Dr. Shairi Turner, MD, MPH

Shairi R. Turner MD, MPH, is an internist and pediatrician with expertise in trauma-informed practices. She originally joined Crisis Text Line as the Chief Medical Officer leading the Crisis Supervision Team (2017-2019) and returned in 2020 as Chief Transformation Officer, responsible for guiding the organization’s culture transformation focused on embedding equity throughout the organization. She currently serves as the Chief Health Officer leading the organization’s external policy, advocacy and partnership initiatives related to mental health. She is committed to addressing the mental health epidemic.  

Before joining Crisis Text Line, Dr. Turner served as the first Chief Medical Director for the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, responsible for the oversight of Health, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Services. Her office’s focus included the impact of childhood trauma on youth involved in the juvenile justice system. She then served two years as the Deputy Secretary for Health and the Interim State Surgeon General for the Florida Department of Health. After her departure, Dr. Turner was a faculty consultant for the National Center for Trauma-Informed Care, co-leading national trainings on the neurobiology of trauma. 

She received a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Stanford University, a Doctor of Medicine degree from Case Western University School of Medicine (with honors), and completed the Harvard Combined Internal Medicine and Pediatrics Residency Program. As a Commonwealth Fund/Harvard University Fellow in Minority Health Policy, she earned a Master of Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health. 

Dr. Turner has been the featured expert in numerous news articles on mental health, trauma, wellness and parenting. She is currently a co-Host of NIKE’s acclaimed No Off Season podcast series. She is married and the mother of two teenage student-athletes.