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Thomas Hibbert
Chairman
Thomas Hibbert
Chairman
Tom is a respected advocate and person in long-term recovery, with over forty years of continuous sobriety. Widely recognized across Maine for his unwavering commitment to individuals impacted by substance use and mental health challenges, Tom has been a steady force in shaping the state's response to addiction, homelessness, and reentry. A trailblazer in his own right, he has spent decades working alongside peers and partners to help guide Maine to this point.
Tom's work is lived out in motion. Whether traveling up and down I-95 in the early hours of the morning, delivering coffee and breakfast before the day begins, or identifying gaps and creating new recovery spaces, including launching and chairing community-based meetings, he consistently meets people where they are. He can often be found walking wooded trails or along riverbanks to connect with our neighbors who call those places home, rarely arriving empty-handed and always bringing dignity, consistency, and human connection.
His decades of direct outreach, including extensive work with marginalized and unsheltered populations, have shaped a deep understanding of the barriers individuals face when navigating addiction, homelessness, and system involvement.
Tom's commitment to reentry extends both inside and outside the wire. He works closely with individuals preparing for release, helping facilitate treatment placement, ensuring basic needs are met for transport, and supporting verified connections to care. Through advocacy, mentorship and direct service, Tom continues to build trust, fill gaps, and strengthen systems for those who need them most.
Jonathan Sahrbeck
Vice Chair
Jonathan Sahrbeck
Vice Chair
Jonathan Sahrbeck was born and raised in Cumberland County. Before being elected Cumberland County District Attorney in 2018, Jonathan had an extensive prosecution career in both Maine and Massachusetts. He has called for more prevention and education to fight the opioid epidemic and substance use disorder, a renewed emphasis on stopping domestic violence, elder and child abuse and human trafficking, while also taking a closer look at new programs to help victims, reduce defendant recidivism, and increase diversion from the criminal justice system. Jonathan is passionate about working with community partners on addressing mental health issues, substance use disorder and educating the public about effects of adverse childhood experiences of trauma. He is also extremely supportive of the recovery community, specifically helping to fund people's treatment and reducing the stigma. Jonathan served as Cumberland County District Attorney from 2019 to 2022. In 2023, he joined the Board of Directors at Maine Re-Entry Network (MERN). He currently works as an attorney, focusing on consumer protection, unfair trade practices and indigent criminal defense.
Sean Crothers
Treasurer
Sean Crothers
Treasurer
Sean grew up in Maine and graduated from the University of Southern Maine with a degree in Political Science. He had a thirty-year sales career in the Orthopedic Medical Device industry and presently owns and operates Maine OR Solutions, a medical device distributor. Sean lives in Auburn with his three dogs. When Sean isn't walking his dogs at the beach, he enjoys hunting and fishing in Maine.
Danielle Shifflet
Danielle Shifflet
Danni is a Maine-based leader working at the intersection of substance use disorder recovery, harm reduction, and restorative justice. She brings a unique combination of frontline systems experience, multidisciplinary leadership, and policy engagement focused on re-engineering how communities respond to substance use and justice involvement.
Her work spans behavioral health, public health, and government systems, with a focus on expanding access to care and improving coordination for high-risk populations. Danni specializes in identifying and addressing systemic gaps that drive overdose risk, recidivism, and service fragmentation, particularly during critical transition periods such as reentry from incarceration.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology with dual concentrations in addictions and forensic psychology and is currently pursuing her master’s degree. She is a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor (CADC) and a Mental Health Rehabilitation Technician/Community (MHRT/C).
As a person in long-term recovery who is justice-impacted, Danni integrates lived experience with professional expertise to inform practical, outcome-driven system design. Her work is grounded in a commitment to meeting individuals at their most critical moments and ensuring that the systems surrounding them are equipped to support both immediate survival and long-term stability. Ultimately, Danni’s work is grounded in a simple principle: helping as many people as possible, as effectively as possible, for as long as possible.
Peter Lehman, PhD
Peter Lehman, PhD
Peter Lehman, PhD, is a founding member of MERN. He is a person in long-term recovery who taught sociology and criminology at USM until being incarcerated for a six-year sentence at the old prison in Thomaston and at Bolduc. He was released in 2003.
While at Bolduc Correctional Facility he was active tutoring students, acting as inmate advocate, doing the flower gardening, pursuing his own education and recovery, and working for the substance abuse department. While incarcerated, he completed seven University courses on addiction and counseling and developed and taught an intensive six-week course for residents dealing with addiction, recovery, and relapse.
Since then, Dr. Lehman has been active in the recovery community, has helped develop reentry support programs and initiatives. In addition to his work in MERN, he has been a presence on corrections and other criminal justice issues in the legislature since 2005 as well as providing input and critiques of Department of Corrections policies.
Join the Board
Do you have a passion for helping people reintegrate into society while navigating the issues inherent in a troubled past? Consider joining either one of our board committees or the Board of Directors itself! We are particularly interested in recruiting the following:
People with a strong background in nonprofit organizational and financial management
People with lived experience of incarceration and successful reintegration into the community
People with experience serving as employers or landlords to formerly incarcerated individuals
People familiar with grant writing and fundraising efforts
Interested applicants should send an email to board@re-entrymaine.org.
Meeting Information
MERN's board of directors meet on the third Wednesday of every month at 5PM. The public is invited to attend and observe meetings; please send an email to info@reentrymaine.org if you would like to attend.
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