3Rivers’ Kim McLaughlin Selected as ANCOR’s Maine DSP of the Year
Island Falls, Maine – ANCOR, a national association for community-based disability service providers, has announced that Kim McLaughlin, a direct support professional (DSP) at 3Rivers, has been named the recipient of the 2026 Maine DSP of the Year award. McLaughlin is part of the largest-ever class of DSP of the Year honorees, with 57 outstanding professionals being chosen from a record-breaking 544 nominations from around the country.
“3Rivers is so proud of Kim. We are thrilled to celebrate her award, which represents their incredible work. More importantly, we recognize that her dedication enables true community inclusion for the people we support,” said Chief Executive Officer Ann-Marie Mayberry. “Their supports are an example of the transformative power of community-based, person-centered supports and services. We’re grateful that ANCOR has recognized Kim with this national honor.”
Since 2007, ANCOR’s annual DSP of the Year awards recognize outstanding DSPs who deliver long-term services and supports to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). The awards celebrate the important role DSPs play in ensuring people with I/DD have what they need to thrive and be included in the community.
These awards also seek to raise awareness about a direct support workforce in crisis. Inadequate investments in this essential workforce have led to a decades-long severe shortage of DSPs. These challenges are on the brink of getting much worse in light of significant funding cuts to Medicaid—which funds the vast majority of services DSPs deliver—at the federal level and in many states.
“Celebrating the nation’s most outstanding direct support professionals is one of the great joys I have as a leader within the national provider community, and Kim McLaughlin is a perfect reminder why,” said Lori Kress, president of ANCOR’s Board of Directors and chief executive officer for Dungarvin, a provider of I/DD services based in Mendota Heights, Minn. “Each of this year’s honorees exemplifies what it means to deliver supports that are truly person-centered, and each one demonstrates what it means to be a bridge between people and their communities.”
Barbara Merrill, ANCOR’s chief executive officer, added: “Being recognized with a DSP of the Year Award is a tremendous honor every year. But this year it’s particularly significant given the enormous pool of talented professionals from which our judges had to choose. And the timing couldn’t be better, as funding cuts at the federal level and in many states mean that our nation’s direct support professionals need recognition now more than ever.”
Kim McLaughlin and the other 2026 honorees will be recognized during an awards ceremony in Boston, Mass., on Thursday, April 23, from 8:45-10:15 am EDT during ANCOR Connect ’26, the association’s annual conference. Members of the press interested in attending the awards presentation should contact Sean Luechtefeld, ANCOR’s vice president for membership and communications, at sluechtefeld@ancor.org or 571.207.9108.
About ANCOR:
For more than 55 years, ANCOR has sought to advance the future of supports and services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). As the trusted conduit of resources for providers, policymakers and the public, ANCOR enhances providers’ ability to support people with I/DD to be fully included and empowered in their communities.
