Jonathan E. Sherin, MD, PhD

Former Director, Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health

Dr. Jonathan Sherin is a longtime wellbeing advocate who has worked tirelessly throughout his career on behalf of vulnerable populations. In his former role as Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LACDMH), he oversaw the largest public mental health system in the United States with an annual budget approaching $3 billion.

Prior to joining LACDMH, Dr. Sherin served for over a decade at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) where he held a variety of posts, most recently as chief of mental health for the Miami VA Healthcare System. He has also held a variety of academic posts, formerly as vice-chairman for the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at University of Miami, and currently as volunteer clinical professor at both UCLA and USC.

In addition to his leadership in the health and human services sector, Dr. Sherin has made significant contributions to the field of neuroscience, which include seminal sleep research studies, published in Science magazine, and a conceptual model of the psychotic process for which he received the prestigious Kempf Award from the American Psychiatric Association.

Dr. Sherin completed his undergraduate work at Brown University, his graduate studies at the University of Chicago and Harvard Medical School, and his residency in psychiatry at UCLA.