About Shelby Wade

Traumatologist, Consultant, and Educator

About

Shelby started her career working with sexual assault survivors and service providers in 2017. From 2017-2020, she served as the Prevention and Education Coordinator of a three-county-wide sexual assault crisis center specializing in training community members (e.g., bartenders, hoteliers, victim advocates, students, law enforcement, health care practitioners, and Forensic Nurses) in topics such as the neurobiology of trauma; trauma-informed care; sex trafficking; healthy relationships and communication; and prevention of, response to, and resilience after sexual violence.

During this same time, Shelby provided direct service to victims and their families in the form of Psychological First Aid, safety planning, and coordination of follow-up services in the Emergency Department and via a 24/7 hotline. Additionally, Shelby regularly accompanied survivors to law enforcement victim interviews, advocating for her clients and helping Detectives understand victim-perpetrator dynamics, victim responses to sexual trauma, and ultimately, how to increase prosecution rates of sexual-based offenses.

From 2018-2020, Shelby chaired and completely rebuilt a community-based Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) which also served three counties. During this time, she built a website which consolidated survivor-facing community services into one central hub; improved continuity of services and communication between sexual assault service providers during states of emergency; developed standard operating procedures and best practice guidelines for each silo along the service system; and educated service providers on new research from leading experts in the field.

Since 2020, Shelby has worked for the National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center (NCVRTC) coordinating training in Trauma-focused Cognitive-behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) with hundreds of clinicians and thousands of children across South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Indiana, Florida, and New Zealand. She also coordinates programs and develops content for EQUIPTT, a category 2 center within the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) that aims to enhance equity, quality, and impact of evidence-based practices for trauma using technology. From 2020-2022, Shelby also worked within the National Mass Violence Victim Resource Center (NMVVRC) where she helped to compile a Core Compendium of Readiness, Response, and Resilience resources and toolkits for communities following mass violence events.

Beginning in January of 2024, Shelby assisted a team at Olympic Medical Center as part of the Johnson & Johnson Nurse Innovation Fellowship 2023-2024 cohort to reduce bias and implement trauma-informed care in the Emergency Department (ED). During this time, Shelby developed a staff advocate role, created a needs assessment and evaluation plan, assessed nurse workforce wellness and receptiveness to programming, helped to plan and implement Patient Experience Week, and created staff and patient toolkits. Her work with this team continues in an effort to increase impact in the ED and expand interventions across the hospital system.

Shelby Wade is certified as a Field Traumatologist, and as a Compassion Fatigue Educator and Practitioner, by the Green Cross Academy of Traumatology. She is also a Green Belt in Lean Six Sigma Healthcare. Shelby holds a Bachelor’s in Sociology from Sonoma State University and a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Harvard University. In August 2024, Shelby received the Frazier Fund Award by Sisters in Public Health recognizing her impact on her field. She received her Master’s in Public Health: Social and Behavioral Sciences, Trauma, and Resiliency from the University of Florida in December 2024. Shortly after she was Certified in Public Health by the National Board of Public Health Examiners.

Shelby is the wife of twelve years to First Class Petty Officer Jacob Wade of the United States Coast Guard. Inspired by his wife’s work, Jacob Wade also volunteers as a Sexual Assault Victim Advocate for the USCG. They reside in Sonoma County, CA with their beloved Blue Heeler rescue, Clyde.