics. He pairs the resulting nuanced understanding of the illicit drug supply with large database analytics on overdose deaths to make sense of shifting drug use patterns. From molecules to populations, his work is deeply rooted in community engagement and amplifying lived experience. Since 2002 he has done pioneering work in overdose prevention and addiction treatment, including co-founding two non-profits that distribute the overdose antidote naloxone: Project Lazarus and Remedy Alliance For The People. He is also an editor at the American Journal of Public Health. He is a recipient of the 2025-2030 MacArthur Fellowship. In 2023 he was placed on the TIME100 Next list of rising global leaders. Sign up for his newsletter (opioiddata.org) to stay on top of the latest drug trends.

Jonathan T. Fanburg

Dr. Fanburg is a Pediatrician and Adolescent Medicine specialist...

Jonathan T. Fanburg

Dr. Fanburg is a Pediatrician and Adolescent Medicine specialist who has worked in Maine for over 20 years seeing children, adolescent, and young adults. Presently, he is the Chief of the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine at Maine Medical Center. Clinically, he sees patients aged 10-26 years old for eating disorders, substance use, adolescent gynecology, mental health, and acute and well visits. In the community he is school physician or medical director for 5 school systems, the University of Southern Maine.

Jonathan Fellers

Dr. Fellers, MD, is an addiction psychiatrist who works with patients...

Jonathan Fellers

Dr. Fellers, MD, is an addiction psychiatrist who works with patients, families, and our health care system to promote high quality evidence-based screening, assessment, and treatment for substance use disorders and co-occurring mental disorders. Dr. Fellers held various roles in medical and graduate medical education over the past 10 years, serving as a lecturer, mentor, site supervisor, rotation supervisor, and program director. Skilled in public speaking, he has delivered presentations at the local, regional, and national level and is a frequent presenter for continuing medical education through Grand Rounds, webinars, and conferences. He developed from the ground up the curriculum for the newly formed Addiction Medicine fellowship at Maine Medical Center. He has participated and presented at several ECHO programs during his time at MaineHealth. Currently, Dr. Fellers serves as Medical Director for two treatments programs. At Crossroads, he oversees the delivery of gender-responsive addiction, eating disorder, and behavioral health treatments for women in two residential programs and two IOPs. Through Foundation House, he supervises an extended care residential program that combines transitional sober living with clinical services (including IOP) for men age 17 to 35. He operates a small private practice and serves on the Board of the Portland Community Recovery Center and the Law and Addiction Committee for the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry.

Eric Haram

Eric Haram is owner of Haram Consulting LLC, whose aim is to improve ...

Eric Haram

Eric Haram is owner of Haram Consulting LLC, whose aim is to improve community health and safety from the impact of substance use disorders, by providing consulting and technical assistance in the areas of strategic planning, workforce development and systems improvement for States, Counties and Organizations. Eric has 30 years experience delivering, designing, and directing substance use treatment services in hospitals, correctional facilities, court systems and community behavioral health centers. Haram Consulting, LLC provides consultation in 11 states, from California to West Virginia, including his home state of Maine where he directs behavioral health services for York Hospital.

Amelia Hersey

Amelia Hersey, PA-C, is the medical director of Hope House Clinic at...

Amelia Hersey

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.

Jesse Higgins

Jesse Higgins RN, PMHNP-BC, MPH is the Director of Integrated Behavioral Health...

Jesse Higgins

Jesse Higgins RN, PMHNP-BC, MPH 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 integrated medical settings since 2011. She developed and directs a state-wide virtual program that integrates therapists and psychiatric practitioners in outpatient healthcare settings. Jesse is a clinical leader, consultant, and national speaker on topics that include trauma-informed care, women’s health, and strengthening rural communities to effectively engage and support people affected by mental illness and addiction.

David Lawrence

David Lawrence, MD, FASAM is an internist and addiction medicine physician...

David Lawrence

David Lawrence, MD, FASAM is an internist and addiction medicine physician at the Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Medical Director at the VA’s Downtown Los Angeles Substance Use Disorder Clinic, and Assistant Clinical Professor at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. Through a practice grounded in the principles of motivational interviewing and harm reduction, David works as a clinician, educator, and health-systems leader to promote accessible, evidence-based, and compassionate care for people who use substances.

