Jerry Shirey, Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Jerry Shirey’s work in behavioral health is grounded in something no textbook can fully teach: lived experience. With more than a decade of recovery from mental health and substance use disorders—rooted in a sobriety date of May 2, 2014—he leads San Diego Transformation Center as Chief Executive Officer with a clear conviction: treatment should honor the whole person, build sustainable change, and meet people where they are. That perspective shapes how he leads teams, partners with the community, and champions high-quality outpatient care for individuals and families across San Diego.
As a recovery leader and behavioral health executive, Jerry brings more than personal insight. He brings systems thinking, operational discipline, and a long record of growing programs that expand access to care. His public voice is not abstract theory. It is informed by trauma, addiction, criminal justice involvement, homelessness, treatment, clinical work, and executive leadership—and by a deep respect for people seeking mental health treatment in San Diego and substance use disorder outpatient support that actually works in real life.
A Life Redirected by Trauma—and Reclaimed Through Recovery
Jerry’s path into addiction began at age 16, after he witnessed and was at the epicenter of the Santana High School shooting in Santee, California. In the aftermath of that trauma, he turned to alcohol. What started as a way to cope became alcoholism that shaped years of his life. Dead-end jobs followed. Over time, he was introduced to methamphetamine—a substance that, for him, echoed earlier experiences with Ritalin prescribed for ADHD. What began as self-medication became full-blown addiction.
That addiction cycle carried devastating consequences: time in and out of county jail, appearances in courthouses on different charges, and periods of living on the street. Jerry knows what it means to lose stability, dignity, and direction—and he knows what it means when a community still chooses to invest in someone’s chance to heal.
On May 2, 2014, that chance arrived at a county-funded social model recovery program: San Diego Freedom Ranch in Campo, California. That day became the turning point of his life. In treatment, Jerry not only found sobriety—he found purpose. Helping others succeed became his passion, and recovery became the foundation of a career dedicated to transforming systems of care, so more people can find the same opportunity he was given.
That journey gives Jerry rare perspective. He has lived criminal justice involvement, homelessness, active addiction, treatment, and long-term recovery. He has also built clinical experience, administrative leadership, and executive responsibility. When he speaks about hope, accountability, and second chances, it is not theory. It is a life rebuilt—and a mission to help others rebuild theirs.
From Counselor to Behavioral Health Executive
Jerry’s professional path began in direct service as a substance use disorder counselor. That early work taught him what effective care feels like at the human level: dignity, consistency, accountability, and hope. Over time, he moved into quality assurance and organizational leadership, learning how clinical excellence depends on strong systems—documentation integrity, staff development, outcomes focus, and ethical operations.
That progression—from SUD counselor to Quality Assurance Manager to Executive Director to CEO—gives Jerry a rare span of perspective. He understands the frontline realities of care delivery and the executive responsibilities of scaling programs, stewarding resources, and building partnerships that last. For readers evaluating mental health and substance use outpatient options, that combination matters: leadership that has walked both the recovery journey and the operational path of building better care.
Returning to Freedom Ranch—and Transforming Access
Jerry’s story with San Diego Freedom Ranch did not end when he completed treatment. Years later, he returned in leadership—and ultimately served as Executive Director (2021–2024), helping drive one of the region’s notable behavioral health growth stories at the very organization where his own recovery began.
Under his leadership, the organization increased its budget by approximately 300%, secured roughly $25 million in grant funding, and significantly expanded capacity and services. He led a team of about 45 staff and advanced a Recovery Campus Concept designed to strengthen continuity, community, and long-term recovery supports.
A defining operational achievement during that period was implementing the first ASAM 3.3 Level of Care in San Diego County—an expansion of treatment options that reflected both clinical ambition and a commitment to meeting complex needs with the right intensity of care. Jerry also served on the Executive Committee of the Alcohol and Drug Service Providers Association, contributing to broader regional conversations about capacity, access, and the future of behavioral health services.
Those years reinforced a leadership principle he still carries: access without quality is incomplete, and quality without access leaves people behind. Expanding care is only meaningful when it is ethical, sustainable, and centered on the people who need it. For Jerry, Freedom Ranch represents both personal redemption and professional proof that recovery systems—when funded, led, and delivered well—can change the trajectory of a life and a community.
Education, Credentials, and Continuous Learning
Jerry’s leadership is reinforced by rigorous academic and professional preparation. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Business Administration from National University (2022), followed by an MBA in Creative Leadership from National University (2024). He is a doctoral candidate in the PhD program in Social Policy and Behavioral Health Administration at National University (expected 2027), advancing study at the intersection of policy, administration, and behavioral health systems.
