Trainer Biographies

Jim Bivins is the Director of the DHHS Fair Hearings Unit. He brings to his trainings the following experience, San Diego City Attorney's Office 1981-1988, State of Maine Office of Attorney General 1989-1991, Dyer Goodall & Larouche 1991-1997, Rockland City Attorney, 1997-1998, Chief Administrative Hearing Officer DHHS 1998-Present and member of the California and Maine State Bars.

Kate Carnes is the Director of Staff Training and Development within the Staff Education & Training Unit of the Department of Health & Human Services and has worked in State Government for 28 years. She has been training in the social services field for 20 years and prior to that, worked in the field of Child Protection for 8 years. Kate is certified as a trainer in Ethical Fitness by the Institute for Global Ethics and is certified in a number of other programs, including Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Leader Effectiveness Training, Parent Effectivenss Training (through Gordon Training International), and Cultural Competency for Health Care providers and is a licensed Social Worker. Kate has a Bachelor's Degree in education from Boston University and a Master's degree in adult education from the University of Southern Maine.

Catherine Chichester is the Executive Director of the Co-Occurring Collaborative of Southern Maine. The collaborative has been recognized both nationally and statewide for system change on co-occurring disorders. In her role with the Collaborative of Southern Maine, she directs training and consultation for the current Co-Occurring State infrastructure grant. MS. Chichester was a consensus panelist for the CSAT TIP #42 Substance Abuse Treatment for persons with co-occurring disorders. She has conducted numerous workshops on co-occurring disorders and teaches courses on co-occurring disorders at Southern Maine Community College and University of Southern Maine. She is a Master's prepared nurse, certified as an advanced practice registered nurse in adult mental health and psychiatric nursing.

Guy Cousins has been in the social work, counseling, and education fields for over 25 years.  A native Mainer from Aroostook County, he received his Bachelor’s of Science degree in 1983 from the University of Maine at Fort Kent and received his Master’s of Social Work in 1991 from the University of Dundee, Dundee, Scotland. Guy has had a wide variety of exciting work experiences having lived and practiced in Italy, Scotland & the United States.  He has worked in a variety of settings; school based, community based, residential, and hospital based services.  He has worked with adults, children, adolescents, couples & families.  He has worked for nonprofit, state, and federal social services agencies.  He has been active in building continuums of services for people of all ages.   Guy is a former member of the Board of Alcohol & Drug Counselors and served as both Vice Chair and Complaint Officer during his tenure. He is active in community work, coaching two high school sports teams and is a member of the board of a local Youth Soccer Association. Guy joined the Maine Office of Substance Abuse in September 2006 as the Associate Director and later became Acting Director from October 2007 to September 2008.  Guy was appointed Director in October 2008.

Jacinda Gagne obtained her BA in psychology from the University of Maine at Farmington in 1999. During that time, Ms. Gagne was employed as a Behavioral Health Counselor at Maine General Medical Center in the detox unit as well as the mental health unit where she begain training in psychological testing. During Ms. Gagne's time at University of Maine in Farmington, she was the lead researcher/adult tester for the New England Research Institute (NERI). Ms. Gagne obtained her Master's degreee in clinical psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth. During that time, she worked as a substitute high school teacher. She became employed as a Teaching assistant at the University of Masssachusetts in the fields of: Research Methods, Advanced Research Methods and Design, Abnormal Psychology and Developmental Psychology. Ms. Gagne also completed a one year intership as a therapist at the campus counseling center in Massachusetts and worked at a halfway house for individuals with mental illnes and /or substance abuse issues. Ms. Gagne went on to complete a six month practicum on an in-patient mental health unit at a local hospital. While at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, Ms. Gagne completed her Master's thesis on eating disorders and body dysmorphia in male athletes. Currently, Ms. Gagne is pursuing her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, California.

Tamara Herrick, MS, has extensive background in services for older adults with a focus on healthy aging. She joined MaineHealth’s Partnership for Healthy Aging in June of 2008 as the program manager for the Healthy Choices for Maine. As the program manager for this grant which is an award to the Office of Elder Services funded by the Administration on Aging, she oversees the dissemination of the four evidence-based programs in Maine: Living Well with Chronic Disease, A Matter of Balance Volunteer Lay Leader Model, Enhance Wellness, and Enhance Fitness.

Cynthia Instasi has been working for the past fifteen years in services for the elderly and family caregivers. For five years she has been a Master Trainer for the Best Friends Approach to Alzheimer's care program. Ms. Instasi has worked for ten years with the Eastern Agency on Aging serving in various programs for the elderly. Some of these include adult day service Activities Coordinator, Caregiver Support Group Leader and Coordinator for the Partners in Caring Program, a respite care program serving people with Alzheimer's Disease and related dementia.

Greg Marley, LCSW , is the Director of Special Projects for the Maine Youth Suicide Prevention Program.  Greg brings over 20 years of experience working in community mental health in Maine.  He has worked as a Crisis Intervention clinician and later supervised and managed a mobile crisis team serving several coastal counties.  Greg later worked with the National Alliance on Mental Illness, expanding their Crisis Intervention Team training program within the state.  Greg currently facilitates several bereavement groups including a suicide survivor group in Knox County. 

Jarad Platt, LADC is a Treatment Specialist in the Maine Office of Substance Abuse (OSA). He was a Systems Analyst for the Department of the Navy for decades and then trained as a Substance Abuse Counselor in Washington, D.C. Jarad's counseling experience includes substance abuse counseling and trauma treatment. He brings his expertise to the systems work, with the Maine Department of Corrections, of developing the Substance Abuse Treatment System within the Maine State Prision System.

Bonnie Tracy is the Staff Development Specialist for the Staff Education and Training Unit in the Department of Health and Human Services. Her previous work includes management experience in a private social services agency and Human Resources training experience in business. Recently she was employed as a Special Education teacher for a Career and Technical Education Center in Waterville. Bonnie has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Syracuse University; a Master’s in Education from the University of Maine at Orono and is currently working on her M.B.A., with a concentration in Human Resources Management, from Thomas College.

Helen Wieczorek, MBA, has been working in facilitation, training and organizational development since 1980, holding a variety of public sector positions while managing a small private consulting business. Now retired from State Government, most recently as Director of Training and Development for the Maine Department of Transportation for 18 years, she now focuses on her consulting business. She designs and presents training in response to customer needs, facilitates small and large groups, leads organizational change efforts, and conducts individual coaching sessions.

Linda Williams is the Training and Education Project Director for the Maine Youth Suicide Prevention Program. She has worked as a middle school teacher in Michigan, a Coordinator of Maine's Statewide Network of Peer Helping Programs, and as an Education Specialist and the Prevention Team Manager at the Maine Office of Substance Abuse. Her expertise is in the areas of child abuse, substance abuse and youth suicide prevention.

Gary Wolcott is the program manager for Brain Injury Services, OACPDS, DHHS. This newly created office and position is part of the office of Adults with Cognitive and Physical Disability Services of DHHS and is charged with establishing a comprehensive, single State agency for brain injury. Gary has more than 30 years experience assisting persons with brain injuries and other disabilities to achieve greater independence and self-sufficiency in community based settings.