For more than 40 years, Dr. Maggie Young, DSW, LADC, LMSW, has been a steady, compassionate force in the Stamford community, dedicating her life to strengthening individuals, families, and systems of care. A Stamford resident since 1967, Maggie’s impact is felt across the city – in schools, hospitals, treatment programs, and community organizations – where her leadership has helped create pathways to healing and stability.
Guided by her own personal journey, Maggie has devoted her life to helping others take the first steps of recovery with dignity, compassion, and hope. Her work has touched thousands of lives, often quietly and without recognition.
Dr. Young serves as Chief Recovery Officer at Liberation Programs, Inc., where she oversees an inpatient treatment program and leads prevention and education services that support youth and their families. A trusted leader in behavioral health, she has worked across prevention, inpatient, outpatient, and recovery support settings, improving outcomes for individuals impacted by substance use and co-occurring mental health disorders throughout Stamford and Fairfield County. Her work emphasizes early intervention, long-term recovery, and keeping families connected.
Maggie was instrumental in the development of Families in Recovery Program (FIRP), Connecticut’s first residential addiction treatment program for women and their children and the only program of its kind in Fairfield County. Her vision transformed care for pregnant and parenting women by strengthening collaboration among child welfare systems, hospitals, courts, and community providers, ensuring families remain connected and supported throughout recovery. FIRP has become a model for family-centered treatment locally and statewide. Her expertise has reached beyond CT, including specialized trainings for child welfare and court support professionals and Tribal leaders in Juneau and Anchorage, Alaska.
Beyond her professional leadership, Maggie is deeply engaged in civic life. She serves on numerous boards and committees, including the Connecticut Community for Addiction Recovery (CCAR), Mental Health Connecticut, Malta House, Mid-Fairfield AIDS Project, and the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence/Westchester. She was appointed to the Connecticut Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee and sits on the CT Maternal Mortality Review Committee and Youth Mental Health Alliance. She volunteers weekly with Stamford Health’s psychiatric services, co-facilitates Stamford’s Anti-Violence Program, supports youth prevention initiatives in local schools, and was instrumental in bringing HER Time, a program empowering women reentering the community after incarceration, to Stamford. She is also a member of the Connecticut Hall of Change, Great 8, class of 2021.
A proud mother and grandmother and faithful member of the Union Baptist Church, Dr. Maggie Young has spent four decades leading, serving, and advocating for others – helping shape a stronger Stamford and making her an inspiring and deeply deserving choice as Stamford’s 2026 Citizen of the Year.
