Summary - Governor's Office Opioid Response Seminar Series (June ME#802/880)

Spurwink is bringing the Black Poster Project (BPP) back to the greater Lewiston–Auburn area, expanding it into a moving two-day experience that invites the community to bear witness, reflect, and heal. The BPP is a nationally recognized addiction and overdose awareness initiative centered on a silent memorial of more than 900 posters, each one honoring a life lost to substance use. Walking through the exhibit is deeply human and profoundly personal, visitors encounter faces, names, and stories that reflect every age, background, and walk of life: beloved sons and daughters, siblings, parents, coworkers, and friends. Founded by Dee Gillen after the loss of her son to overdose, the Black Poster Project is not meant to sensationalize tragedy or leave people in despair. Instead, it gently but powerfully challenges stigma, builds understanding, and creates space for honest conversations about addiction, warning signs, and where help can be found.

When Spurwink brought the Black Poster Project to Maine for the first time last year, many community members attended, responding with overwhelming gratitude, reflection, and connection. Although only a handful of posters initially represented Mainers, families soon came forward asking to share their loved ones’ stories—an outpouring that underscores how deeply substance use has touched our state. This year, the exhibit is expected to include 30–40 Maine posters, making the experience even more local and resonant. Building on this momentum, Spurwink plans to expand the project into a two-day program: one day devoted to Maine students engaged through Students Empowered to End Dependency (SEED), with counselors and facilitators present to support reflection and emotional care, and a second day open to the wider public. On both days, attendees will have access to on-site supportive counseling, educational presentations from mental health professionals, law enforcement, and community leaders, and meaningful opportunities for dialogue and healing. In a nation, and our Maine communities, profoundly impacted by substance use, the Black Poster Project honors lives lost while strengthening compassion, resilience, and hope for recovery.

Join Catherine Ryder, Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives, Spurwink, and David Peckham, Founder and Executive Director of Students Empowered to End Dependency, on Friday, June 5, 2026, from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM to learn more about this powerful addiction and overdose awareness initiative. Gordon Smith, Maine's Opioid Response Director will moderate.

This will be the final installment of our monthly webinar series before we convene Governor Mills' 8th Annual Opioid Response Summit on July 16 in Bangor.

Governor Mills Opioid Response Monthly Seminar series will start back up Friday, September 11, 2026.

Catherine R. Ryder, LCPC, NCC, MS, Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives, Spurwink

Catherine is the Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives at Spurwink Services, where she supports efforts to design and advance innovative models of care. Throughout her career, she has been dedicated to expanding access to high-quality behavioral health services, improving outcomes, promoting fiscal sustainability, and reducing the stigma surrounding behavioral health.

A Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, Catherine holds an MS in Counselor Education, is a Nationally Certified Counselor and Approved Clinical Supervisor. She completed the Primary Care Behavioral Health certificate program through the University of Massachusetts, is a graduate of Maine’s Hanley Center for Health Leadership & Education, and has earned a certificate in Retrospective Fatality Analysis (RFA). Catherine serves on the boards of the Maine Council on Aging, the Hanley Center for Health Leadership, the Portland Recovery Community Center, and is a Corporator for Bangor Savings Bank.

Catherine’s professional mission is deeply intertwined with her personal story. She is the mother of a son, a combat veteran, who died of a fentanyl overdose in December 2021. In his memory, she brings unwavering advocacy to her work in behavioral health, with a strong focus on addressing the harms of illicit substances. Her commitment is driven by a singular goal: to prevent and mitigate addiction and save as many lives as possible.

David N. Packhem, Jr., Founder and Executive Director of Students Empowered to End Dependency, (SEED)

Dave is Founder and Executive Director of Students Empowered to End Dependency, (SEED) and Executive Producer of SEED’s documentary series “Voices of Hope…The Rugged Road to Recovery”, an ongoing documentary series airing on Maine Public. VOH chronicles Maine people and medical professionals who describe their experiences with serious addiction and recovery.

Addiction is an adolescent onset disease and SEED’s goal is to dramatically reduce addiction among Maine teens and young adults. In its many forms, addiction drains human potential and undermines the health and wellbeing of our society. Commercialized science and technology have increased the threat of addiction among youth and SEED endeavors to provide a counterweight with novel prevention education. Specifically, SEED combines compelling personal video and presentations by students with the latest brain science to teach the importance of mental fitness and brain preservation. In the last two school years, SEED has made over 120 presentations throughout Maine.

Dave recently retired from a 45-year business career to devote his attention to SEED. He has an MBA from Boston College and a BA from the University of Maine at Orono. He lives in Scarborough with his wife, Karen. They have two sons and four grandchildren.