St. Anthony Foundation Announces Creation of Advisory Board

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Press Contact:
Sally Haims | Chief Marketing and Communications Officer
SHaims@stanthonysf.org | (415) 254-5884

Esteemed experts in addiction medicine, psychiatry, sociology, poverty, reentry, ethics, and homelessness to bring extensive experience to St. Anthony’s enhanced care integration and companionship model

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (January 31, 2023) – St. Anthony’s, committed to providing pathways to stability for thousands of San Franciscans in need annually, today announced the founding of its interdisciplinary Advisory Board that includes renowned experts from Stanford University, UC Berkeley, UCSF, and the Franciscan School of Theology in the addiction medicine, psychiatry, social enterprises, housing and homeless services spaces.

The initial members joining the St. Anthony’s interdisciplinary Advisory Board include:

• Keith Humphreys, Ph.D., Esther Ting Memorial Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, and former senior drug policy adviser in the Obama White House
• Jialu Liu Streeter, Ph.D., Director of Partnerships at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) at Stanford University. Jialu works with external partners to engage SIEPR’s community of faculty, visitors, students, and supporters in pressing economic policy issues. She helps strengthen ties with government and policy organizations to facilitate cutting-edge research across SIEPR’s research focal areas. Her 2022 documentary “Homelessness in California” has received over 700,000 views on YouTube.
• David Harding, Professor of Sociology and Director of the Social Science Data Lab, University of California, Berkeley. David studies poverty and inequality, urban neighborhoods, education, incarceration, and prisoner reentry.  He is the author of On the Outside: Prisoner Reentry and Reintegration (University of Chicago Press, 2019) and After Prison: Navigating Adulthood in the Shadow of the Justice System (Russell Sage, 2020).
• Paula J. Lum, MD MPH, Professor of Clinical Medicine and founding Program Director of the UCSF Primary Care Addiction Medicine Fellowship. She has been a faculty member in the Division of HIV, Infectious Diseases and Global Medicine at San Francisco General Hospital since 1999. Board certified in internal medicine and addiction medicine, Dr. Lum practices and teaches at the intersections of HIV, addiction, and poverty. Her research and clinical activities for the last two decades are grounded in evidence-based, patient-centered care to improve the health and well-being of the urban poor.
• Beth Stokes, Executive Director at Episcopal Community Services, one of the largest housing and homeless services agencies in San Francisco, serving nearly 10,000 people annually with a focus on solutions to ending homelessness and innovative programs that support a permanent exit from homelessness. Beth has over 20 years of experience in housing and homeless services, previously serving as the Western Region Managing Director for the Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH), based in Los Angeles, Director of Programs for the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, and Executive Director of Hamilton Families. She is currently a member of the Oakland Homeless Commission and on the Board of Directors of the Amity Foundation.
• Dr. Keith Douglass Warner, OFM serves as Director of the Franciscan Renewal Project at the Franciscan School of Theology, at the University of San Diego. As a practical social ethicist in the Franciscan tradition, he teaches classes and leads educational initiatives to advance the Franciscan identity of the school and the vision of Pope Francis. He teaches, writes, and leads presentations on Franciscan eco-spirituality and the encyclical Laudato Sí. For the new national province of Franciscan Friars, he serves as animator of lifelong Franciscan formation. He holds an MA in Spirituality from the Franciscan School of Theology and a PhD in Environmental Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Prior to joining the faculty at FST in 2022, he taught at Santa Clara University for 20 years, including 12 years as Chief Learning Officer for Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship. He worked in Justice Education at St. Anthony Foundation from 1996-1999 and served on the board from 2016-2018.
• David Chang, MD, DrPH is a Clinical Assistant Professor and Director of Community Partnerships for the Primary Care and Population Health division at Stanford Medicine. As a primary care physician, he sees patients at Stanford Internal Medicine and Peninsula Healthcare Connection, a clinic serving primarily unhoused and unstably housed patient. He has a joint appointment at San Mateo County Public Health Department where he serves as assistant health officer.

“These strategic advisers are highly respected and aligned with our mission to create a society in which all persons can flourish. They will guide us as we focus on enhanced care integration, including our new companionship model, all to help those in need find lasting positive change,” said Nils Behnke, CEO, St. Anthony’s.

The companionship model which addresses homelessness, poverty and addiction, is the Franciscan organization’s multi-year commitment to individuals in the substance use recovery and transitional employment programs, providing vital peer support for lasting sobriety, as well as mental health care, jobs, and economic opportunity. It will be a scalable approach, based on best practices from around the world, that can serve as a blueprint for other communities.

“Like St. Anthony’s entrepreneurial founder, Father Alfred Boeddeker, we should aspire to set the quality gold standard for care integration, delivered in a unique Franciscan way with companions at the heart,” said Nils Behnke, CEO, St. Anthony’s.

“As ever, St. Anthony’s is on the leading edge of charitable work in San Francisco by holding itself accountable to deliver the most effective care to the most vulnerable people in the city. St. Anthony’s is becoming a learning organization that will use evidence, evaluations, and good judgment to continually improve its services,” said Keith Humphreys, Ph.D., Esther Ting Memorial Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University.

“From the get-go, I know St Anthony Foundation is onto something quite unique. Sitting in the heart of the Tenderloin, the Foundation is home and the ultimate sanctuary to so many homeless. It provides food, shelter, laundry, and health services, but more importantly, it offers peace and decency to the unhoused. Nils calls for reason and compassion, a combination that we don’t hear often in San Francisco. But it’s about time, isn’t it? I am incredibly honored to serve on the Foundation’s interdisciplinary Advisory Board and I look forward to joining forces with the Foundation and other board members to take on this important mission,” said Jialu Liu Streeter, Ph.D., Director of Partnerships at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) at Stanford University.

“St. Anthony’s has long served the poor and displaced of San Francisco with dignity and compassion. As a learning organization, it is poised to develop and refine new models of service delivery. I look forward to working with St. Anthony’s staff and the other members of the Advisory Board to support its transformative work and to ensure the effective evaluation and dissemination of its programs,” said David Harding, Professor of Sociology and Director of the Social Science Data Lab, University of California, Berkeley.

“The launch of this interdisciplinary Advisory Board marks another innovative step by St. Anthony Foundation in delivering compassionate, effective care to the poor and needy. The Foundation has long provided comprehensive care, but has learned that with the right program design, it can offer exits from homelessness and addiction. This board will provide rigorous scientific review of study design and data to validate success, and with appropriate funding, St Anthony’s can advocate for replicable and scalable solutions,” said Dr. Keith Douglass Warner, OFM, Director of the Franciscan Renewal Project at the Franciscan School of Theology, at the University of San Diego.

About St. Anthony Foundation 

In the Tenderloin’s struggle with poverty, addiction, and mental illness, St. Anthony Foundation has been a beacon of consistency, companionship, and caring for more than 70 years. We provide our guests with a range of services—from a place to rest or take a shower, clothing, and addiction recovery, to meals, medical care, and workforce development. At St. Anthony’s, we take a different approach, one that delivers meaningful results — Hope. Stability. Renewal.