LEWISTON — The YWCA of Central Maine announces the appointment of Melanie LaMore Gagnon as executive director, starting Oct. 5.

A Lewiston native, she brings more than a decade of experience serving the Central Maine area, most recently as the director of shelter and housing services at Safe Voices. She succeeds Jane Morrison who has served as interim executive director since April.

LaMore Gagnon will lead an organization with the urgent mission to eliminate racism and empower women. She will oversee the only fully accessible aquatics program in the area, including a thriving “single gender swim” class designed to be culturally responsive to women’s needs for privacy and safety.

She will also manage The Priscilla and Dolard Gendron Early Learning Center, which accommodates central Maine’s need for affordable child care and engages the region’s continually expanding diversity through its curriculum and daily practices.

LaMore Gagnon’s community involvement has included serving on the board of directors for the Lewiston Education Fund and as a member of the Governance Council for the Community Partnership for Protecting Children. She has also served as vice chairwoman of the Androscoggin Collaborative, and as a member of the Lewiston-Auburn Alliance of Services to the Homeless, Lewiston-Auburn Human Trafficking Collaborative, and Maine Shelter Network.

She resides in Auburn.

Melanie LaMore Gagnon

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