About Scott

Scott M. Gagnon

Scott M. Gagnon, MPP

Scott Gagnon, MPP, PS-C is a Certified Prevention Specialist.  He is the Director of Operations for AdCare Educational Institute of Maine, Inc., an organization that provides continuing education and training for Maine’s behavioral health workforce.  Scott has a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from the Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service.  His areas of expertise include workforce development, marijuana policy, youth substance abuse prevention, drug policy, public health advocacy, program evaluation, data analysis, strategic planning, and coalition management.

Scott currently serves as a member of Maine’s Substance Abuse Services Commission, a body established by statute to advise the Governor and State Legislature on policy related to substance abuse.  He was appointed by Governor Paul LePage in 2012 to represent the discipline of prevention. Additionally, he serves as one of the Co Chairs of the Maine Opiate Collaborative’s Prevention & Harm Reduction Task Force. Scott also serves on the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Center for Substance Abuse Prevention National Advisory Council.

In addition to these roles, Scott volunteers as the Board President of the Maine Council on Problem Gambling and as the Chair and spokesperson for the grass roots group, SAM Maine, (Smart Approaches to Marijuana).

Scott is the recipient of the 2017 Patrick J. Kennedy Advocacy Award from Smart Approaches to Marijuana; the 2015 Ruth S. Shaper Memorial Award from the Maine Public Health Association and the 2015 Will Bartlett award from Healthy Androscoggin. In 2013, Scott received the Maine Alliance to Prevent Substance Abuse Prevention Award.

“I love Maine, and what drives me is to play my part to advocate for policies and programs that promote and foster safe and healthy communities for our youth to grow, learn, and thrive.  I have three of my own young children, so it isn’t just passion, it is personal.”