Alane O'Connor

Dr. Alane O’Connor DNP is the Director of Perinatal Addiction Medicine at Maine...

Alane O'Connor

Dr. Alane O’Connor DNP is the Director of Perinatal Addiction Medicine at MaineHealth Maine Medical Center and served as the medical director of the Maine Maternal Opioid Misuse (MaineMOM) Initiative, a 5-year, $5 million federal grant to expand access to substance use treatment for pregnant and postpartum women. She has trained hundreds of resident physicians and fellows and is core faculty in Maine’s only addiction medicine fellowship. Dr. O’Connor has published more than a dozen peer-reviewed manuscripts on maternal and infant outcomes following treatment with medication for opioid use disorder during pregnancy as well as related postpartum healthcare utilization and health policy. , She developed a partnership with Portland Fire Department’s Mobile Medical Outreach (MMO) team after recognizing that some of her most at-risk pregnant women were not accessing health care in traditional settings. Project Lifeline is a nationally innovative medical and community paramedicine program that delivers street medicine services to unhoused pregnant and postpartum women with substance use disorder who live in tents, shelters, vehicles, and on the street. Beyond caring for pregnant women, Dr. O’Connor works in the correctional system as the Director of Addiction Medicine at Somerset County Jail and Franklin County Detention Center and is the clinical advisor to the Maine Sheriffs’ Association. In this capacity, she developed and implemented a nationally innovative program using a monthly injectable medication (rather than a daily pill) to treat incarcerate individuals with opioid use disorder. The outcomes, published in Health & Justice, showed that the injectable medication expanded access to treatment during incarceration, improved treatment continuation after release and reduced the risk of post-release drug overdose death. The project gained nationwide attention and was featured on the front page of the New York Times and a related podcast. Dr. O'Connor lectures regionally and nationally on substance use disorder to a variety of audiences including medical providers, the child welfare system, the correctional system and judiciary, as well as law enforcement. She is a member of the Maine Maternal Fetal and Infant Mortality Review Panel and co-chairs Maine’s Opioid Response Clinical Advisory Committee which advises the state’s opioid response director on clinical and public policy issues.

Rachel Solotaroff

Rachel Solotaroff is the Executive Clinical Director of Substance Use Disorder...

Rachel Solotaroff

Rachel Solotaroff is the Clinical Advisor for Substance Use Disorders at Penobscot Community Health Care, where she oversees substance use disorders care delivery in the outpatient and inpatient settings. She is also the Medical Director at New Horizons Detox in Hampden,; and the Medical Director at Milestone Recovery, in Portland, Maine. Prior to moving to Maine, Rachel served for nearly 20 years as Chief Medical Officer and then CEO at Central City Concern, an organization that provides health care, supportive housing and supported employment to people experiencing homelessness in Portland, Oregon. Her work has focused on applying a population health approach to the intersection of homelessness, substance use disorders, mental health, trauma, and social isolation. Rachel is a general internist with additional board certification in Addiction Medicine, and holds a Masters in Clinical Research.

Kenneth Minkoff, MD

Dr. Minkoff is Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Senior at ZiaPartners...

Kenneth Minkoff, MD

Dr. Minkoff is Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Senior at ZiaPartners, Inc., a behavioral health system consultation firm in Tucson, AZ. He is Board-Certified as an addiction psychiatrist and community psychiatrist, Board Member and Products and Services Committee Chair of the American Association for Community Psychiatry, playing a leading role in the development and dissemination of the LOCUS Family of Tools, as well as the Self-assessment for Modification of Anti- Racism Tool (SMART) for which he is co-author. He was one of the original members of the federal Interdepartmental Serious Mental Illness Coordinating Committee (2017-20). He is Co-Chair of the Community Psychiatry Committee of the Group for Advancement of Psychiatry, and one of the lead authors of the 2021 Report: Roadmap to the Ideal Crisis System, published by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing. He is a member of the National Council’s Medical Director Institute and consults tothe National Council Centers of Excellence on Integrated Care and CCBHCs.

