Deputy Chief Michelle Small of the Bath Police Department, center, received the Georgia Instructor of the Year Award during Law Enforcement Against Drugs & Violence’s 21st Century Drug & Violence Prevention Training Conference. Deputy Chief Small stood with L.E.A.D. Board Chairman Kevin Haney, left, and L.E.A.D. Executive Director/ CEO Nick DeMauro, right. (Photo Courtesy L.E.A.D.)
ALLENTOWN, N.J. — Deputy Chief Michelle Small of the Bath Police Department has been recognized as Maine Instructor of the Year by L.E.A.D. (Law Enforcement Against Drugs & Violence), a leading national nonprofit dedicated to drug and violence prevention education.
Deputy Chief Small received the Maine Instructor of the Year award during L.E.A.D.’s annual 21st Century Drug & Violence Prevention Training Conference, held in early June in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The award recognizes instructors who demonstrate exceptional dedication to teaching L.E.A.D.’s evidence-based drug and violence prevention curriculum while building positive relationships with young people in their communities.
“I am so humbled and incredibly grateful to receive such an award,” said Deputy Chief Small. “For me, L.E.A.D. is about building relationships today so that our youth have someone they trust to turn to tomorrow. That is one of the most important responsibilities I can have as a law enforcement leader.”
Deputy Chief Small has been a member of the Bath Police Department since 2001 and became the department’s first female deputy chief in 2021. Throughout her career, she has remained deeply committed to community policing and youth engagement, teaching the L.E.A.D. curriculum to students in Bath, including at Fisher Mitchell School.
“One of the most meaningful aspects of teaching L.E.A.D. is being able to interact with young people outside of the traditional role they may associate with a police officer,” said Deputy Chief Small. “Standing in front of a classroom week after week changes that perception. They get to know me as a person and understand that my role is not simply to enforce the law, but to help protect, guide, and support them.”
In addition to her work as a L.E.A.D. instructor, Deputy Chief Small graduated from the prestigious FBI National Academy in 2025, becoming the first female officer from the Bath Police Department to complete the internationally recognized executive law enforcement training program.
“I am proud that the Bath Police Department has embraced L.E.A.D. because it represents the kind of policing we believe in — proactive, relationship-based, collaborative, and focused on prevention,” said Deputy Chief Small. “Every time I walk into a classroom, I see an opportunity to invest in a young person, strengthen their connection to law enforcement, and ultimately make our community safer.”
L.E.A.D. partners with thousands of law enforcement agencies nationwide to deliver evidence-based lessons that help students develop decision-making, communication and conflict-resolution skills while strengthening positive relationships between youth and law enforcement. The program is taught by specially trained law enforcement officers in schools and community settings across the country.
“Deputy Chief Small has demonstrated a strong commitment to serving young people both inside and outside the classroom,” said L.E.A.D. Executive Director and CEO Nick DeMauro. “Her dedication to prevention, community policing and youth education makes her an outstanding representative of the L.E.A.D. mission. We congratulate her on being named Maine Instructor of the Year.”
About L.E.A.D. — Law Enforcement Against Drugs & Violence
L.E.A.D. — Law Enforcement Against Drugs & Violence — is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit headquartered in Allentown, N.J., dedicated to equipping law enforcement agencies with the resources, training, and curriculum to deliver effective drug and violence prevention education in schools and communities. Since its founding in 2015, L.E.A.D. has partnered with agencies nationwide, supporting more than 7,000 trained instructors who have reached more than one million students in more than 2,500 school systems. L.E.A.D. delivers prevention on the street and in the classroom through its Community Prevention Officer initiative and the Botvin LifeSkills® Training curriculum, the gold standard in evidence-based prevention education. L.E.A.D. is funded through donations and grants that support the organization’s national program and infrastructure, sustaining this work across every community it serves. For more information, visit LEADrugs.org or call 609-259-2500.
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Deputy Chief Michelle Small of the Bath Police Department, right, accepted the Maine Instructor of the Year Award at the 2026 L.E.A.D. national training conference in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Deputy Chief Small received the award from L.E.A.D. Board Chairman Kevin Haney, left, and L.E.A.D. Executive Director/ CEO Nick DeMauro, center. (Photo Courtesy L.E.A.D.)
Deputy Chief Michelle Small of the Bath Police Department, center, posed with her Maine Instructor of the Year Award during L.E.A.D.’s 21st Century Drug & Violence Prevention Training Conference in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Deputy Chief Small stood with L.E.A.D. Board Chairman Kevin Haney, left, and L.E.A.D. Executive Director/ CEO Nick DeMauro, right. (Photo Courtesy L.E.A.D.)
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