Our Chief Program Officer Kristie Worster shared some mental health tips on Newscenter Maine just in time for Memorial Day weekend. Watch below…

Portland Sea Dogs Baseball hosted Sweetser for Mental Health Awareness Night on Thursday, May 11th. Sweetser Chief Financial Officer John McAnuff threw the ceremonial first pitch.

Sweetser also had an informational table set up, and many staff attended the game, along with friends and family.

Jayne Pelletier and Kristen Cianelli

Sweetser recently welcomed two additions to its leadership team.

Jayne Pelletier, Ph.D. joined Sweetser as the new Director of Training. Jayne comes to Sweetser with a long history of working with adult, multi-cultural learners in a variety of settings. Her background includes extensive involvement with institutional and programmatic accreditation, program development, evaluation, and assessment. Jayne has experience with both traditional and post-traditional learners, and has considerable experience delivering professional learning in a variety of modalities. She earned a B. S. in Environmental Conservation, an M. A. T. in English, and a Ph.D. in Education, all at the University of New Hampshire. Jayne holds an Experienced Educator Certificate and is certified as an English teacher. She has taught both graduate and undergraduate students online and in the classroom at several institutions and has been responsible for all areas of instruction, including faculty observations, faculty development, and curricular changes. Jayne lives in Southern Maine and enjoys hiking, kayaking, and walks with her rescue shepherd, Bae.

Kristen Cianelli has been promoted to Director of Community-Based Services. Prior to her new position, she served as Clinical Manager for the School-based Outpatient Services program. Before social work, Kristen graduated with a Bachelors in English and French Literature and was a writer, musician, and house painter. She always loved a story and believed in the power of people. In 2014, she earned her MSW from the University of New England and began working with adolescents and families within a residential substance use treatment setting for seven years. There she developed a passion for clinical work with youth and families, access to substance use treatment, and community outreach and education. Kristen also became interested in systems that support mental health services and service providers, including the culture within agencies. She looks forward to being able to bring those interests into her new position.

Systems Engineering, a longtime partner with Sweetser, understands that mental health matters. As part of the company’s commitment to continually giving back to the community, it recently donated $20,000 to Sweetser in support of its ability to provide mental health services. 

For Mental Health Awareness Month in May, Systems Engineering Employee Success Specialist Kendall Dienno and Account Manager Kent Goodrow visited Ricker Farm on Sweetser’s Saco Campus to talk about how the organization values mental health and work/life balance.

Watch the video to learn more:

About Systems Engineering
Systems Engineering is a 100% employee-owned IT strategy and managed services provider dedicated to enabling the exceptional in clients nationwide. System Engineering’s team of 150+ network engineers, managed security professionals, project managers, data management experts, and account managers are available 24×7, 365 days per year to meet the needs of our clients. From network design and installation to a full complement of managed IT, IT security, and cloud services, they have an IT solution that will allow an organization to reach its full potential – and enable the exceptional.

“Calm down!”. “Take a deep breath”. “Stop worrying about it”. These are things we hear when we are feeling anxious and for most people are not helpful and do not work. Occasional anxiety is a normal part of life. For teens, there’s a lot of change happening in and around you, and that can mean a lot to worry about! Some anxiety keeps us motivated, however, people with anxiety disorders frequently have intense, excessive, and persistent worry and fear about everyday situations. And these feelings of anxiety and panic interfere with daily activities and are difficult to control. Why is this and what can be done about it? In this episode of “Not Now, Maybe Later”, anxiety is explored from genetics and chemistry, to types like perfectionism and phobias. Listen in and you will hear some ways to reduce anxiety so you can find a new idea or two to keep your worrying under control.

As part of its Serve with Liberty community service program, Liberty Mutual employees volunteered in Saco on May 4th. Forced indoors due to inclement weather, the crew cleaned worked with Sweetser’s Facilities crew and Volunteer Team to clean out the basement of the Merrill Center on the Saco Campus. 

House Speaker Rep. Rachel Talbot Ross visited our Saco special purpose school on April 30 to talk about our behavioral health system and what the legislature can do to tackle the many challenges we face in providing needed services.

Sweetser was one of the stops on the Speaker’s listening tour across the state. Her leadership on these topics is greatly appreciated. Shout out to our local delegation members Rep. Lynn Copeland, Maine House Dist. 130 and Representative Marc Malon for also being part of this special day.

 The team at KeyBank, a longtime partner and supporter of Sweetser, helped beautify the outside of our adult crisis building on our Saco campus. They did a wonderful job working alongside our facilities team to rake, take away brush and branches, and landscape the front of the building. We can’t thank them enough for all their efforts!

Sweetser’s Zero Suicide Committee organized a team to participate in the University of New England’s Walk to Fight Suicide, an event from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. The following staff members participated: Wendi Dubois, Holly Hall and her son, Carol Mundigler and her son, Cheryl Cook, Deb Higgins, Heath Seeley, Jenn Garcia, and Jennifer Ridolfi.

During National Volunteer Month, IDEXX employees volunteered on our Saco school to help beautify the campus.

We wouldn’t be able to do what we do without all our amazing volunteers and corporate groups that help support our mission. We appreciate all you do for us!

Thank you, IDDEXX!