Eva Quirion

Dr. Quirion is a graduate of The University of Maine, Orono and the University of...

Eva Quirion

Dr. Quirion is a graduate of The University of Maine, Orono and the University of Phoenix. She joined an interventional pain practice after receiving her FNP certification. She then joined St. Joseph Healthcare in 2014 as a Pain Care provider embedded in primary care. Eva has been working with patients to help them manage their chronic pain. She has worked closely with primary care providers to improve patient safety related to chronic pain medications and other controlled substances. She has become an expert at tapering chronic controlled substances with compassion. The uncovering of undiagnosed substance use disorder led Eva to work with the St. Joseph’s MOUD team. At this time, Eva manages over 100 patients who are on buprenorphine for substance use disorder. The recovery group has also offers long-acting injectable buprenorphine as an additional treatment option for those with opioid use disorder. Eva’s dissertation topic is Compassion Fatigue Among Nurse Practitioners in Maine. She became interested in compassion early in her career and works to promote compassion as a therapeutic tool in patient care. In addition to clinical practice, Eva is also serving as faculty in the University of Maine’s NP program. Eva’s greatest joys are her husband, two daughters, and granddaughter. She enjoys flower gardening and back yard bird watching.

Kinna Thakarar

Dr. Kinna Thakarar is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Maine Medical...

Kinna Thakarar

Dr. Kinna Thakarar is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Maine Medical Center/Tufts University School of Medicine in Portland, Maine. She is board-certified in internal medicine, infectious diseases, and addiction medicine and has a special interest in health services research related to the ID/ substance use disorder syndemic. She completed ID fellowship and additional addiction medicine training at Boston Medical Center. She provides infectious disease and addiction medicine care at a variety of sites, including, MMC, MMP ID, Preble Street Learning Collaborative, and also precepts trainees at the Gilman (HIV/hepatitis) clinic in Portland.

Josh McQueen

Josh McQueen, LCSW, LADC, CCS is the Associate Director of Outpatient and...

Josh McQueen

Josh McQueen, LCSW, LADC, CCS is the Associate Director of Outpatient and Community Services at Spurwink Services in Portland, Maine. He has led the development and expansion of Spurwink’s outpatient substance use disorder treatment programs, serving individuals with polysubstance use, complex mental health needs, housing insecurity, and involvement in the carceral system. In 2024, Josh developed and launched Maine’s first Contingency Management pilot program for Stimulant Use Disorder, which has served more than 200 clients to date.

Richard Rawson

Richard A. Rawson, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus at the UCLA Department of...

Richard Rawson

Richard A. Rawson, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus at the UCLA Department of Psychiatry and a Research Professor at the Vermont Center for Behavior and Health at the University of Vermont. He received a Ph.D. in experimental psychology from the University of Vermont in 1974. Dr. Rawson conducted numerous clinical trials on pharmacological and psychosocial/behavioral addiction treatments for the treatment of individuals with cocaine and methamphetamine disorders. He has represented the US at numerous international meetings on methamphetamine. He has led addiction research and training projects for the United Nations, the World Health Organization and the U.S. State Department, exporting science-based knowledge to many parts of the world. He currently is providing consultation on treatment of stimulant use disorder to 8 US states and several international projects. Dr. Rawson has published 3 books, 40 book chapters, and over 250 peer-reviewed articles and has conducted at least a zillion workshops, paper presentations, and training sessions.

Andrea Truncali

Andrea Truncali, MD, MPH is a board-certified physician in both Internal...

Andrea Truncali

Andrea Truncali, MD, MPH is a board-certified physician in both Internal and Addiction Medicine, and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Tufts University. She completed medical school and residency at New York University, followed by further training in preventive medicine and public health. In pursuit of improving the health and well-being of underserved people, Dr Truncali takes care of patients in specialty substance use treatment as well as primary care settings, provides education and guidance to physicians on the topic of substance use disorder, and contributes to activities at the state level regarding substance use prevention and treatment.

