Larissa Brown, MS

Larissa Brown, MS founded EmpowerME: The Women’s Trauma Recovery & Empowerment Groups of Maine as a way to fight back against the stigma and silence that women who have experienced trauma live with every day. Larissa notes, “At the end of the 35-week program these women walk away having built lasting connections and a new understanding of themselves and their life experience.”

As the sole proprietor, Larissa ensures the longevity of the program from finances to facilitating group meetings. She grew up in New Gloucester and has never wandered far from the LA area. She did all of her education in Maine and graduated from UMass Boston’s distance program in 2014 with a graduate degree in Family Therapy. Now, she says, “After working for several years as a Marriage and Family Therapist, I am in the process of transforming my practice into a Life Coaching program.”

She loves about LA, “That you get the best of both worlds, you get much of the resources, amenities, and diversity that you find in bigger cities but there’s still that small community feel about it.” Larissa is very active in the mental health community, and notes, “Members of our community struggle to obtain necessary treatment due to financial and/or insurance barriers and I’d like to see that change.” She is also active in her daughter’s charter school and recently completed the first cohort of Project Tipping Point LA.

Larissa feels that, “One of the biggest challenges that Lewiston Auburn faces is a PR problem,” but, “I believe we can overcome this by finding ways to get people involved and build a greater sense of pride among those who live here.”