Our team

Courtney Gary-Allen

Executive Director

courtney@me-rap.org

Courtney Gary-Allen is the Executive Director of the Maine Recovery Action Project and the Maine Recovery Access Project, sister organizations collectively known as ME-RAP. As Executive Director, she leads a holistic approach to recovery, combining community organizing, policy advocacy, and direct support services to amplify the voices of people with lived experience. Courtney’s policy work in Maine has helped advance opioid settlement transparency, Good Samaritan protections, naloxone education in schools, and much more.


At 16, she earned her GED while caring for a young child, later completing her undergraduate degree at the University of Maine at Augusta (2020), a Master’s at the Muskie School of Public Service (2025), and her first year of law school at Maine Law—all while saving lives, passing legislation, and caring for her own recovery process. Courtney is currently serving her second term as an At-Large City Councilor in Augusta, Maine, where she lives with her husband, two sons, cats, and their dog, Cosmo.


Tess Parks

Policy DirectoR

Tess@me-rap.org

Tess Parks (she/her) is the Policy Director of Maine Recovery Action Project, Maine Recovery Access Project’s sister organization, working on statewide grassroots organizing, legislative campaigns, and civic engagement initiatives.


She moved to Portland, Maine in 2014 to begin her journey in long-term recovery from substance use disorder. 

Tess has worked in a variety of different fields, including behavioral health support, municipal economic development, and public education. Having a lifelong passion for social justice and advocacy, Tess completed her master's degree in Policy, Planning, and Management from the University of Southern Maine’s Muskie School of Public Service.


Jeanie Marquis

Volunteer Director

Jeanne@me-rap.org

Jeanie Marquis is a dedicated advocate in the fight against substance use disorder, currently serving as the Volunteer Director for the Maine Recovery Access Project. With a passion for community service, she has been instrumental in creating and sustaining the Project Doorstep, which has successfully knocked on 10,000 doors in just two years, distributing more than 5,000 boxes of naloxone.


Jeanie’s commitment to this cause is deeply personal; her son is in long-term recovery, fueling her drive to make a difference. In addition to her role with ME-RAP, Jeanie serves on the China Selectboard, where she works to improve her community and support local initiatives. 


DANNI SHIFFLETT

CENTER DirectoR

DANNI@me-rap.org

Danni Shifflett brings together lived experience in recovery and harm reduction, deep professional expertise running community led programs and building power with marginalized communities. Danni understands the Access Center not just as a program, but as a hub of care, organizing, and collective power.

Danni holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, Addictions and Forensics and is currently pursuing her Master’s degree. Danni began her professional career as Recovery Peer Coach, supervising a team of twelve recovery coaches in Charleston, West Virginia. She later served as the Quick Response Team Coordinator for CARE, where she led a multidisciplinary team that brought together peers, law enforcement, fire, and EMS.


 While in West Virginia, Danni helped to pass a bipartisan law that standardized prompt judicial appearances to reduce unnecessary jail time and overcrowding. This work is a powerful example of how grounded, frontline advocacy can lead to humane policy outcomes that protect vulnerable people and communities. Most recently, Danni served as an Options Liaison covering Androscoggin County, Maine.


Danni’s journey, from surviving incarceration and overdose to earning her education and shaping public policy, fuels her mission to fundamentally change how communities respond to substance use, justice involvement, and human dignity. Danni’s life’s mission remains bold and clear: to help as many people as she can, the best she can, for as long as she can. We are honored to have her guide the Center into its next phase and to deepen ME-RAP’s work at the intersection of direct service, harm reduction, recovery, and policy change.


Kate Reagan

Operation Director

Kate@me-rap.org

Kate Reagan is a person in long-term recovery and a formerly incarcerated leader dedicated to building equitable systems of care in Maine. She brings extensive experience in nonprofit administration, grant writing, and community advocacy, grounded in the belief that lived experience is a powerful driver of systemic change. Kate’s professional path is shaped by resilience, compassion, and dedication to equity and liberation. Her leadership reflects ME-RAP’s values, centering lived experience, challenging inequity, and building pathways for recovery that honor dignity and self-determination.


jon Finnemore

Youth Organizing Director

Joe@me-rap.org

A lifelong Mainer based in Washington County, Joe Finnemore serves as ME-RAP’s Youth Organizing Director and is deeply dedicated to strengthening his community through compassionate, evidence-based approaches to substance use. Before stepping into this statewide role, Joe worked as an OPTIONS liaison in Washington County and supported our Youth Caucus as their Youth Ally, where he helped young people lead a successful campaign to require all Maine high schools to offer naloxone training.

Since that law’s passage, Joe has supported youth organizers across Maine in creating and implementing one of the nation’s first youth-led naloxone trainings, designed entirely by and for young people. With extensive experience training individuals in naloxone use and expanding access to life-saving tools, Joe continues to champion harm reduction rooted in dignity, respect, and practical support.