Randy Morrison

Randy Morrison (he/him) is a person who personally understands the challenges...

Randy Morrison

Randy Morrison (he/him) is a person who personally understands the challenges of navigating substance use and mental health concerns. He is a Certified Intentional Peer Support (IPS) Specialist, IPS Trainer, and CCAR Recovery Coach trainer; and has a master’s in public health and a master’s in policy, planning, and management. Randy spent over seven years leading the growth and implementation of peer support programs across Maine’s largest healthcare system before becoming a full-time trainer and consultant. During his time as a peer support director, he grew a peer support team of 3 peer supporters to over 65, the largest in Maine at the time. The programs spanned substance use peer support, mental health peer support, youth peer support, and family/parent peer support. Those positions worked in a variety of settings as well, including emergency departments, primary care, behavioral health clinics, youth early intervention programs, case management programs, and four peer support centers. Randy was a co-author of a manual for integrating peer support into multidisciplinary teams as well as contributed to a manual on integrating peer support roles into "alternative courts". Randy is passionate about peer support fidelity and creating systems that center the people utilizing them.

Lisa Sockabasin

Lisa Sockabasin is a citizen of the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Motahkomik...

Lisa Sockabasin

Lisa Sockabasin is a citizen of the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Motahkomikuk. Lisa has spent much of her career working with tribal and state governments, non-profits, academia, and philanthropic organizations. In her capacity as the Co-CEO of Wabanaki Public Health and Wellness, Lisa collaborates with partners to address systemic inequities experienced by indigenous people and many others. Lisa enjoys developing and implementing culturally based programs that respond to the needs of all communities. Developing opportunities for community connections and healing is both a passion and central to Lisa’s leadership. Prior to joining WPHW, Lisa served as the Director of the Office of Health Equity in the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, as an epidemiologist in the Infectious Disease Program for the State of Maine, as a nurse epidemiologist with the North American Indian Center of Boston, Inc., and served for two decades as coordinator of the Four Directions Summer Research Program at Harvard Medical School & the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Lisa holds a B.S. in Biology from the University of Maine, a B.S. in Nursing from the University of Maine, and an M.S. in Health Policy and Management from the University of Southern Maine. She holds a graduate certificate in Non-Profit Management and serves on several boards including Maine Philanthropy Center, Maine Development Foundation, and the ACLU of Maine.

Stephanie Vail

Stephanie Vail, PharmD, MPH, BCPP, FCCP, FAAPP is a Professor in the University...

Stephanie Vail

Stephanie Vail, PharmD, MPH, BCPP, FCCP, FAAPP is a Professor in the University of New England School of Pharmacy, Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry in the Tufts University School of Medicine, Core Faculty in the Maine Medical Center (MMC) Addiction Medicine Fellowship Program, and an Instructor in the MMC Psychiatry Residency Program. She is a Board-Certified Psychiatric Pharmacist (BCPP) with 20 years’ experience providing direct patient care and interprofessional teaching, including clinical precepting for over 200 pharmacy and medical students, residents, and fellows on the MMC psychiatry consult-liaison and addiction medicine services. She has been inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Clinical Pharmacists (FCCP) and the American Association of Psychiatric Pharmacists (FAAPP), and has co-authored over 40 publications in journals including Journal of Addiction Medicine, Pharmacotherapy, Current Psychiatry, Journal of Psychopharmacology, and Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her pups: Sage, Basil, & Penny, and being among trees. She also enjoys the ocean, yoga, reading non-fiction, gardening, watercolor painting, visiting lighthouses, and looking at the sky.

Amy West

Amy West is a Family Nurse Practitioner who currently practices with Penobscot...

Amy West

Amy West is a Family Nurse Practitioner who currently practices with Penobscot Community Health Care as the Clinical Director of Homeless Health Services serving an unhoused population. 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 adjunct faculty.

The Statewide SUD Learning Community offers an array of education and support modalities for Prescribers and their entire Practice Team through funding from the Maine Department of Health and Human Services Office of Behavioral Health coordinated by the Co-Occurring Collaborative Serving Maine (CCSME) with support from the Catherine Cutler Institute e-learning team.