His professional credentials include Certified Nonprofit Executive (CNE), Certified Development Executive (CDE), and Certified Nonprofit Consultant (CNC) designations through NANOE, as well as Society for Human Resource Management – Certified Professional (SHRM-CP). Together, these credentials reflect a leader who invests in governance, people systems, development strategy, and organizational excellence—not only program vision.
Jerry is also Founder and Principal of Shirey Consulting & Management, LLC, where he supports nonprofit and social-sector organizations with strategic planning, grant writing, and operational improvement. That consulting lens sharpens his ability to build durable systems inside treatment organizations and to communicate clearly with partners, funders, and community stakeholders.
From the chaos of addiction to the discipline of doctoral study, Jerry’s education is part of the same arc: proving that recovery is not only possible—it can become a platform for leadership, scholarship, and service.
Leading San Diego Transformation Center
Today, Jerry Shirey serves as Chief Executive Officer of San Diego Transformation Center (Prosperous Health San Diego, LLC), an outpatient behavioral health organization providing Partial Hospitalization (PHP) and Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) services for mental health and substance use disorders. The center’s work is focused, intentional, and community-rooted: helping people stabilize, heal, and build lasting change through structured outpatient care in a modern San Diego setting.
Under the center’s leadership era, San Diego Transformation Center earned Joint Commission Accreditation for Behavioral Health Care (December 2025)—a meaningful organizational milestone that signals commitment to rigorous standards, continuous improvement, and trustworthy care. For families comparing PHP and IOP options in San Diego, accreditation is one important marker of quality; equally important is a culture that treats people with respect and designs care around individual needs.
Jerry’s leadership priorities include strengthening integrated, individualized care; expanding thoughtful community partnerships with EAPs, labor unions, employers, and healthcare providers; and ensuring the organization remains innovative without losing compassion. The mission is clear: inspire resilience and renewal, and transform lives through exceptional mental health and substance use disorder services.
Philosophy and Three Strategic Pillars
Jerry’s leadership philosophy is practical and hopeful. He believes lasting recovery and mental wellness are built through person-centered care, strong therapeutic relationships, and systems that support people beyond a single episode of treatment. Lived experience—trauma, addiction, justice involvement, homelessness, and long-term recovery—informs his insistence on solutions that are sustainable: not just clinically sound on paper, but livable in everyday life.
Under his leadership, San Diego Transformation Center’s strategic vision is organized around three pillars:
- Shirey Methodology for Treatment — a proprietary organizational clinical approach focused on structured, person-centered pathways that integrate accountability, therapeutic depth, and long-term transformation.
- Precision Medicine — individualized, data- and biomarker-informed care planning that respects biological, psychological, and social uniqueness rather than one-size-fits-all programming.
- Cutting-Edge Treatment — thoughtful adoption of advanced modalities and emerging practices—such as TMS, neurofeedback, and carefully framed research-informed innovation including psilocybin research interest—within ethical, compliant, and clinically appropriate outpatient frameworks.
These pillars are organizational commitments under executive leadership. They describe how the center aspires to deliver care and innovate responsibly—not personal claims of medical licensure. Jerry’s role is to set vision, build teams, uphold standards, and keep the organization aligned with compassion, integrity, empowerment, and excellence.
Why His Voice Matters
In an era when families search online for mental health treatment San Diego and substance use disorder outpatient San Diego resources, trust is everything. Search engines and people alike look for experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. Jerry’s combination of lived experience, executive track record, academic preparation, and nonprofit leadership credentials positions him to write and speak with credibility on trauma and addiction, outpatient care, recovery systems, access to treatment, workforce culture, and the future of community-based behavioral health.
He has stood on both sides of the system: the person who needed a bed, a chance, and a path—and the leader responsible for building programs worthy of that trust. When Jerry publishes articles on the San Diego Transformation Center website, readers can expect grounded insight: practical, hopeful, and informed by both the recovery journey and the hard work of building quality programs. His perspective bridges the gap between policy and people, operations and outcomes, innovation and humility.
Connect and Take the Next Step
If you are seeking PHP or IOP care for yourself or a loved one, or if you are a partner interested in collaboration, San Diego Transformation Center welcomes the conversation.
Recovery is possible. Quality outpatient care can be a turning point. Under Jerry’s leadership, San Diego Transformation Center exists to help people find resilience, renewal, and a healthier path forward—just as one county-funded program once helped him find his.