Executive Director
Chris McLaughlin, MSW, LCSW
CMcLaughlin.naswme@socialworkers.org
Chris McLaughlin, MSW, LCSW (he/him/his) is the Executive Director of NASW Maine and owner of Inspired Consulting Group, LLC. A lifelong resident of Maine, he obtained both his BA in Psychology (1996) and his MSW (2001) from the University of Maine. Chris has spent more than 20 years as a provider and a leader in behavioral health services for youth and families across a variety of clinical settings. These include treatment foster care, residential treatment facilities, public schools, private practice, community-based programs, and psychiatric hospital-based services. Chris has a passion for teaching and is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Maine and Husson University in Bangor. He served for four years on the Maine Board of Social Work Licensing and is a member of both the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and the Society for Social Work Leadership in Health Care (SSWLHC), where he is the current Maine Chapter President and is a member of the National Board. A lifelong learner in leadership, coaching, and mentoring, he is a graduate of the Disney Institute leadership program and the Daniel Hanley Health Leadership Development program in Maine. Chris is on the Faculty for the SSWLHC's Leadership Development Institute and holds certifications in Diversity and Inclusion and Building a Diverse Workforce from Cornell University. Nationally, Chris was the SSWLHC’s 2019 recipient of the Eleanor Clark Award for Innovative Programs in Patient Care for his work in youth suicide prevention. In Maine, Chris was recognized locally in both 2019 and 2023 for his advocacy and commitment to LGBTQ+ youth and was named Health Care Social Worker of the Year in 2019 by the Maine Hospital Association and the Maine Chapter of the SSWLHC for his leadership role on the award-winning “Acadia CARES” curriculum. In spring of 2020, Chris was named the University of Maine School of Social Work's Alumni of the Year. The Maine Education Association honored Chris with their first ever "Friend of Education" award in May of 2023 to recognize his career-long advocacy for public education. Chris and his husband live in Hermon, Maine with their three dogs, Anna, Becky, and Sawyer and are avid fans of many types of recreation and leisure during all of Maine’s seasons.