2023 NPN Conference Program - Flipbook - Page 6
Marijuana/Cannabis Policies and Prevention Strategies
in the Era of Legalization
Megan Scott
Megan is a native Californian who found her way to the East Coast through AmeriCorps. She
received her master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Maryland discovering her
love of public health during a field placement in the Public Policy Division of Planned
Parenthood of Maryland. After moving to Maine, she was hired to be the Grassroots Organizer
for the Maine Coalition on Smoking or Health and worked on the clean indoor air law that
removed smoking from bars. Following that she was the Coordinator of the Maine Association
of Prevention Programs where she worked to organize the substance use prevention field to
amplify its voice around policy issues across the state. She left the field for several years to stay
home with her daughters but stayed connected to public health through volunteer work
advocating for the removal of toxic chemicals from everyday products and food through safer
chemical policy. She joined the Substance Use Prevention Team at the Maine CDC in August of
2019 and led cannabis prevention efforts and managed several federal grants before being
promoted to Program Manager in May of 2021. Megan now leads a team of six preventionists
who are doing tremendous work for the state (and who love to celebrate their successes over
French fries.)
Scott Gagnon
Scott has worked in the field of addiction prevention for over 15 years. He began
his career as a program coordinator and evaluator for Day One, coordinating the
youth mentoring program Natural Helpers along with staffing the Maine
Gambling Addiction Network. He moved on to work for Healthy Androscoggin,
where he coordinated the Drug-Free Communities grant covering all of
Androscoggin County, Maine. Currently, he is the Associate Executive Director of
AdCare Educational Institute of Maine, Inc. home to SAMHSA’s New England
Prevention Technology Transfer Center, providing training and technical
assistance to prevention professionals in the New England States.
Sarah Mariani
Sarah Mariani is the Section Manager of the Substance Use Disorder Prevention
and Mental Health Promotion Section within the Washington State Health Care
Authority. She focuses on policy development and strategic planning to ensure
effective service delivery and outcomes. Sarah obtained a bachelor’s degree in
Sociology from Seattle University, followed by a year in AmeriCorps. She has
worked in prevention for over twenty years including coalition-building, strategic
planning, and training. Sarah joined the state of Washington in 2006,
contributing to the development of multiple SUD prevention and MH promotion
initiatives, including development of the Community Prevention and Wellness
Initiative model. She is the co-chair for Washington’s State Prevention
Enhancement Policy Consortium, served as the NPN President, Washington’s
NPN representative, and is on SAMHSA’s CSAP National Advisory Council. Sarah
works each day to serve the families and communities of Washington.
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