PORTLAND – Spurwink has announced that Dawn Stiles, LCSW, of Augusta, will take over as president of the non-profit organization on Oct. 2. Stiles is vice president at Spurwink and succeeds Peter McPherson, of Limington, who has served as president for the past 10 years.

Stiles joined Spurwink in 2000 after serving as deputy bureau director for the Maine State Department of Health and Human Services. She holds a master’s in social work degree from the University of Maine.

Spurwink was founded in 1960 as “The Spurwink School,” by the late Dick Smith of Scarborough, and initially served adolescent boys with difficult behaviors.