Pat Kimball retired in September of 2016 as the Executive Director for Wellspring, which is a substance use disorder and mental health treatment center located in Bangor. She is a graduate of the University of Maine, a former Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor, a Certified Clinical Supervisor and has been working in the field of substance abuse treatment and prevention for more than 25 years. She is actively involved in many changes throughout the years and under her leadership Wellspring received the award for Outstanding Performance in Sustainability, Planning and Implementation of Co-Occurring Disorder Treatment into their programs. She also received the Day One Make a Difference Award for her work with advocacy and policy change and  the William Shook Award for her continual work in the community in promoting prevention, treatment and recovery. She was the President of the Maine Association of Substance Abuse Programs and served on many state committees in the areas of Child Welfare, Corrections, Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking.  She was the Co-Chair of the Maine Anti-Heroin/Opiate Initiative Treatment Team which developed a statewide plan to address the opiate crisis. She currently serves on the Bangor Area Recovery Network (BARN) Board of Directors, The United Way of Eastern Maine Board of Directors, Incorporator of Eastern Maine Health Care, Community Impact Committee (UWEM), and Board of Directors Club House (PCHC).     

She has been married for 47 years to her husband, Charlie, and they have two children and four amazing grandchildren. She is an avid lover of the arts and the University of Maine Men’s Ice Hockey Team. But her favorite retreat is on Sebec Lake at their cottage enjoying family and sitting on the porch watching the sunset. 

Shawn is a graduate of the University of Maine with a BA in Sociology/Social Welfare and Husson University with an MBA. He spent 17 years at Maine DHS as a child protective worker, supervisor and regional manager before leaving to work for a private adoption agency. Since 1986, Shawn has done extensive training in various aspects of child welfare and has taught in the School of Social Work at the University of Maine. He has also delivered training across New England and travelled internationally delivering training in foster care and adoption in four cities in Russia.

He has served as the executive director of a community coalition focused on building developmental assets known to build resiliency in people, particularly young people. He is the past director of the city of Bangor’s Health and Community Services, overseeing the region’s Healthy Maine Partnership focused on primary prevention and population health initiatives.

He serves on and has played leadership roles on numerous statewide boards, including Maine Public Health Association, Maine Center for Public Health, Statewide Coordinating Council for Public Health, Maine Chidren’s Alliance, and NAMI-Maine, to name a few. As a person in long term recovery, he is a founding member of the Bangor Area Recovery Network and has spoken publicly about his own recovery as part of a strategy to put a public face on the recovery community.

He and his wife Rita are the proud parents of 7 children ages 15-32.

Associate Professor in the UNE College of Pharmacy, Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry in the Tufts School of Medicine, and psychiatric and substance use disorder pharmacist.

Dr. Nichols received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University at Buffalo and completed a post-graduate residency at Maine Medical Center. She is a Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist (BCPS) and Psychiatric Pharmacist (BCPP) and a Fellow of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (FCCP). She is currently enrolled in the Masters of Public Health program at UNE with a target graduation in 2022.

Dr. Nichols has 15 years of experience providing direct patient care and interprofessional teaching, and has served as a preceptor for more than 100 student and resident learners, including pharmacists and physicians. 

At UNE, Dr. Nichols coordinates and teaches in the following courses: Drugs and Disease VIII: Immunomodulation and Pain; Drugs and Disease XI: Neurology (includes Alcohol Use Disorder); Abilities Lab III; Independent Research; and Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences in Acute Care and Psychiatry/Substance Use Disorders.

Dr. Nichols is passionate about reducing stigma around mental illness and addiction. She has presented to interprofessional audiences throughout the state, New England region, and across the country. In 2016 she was awarded the Cardinal Health Generations RX Champions Award for community education around nonmedical use of prescription drugs.

She has co-authored over 20 research papers, including works found in the following journals: Current Psychiatry, J of Psychopharmacology, J of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, Pain, Pharmacotherapy, and Psychosomatics.

Nationally, Dr. Nichols holds the following appointments: ICER: New England Comparative Effectiveness Public Advisory Council and CPNP BCPP Editorial Review Board – Senior Editor.  She also serves as expert faculty for the Opioid Response Network, providing education to interprofessional audiences throughout the Northeast and funded via SAMHSA.

Outside of work, she enjoys spending time in her woods and yard with her husband, Eric, and their dogs, Sage and Basil. She also enjoys reading, gardening, watercolor painting, and visiting/learning about lighthouses.

Addiction Medicine Specialist

Mark Publicker, MD has practiced addiction medicine for more than three decades. He is the immediate-past president of the Northern New England Society of Addiction Medicine, past president of both the Virginia and Pennsylvania Societies of Addiction Medicine and is the editor-in-chief of the American Society of Addiction Medicine magazine. Dr. Publicker is also a fellow of the American Society of American Medicine and a diplomate of the American Board of Addiction Medicine.

A nationally known educator and a passionate advocate for addiction treatment, Dr. Publicker has taught addiction medicine in China and helped develop a treatment program for drug-addicted boys for homeless boys in Turkey. In 2009. he was named “Caregiver of the Year” by the Maine Hospital Association and in 2014 Down East Magazine named him Maine’s “Top Doctor in Addiction Medicine.” Lunder-Dineen is fortunate to have the opportunity to collaborate with Dr. Publicker for developing and disseminating evidence-based education about substance abuse and addiction.