Kay Woods

Penobscot County Youth Ally

Kay@me-rap.org

Kay is a 38 year old substance affected youth and adult who serves her community through the lens of both personal and professional expertise. She identifies as a person in recovery who works in the system as well as exists inside of it with her children. She has worked for over 20 years with youth and families as a community mental health service provider and has been working with Maine Recovery Access Project as a youth ally & community organizer for two years. Kay is passionate about healing and recovery as a community responsibility and leads the development of those spaces in partnership in all of her roles. 


Josh Kingsbury

Center Organizer

Josh@me-rap.org

Josh Kingsbury began his journey with the Center as a dedicated volunteer, playing a key role in the renovations of the Access Center. Over time, his commitment and leadership led him to take on new responsibilities, including managing the snack counter and supporting the daily operations that keep the Center thriving. 

As a young person in recovery and who has experienced unsheltered homelessness, Josh brings invaluable lived experience to his work. His perspective and empathy allow him to connect deeply with the community and provide support grounded in understanding. Josh is passionate about fostering a sense of belonging at the Center, and his dedication to community is a driving force behind everything he does.


Mike Lovaglio

Center Organizer

Mike@me-rap.org

Mike Lovaglio’s journey with ME-RAP began as a dedicated volunteer, hosting the weekly Thursday Night Thunder recovery meeting at the Access Center. His steady commitment to recovery, compassion for others, and care for participants’ health and well-being quickly stood out. Within just a few months, his leadership and reliability led him to officially join the ME-RAP team as one of our Center Organizers.

Growing up in a family rooted in public service, Mike views his work at the Access Center as a way to give back to the community that helped shape his own recovery. Mike brings both professional experience from the private sector and hands-on involvement in grassroots advocacy at the local and state levels to his work with ME-RAP. Guided by empathy and purpose, Mike works every day to strengthen the recovery community and ensure that everyone who walks through the Access Center’s doors feels seen, supported, and valued. 


Courtney Meade

Organizing Coordinator

CMEAde@me-rap.org

Courtney Meade (she/her) is a person in long-term recovery dedicated to building compassionate, accessible pathways of support that ensure every person seeking help is met with dignity, understanding, and real choices. Her lived experience grounds her belief that people closest to the issue should shape the solutions. Courtney brings experience in mental health and substance use support, community advocacy, and community engagement, along with experience in administrative and financial roles. After volunteering and interning with ME-RAP, she stepped into the role of Organizing Coordinator, where she supports people across Maine in staying connected, lifting their voices, and leading local change grounded in hope and healing.


Maine Recovery ACCESS Project Board

  • Raegan LaRochelle, Board Chair

    Born and raised in Augusta, Raegan LaRochelle is a small business owner and economic development consultant. A proud graduate of Cony High School, she excelled in basketball and field hockey, contributing to state championship teams. She currently operates two small businesses, a cleaning company and a consulting business focused on tax increment financing. She previously served as a Maine State Representative and At-Large City Councilor in Augusta. Following the tragic loss of her long-time partner, Fred, to an accidental overdose, she has renewed her commitment to increasing access to treatment and recovery support services in Maine.


    Raegan can be reached at board@me-rap.org.

  • Jaclyn Brown, Treasurer

    Jaclyn Brown is the Owner and CEO of Stay Golden Coaching & Consulting, along with her own online creative shop, Jaclyn Kane Creations. She is also the Day of Service Liaison for Mobilize Recovery. She lost her younger brother, Marc, to a heroin overdose on November 16, 2018. Since then, she has become very passionate about advocacy and education around the topics of substance use, mental health, and harm reduction. Jaclyn co-created and led the Family Advisory Committee for Mobilize Recovery and Partnership to End Addiction, which focused on education and advocacy for family advocates. She was also the Volunteer Coordinator and a Site Lead for Shot in the Dark, a syringe service program in Phoenix, AZ. Jaclyn is the host of “Dark and Enlightened,” where she has open and honest conversations with guests to shed light on dark and stigmatized topics. She lives in Mesa, AZ and she loves hanging out with her husband and dogs, creating art, eating tacos, and binge watching Netflix reality shows to decompress.

  • Chasity Tuell, Secretary

    Chasity Tuell is a lifelong resident of Washington County, ME currently living in Marshfield and is the Executive Director of Maine Recovery Council. As a person in long-term recovery, Chasity is deeply committed to supporting and advocating for individuals who use drugs. 


    Her career has been dedicated to supporting and expanding start up harm reduction organizations, including Syringe Service Programs (SSP) certified by the Maine Center for Disease Control (CDC). Through her leadership in SSPs and harm reduction organizations, she not only provides essential resources but also fosters a safe space for individuals to seek help and find pathways to recovery. 

Maine Recovery Action Project Board

  • Amy Clark, Board Chair


  • Nick Loscocco, Secretary


  • Kole Taylor, Treasurer