Jason White is a new assistant professor here at USM, and comes to us from the social services field, with about 20 years of experience. He is the former executive director of Maine Behavioral Health Organization; a statewide non-profit behavioral health organization that he developed and led for 10 years. Prior to that, Dr. White worked for the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, as a behavioral health agency licensing manager. He was also appointed by Maine’s governor, to the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf and Maine Educational Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing school board and was later elected to the board chair position. He served on the board for eight years, and now currently serves on the RSU #13 School Board.
Jason also served in the United States Army, and later as a commissioned officer in the Maine Army National Guard. Upon retiring in 2014, he published a book on his experiences in Iraq, as a platoon leader, in the State’s revered engineer battalion. He is the recipient of multiple military awards, including good conduct, and the Combat Action Badge.
Dr. White’s areas of expertise are behavioral health policy, and leader behavior, as evidenced by his experience and education. He has four degrees: AA in General Studies, BA in Social Science, MS in Educational Psychology (with a concentration in applied behavior analysis), and an EdD in Educational Leadership (with his dissertation focus on clinical leader behavior). Additionally, he holds numerous paraprofessional certifications and licenses such as BHP, MHRTC, LSW, etc., and has his clinical licensure in substance use disorder treatment, and clinical supervision.
Jason’s hobbies include reading and writing; and when not engaged in academia, he is out on the trail exploring Maine’s mountainous regions, either as a solo hiker or with his family. Though his research interests have been on behavior, his post-pandemic studies explore the therapeutic value of being in the wilderness (specifically on the Appalachian Trail). Jason’s goals are to explore and educate providers on the value of the wilderness in mental health and substance use disorder treatment and rehabilitation.
When asked, “What do you enjoy most about teaching SBS students?”, Jason says that he loves conveying his knowledge gained to future providers; he enjoys discussing the “real” applied aspects of policies and theories. He also says that he loves the diversity students bring to the classroom.