Mark Swann

Mark Swann (“Swannie”) has been the Executive Director of Preble Street since 1991. In that time, he has overseen significant growth and expansion of the agency and its mission: from a small soup kitchen with two employees in the basement of an old church to a multi-site, comprehensive social service agency serving the most vulnerable people in Maine.

Swann’s leadership at Preble Street has always been guided by the mission of the agency: to provide accessible, barrier-free services to empower people experiencing problems with homelessness, housing, hunger, and poverty; and to advocate for solutions to these problems.

Anti-poverty work is hard work, but what keeps Swann going is that homelessness, hunger, and poverty are all solvable. Under his leadership, Preble Street is constantly adapting to changing situations and works creatively to fill the gaps that need to be filled in a way that aligns with its mission – finding or creating available resources, cultivating strong partnerships, and exploring new and better ways to serve people experiencing poverty, homelessness, and hunger. Preble Street advocacy efforts work toward solutions to the social, economic, and political systems that have historically perpetuated the inequities of our society.   

Over the past five years, Preble Street has grown rapidly to meet the growing need and serves Maine from offices in Portland, Bangor, and Lewiston, with nearly 300 employees and more than 1,000 volunteers. Preble Street operates low-barrier shelters for women, teens, and individuals with complex medical, mental health, and substance use related needs; Site-based Housing First programs that provide long-term permanent housing with 24-hour supportive services to people who experienced chronic homelessness; and healthcare services for people experiencing homelessness, including recuperative care and low-barrier treatment. Preble Street provides low-barrier access to shelter, food, basic needs, casework, mental health supports, education and employment services, and a variety of housing options for youth experiencing homelessness between the ages of 12-24 in Maine. Preble Street also provides statewide support for Veterans and survivors of human trafficking, including Rapid Re-housing and comprehensive case management to help people move beyond the crises in their lives into stable housing. 

Right now, Swann is focused on bringing the vision for the Preble Street Food Security Hub to reality over the next few years. Born out of the increased need for food and meals that Maine experienced during the pandemic, the Preble Street Food Security Hub is a collaborative and visionary approach to ending hunger in Maine. Once fully realized, the Food Security Hub will be able to dramatically increase the number of nutritious meals it produces and distribute those meals statewide, collaborating with local farms to increase sustainability efforts and support local agriculture, while working with community partners on implementing solutions to tackle the root causes of hunger.

Prior to his work in Maine, Swann was the Director of Social Services at the International Institute of Boston, a refugee resettlement agency. Mark has a BA from Bowdoin College (1984) and a Master of Science degree in Public Affairs from UMASS Boston (1989). Over the course of his career, Swann was named a Congressional Medal of Honor finalist, chosen for the Citizen Service Before Self Honors recognizing “sacrifice for others through a prolonged series of selfless acts” in 2012 and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Public Service Degree by Saint Joseph’s College in 2018.

Swann lives in Gorham, Maine with his wife Mary, and has three grown children. Mark has been a volunteer basketball coach with the Portland Recreation Department and served on several local boards, including Spring Harbor Hospital, York-Cumberland Housing, The Board Network, the Immigration and Legal Advocacy Project, the Center for Prevention of Hate Violence, and the Atlantic Charitable Fund.