MEDICAL DIRECTOR

“Dr. Danny” (he/him) started as the Division of Substance Use Prevention and Harm Reduction (SUPHR) Medical Director in 2022 after completing his fellowship in Health Policy and Health Services at the University of Pennsylvania as a National Clinician Scholar. He completed his residency in Pediatrics and Internal Medicine at the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he completed a Fellowship in Clinical Medical Ethics and Scholarship in Primary Care Leadership. He received his Medical Degree from the Boston University School of Medicine and completed a year-long pre-doctoral fellowship in HIV prevention research at Instituto Oswaldo Cruz in his native Brazil. Throughout his clinical and fellowship training, he worked in community healthcare settings including Howard Brown Health Centers and Philadelphia FIGHT. He received his undergraduate degree in Biology and Science in Society from Wesleyan University. He has published several peer-reviewed papers and editorials on HIV prevention, social determinants of health, and correctional healthcare. He works clinically as a hospitalist at Penn Presbyterian Hospital.

HARM REDUCTION WOUND CARE FIELD NURSE

Rachel (they/any pronouns) joined the SUPHR Harm Reduction team in 2022, and has been a registered nurse since graduating in 2016 from UIC's Advanced Generalist Masters program. Since then they've worked in hospital, clinic, home, and street-based settings in Philadelphia and Chicago, most recently at Einstein Medical Center on a medical/surgical trauma unit. They were taught harm reduction nursing and trauma-informed care working in sexual/reproductive/HIV care at Howard Brown Health, a regional provider of queer and low-barrier clinical services in Chicago. They were also part of this clinic's sexual harm response team and provided care at The Broadway Youth Center, their drop-in space for unstably housed young people. They are currently completing LaSalle's Wound Care Certification program, and are excited to bring what they learn to support holistic, humanizing care in Philadelphia.

FIELD EPIDEMIOLOGIST

Jennifer.Shinefeld@phila.gov

Jen (she/her) started as a Field Epidemiologist with the SUPHR in 2019. Her undergraduate education is in Public Health and her master’s degree is in Epidemiology and Biostatistics. She works to do person-centered research to impact system changes. In her role at SUPHR, Jen conducts qualitative and quantitative research among persons who use drugs and began Philadelphia’s first Drug Checking Surveillance Program. Prior to starting her role in SUPHR, Jen served for 10 years as the Project Coordinator and Co-Principal Investigator on the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance System out of the Division of HIV Health. In this role, she conducted bio-behavioral surveillance in populations with a high burden of HIV (persons who inject drugs, men who have sex with men, high-risk heterosexuals, and transgender women of color), collecting data on behavioral risk factors for HIV, HIV testing behaviors, receipt of prevention services, and use of prevention strategies. Before beginning her career with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH) she worked as an interviewer and manager at Temple University’s Institute for Survey Research, conducting quantitative and qualitative research. Jen continuously advocates for the rights of people who use drugs and other vulnerable populations across Philadelphia.

URBAN HEALTH POLICY FELLOW

Cate (she/her/hers) is an Urban Health Policy Fellow. She joined SUPHR in July 2023 to study, report on, and engage around the impacts of Xylazine in Philadelphia. She graduated from Haverford College in May 2023 with a degree in History, Health Studies, and Dance. There, she completed her senior thesis - “Motherwork in a Community of Care: The Midwife as a Public Figure in Early America” - a historical ethnography of touch, matrilineal authority, and childbirth through the institutionalization of medicine in the United States. As a public health administrator and future health practitioner, Cate is driven by justice, integrity, and empathy. She brings this passion to SUPHR as she has brought it to Caribbean Community in Philadelphia, Bayada Hospice, and Conchester Animal Hospital in the past. At SUPHR and PDPH, she is excited to learn how harm reduction can be centered from the expansiveness of policy to the intimacy of patient care to improve Philadelphians’ health and wellness earnestly and creatively. In the coming years, Cate plans on attending nursing school and continuing her work in the public health field as a nurse practitioner. She hopes to bring the ethic of harm reduction into her medical practice. Cate is native to Albany, New York.

PROJECT MANAGER

Shelby (she/her) is the Project Manager for SUPHR’s Medical Program. She manages projects and initiatives that support healthcare providers, community organizations, and City agencies in adopting evidence-based harm reduction clinical practices when engaging people who use drugs. Before joining SUPHR, Shelby worked at the Camden Coalition, managing community engagement and advocacy programs focused on improving healthcare and social services for New Jersey’s Medicaid population. She began her career in youth mental health advocacy at Mental Health Partnerships in Philadelphia. Shelby graduated from Bryn Mawr College with an undergraduate degree in Sociology and a Master of Social Service with a concentration in Community Practice, Policy, & Advocacy.