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Dr. Jesse Sieger-Walls is a distinguished healthcare consultant and evaluator with a Ph.D. in Health Outcomes Research and over a decade of experience advancing behavioral health and substance use disorder services. His expertise encompasses program evaluation, population health strategies, and the development of innovative care models, with extensive experience supporting Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) and SAMHSA-funded initiatives focused on integrated care for individuals experiencing substance use challenges. As both a researcher and practicing clinician, Dr. Sieger-Walls brings a unique dual perspective to sobering care initiatives, maintaining direct clinical experience while applying rigorous evaluation methodologies to assess program effectiveness and community impact.
A registered nurse by trade, Dr. Shannon Smith-Bernardin PhD, RN, CNL is a nurse consultant, researcher, educator, and health care practitioner. She has worked in homeless health care since 2006, with expertise in community-based sobering care for acute alcohol and drug intoxication, alcohol harm reduction including managed alcohol programs, medical respite/recuperative care, and street nursing teams for persons who are unsheltered. Shannon’s primary focus is on the utilization of sobering centers in lieu of the emergency department and jail for adults intoxicated in public. Building from her clinical, research, and administrative nursing experience, Dr. Smith-Bernardin’s work currently encompasses three roles emphasizing health services research, program development, and policy efforts. First, she is assistant professor at UCSF School of Nursing specializing in alcohol use disorders, sobering center utilization, and homeless-related research. She is funded through a five-year NIAAA grant investigating emergency medical and sobering care collaborations in the care of acute alcohol intoxication. Second, Shannon is co-founder and the first board president of the National Sobering Collaborative, a 501(c)3 nonprofit aimed at identifying and developing best practices, standards, and education towards the use of sobering centers for the care of individuals with harmful substance use. Lastly, she consults in the development of related programs for communities throughout the United States and internationally.
Dr. Smith-Bernardin holds a doctorate from University of California-San Francisco School of Nursing, a Master’s from Western University of Health Sciences, and a Bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College.