Dr. Sidney Shankman is the founder and executive director of Second Genesis, Inc., a private, nonprofit treatment program for adults and adolescents who have problems with chemical abuse and irresponsible lifestyles.  Second Genesis operates eight treatment facilities serving the metropolitan Washington, D.C. areas.

Dr. Shankman received his bachelor of arts degree from Columbia College, Columbia University.  A former Memphian, he obtained his doctor of medicine degree from the University of Tennessee.  After completing a residency in adult psychiatry, he was awarded a Kennedy Foundation grant for study in mental retardation at Letchworth Village in New York.  He was awarded a government grant and completed a fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry at Children's Hospital in Washington, D.C.  He has completed both undergraduate and postgraduate work at Harvard University.

The work of Dr. Shankman and that of Second Genesis, Inc., and exceedingly successful rehabilitation model established in 1969, has been presented at the World Health Organization and in numerous special television and other media reports.  Renowned as an expert in his field, Dr. Shankman has testified as a congressional consultant for the House Committee on Crime, the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, and the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency.

Dr. Shankman is a recipient of the Sertoma Club Service to Mankind award.  Upon the occasion of its 100th anniversary, the Maxwell house Coffee Company conducted a nationwide search for "100 Real American Heroes."  Dr. Shankman was one of those selected "for his contributions to his community and his heroic efforts in helping to save the lives of hundreds of young people."  Dr. Shankman was honored at the annual award dinner of the Medical Society of the District of Columbia, where he was presented the prestigious John Benjamin Nichols Award, which is "presented to an individual, organization, or both in recognition of outstanding contributions toward improving the health of the community."

Considered a leading authority on behavioral disorders, particularly the antisocial personality, Dr. Shankman was asked to present a key paper before the American Bar Association.  The services and professional opinions of Dr. Shankman are frequently sought by a variety of judges and legal authorities who seek and recognize therapeutic and rehabilitative intervention as a viable alternative to incarceration.

Dr. Shankman has served as an adviser to the governors of Maryland and Virginia.  He has been a consultant on drug abuse to the mayors and county executives of all local jurisdictions in the Washington, D.C., area.  He has been a guest lecturer at major universities (California, Syracuse, Tennessee, Johns Hopkins, Maryland, Virginia, George Washington, Georgetown, Harvard, Columbia, etc.) and has supervised psychiatric residents in child and adolescent psychiatry at Children's Hospital in Washington, now called the Children's National Medical Center.

Dr. Shankman serves as consultant and lecturer of the Hubert Humphrey Fellowship Program at the School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University.  This program brings mental health specialists from all over the world to train at various facilities offering chemical abuse treatment.

Dr. Shankman was one of the principals of the U.S. Delegation at the World Conference of Therapeutic Communities conducted at the Vatican and attended by representatives of 56 nations.  The work of the Conference, a section of which was chaired by Dr. Shankman, was lauded by his Holiness Pope John Paul I and by the Prime Minister of Italy.  At the 1996 meeting of the World Federation of Therapeutic Communities held in St. Petersburg, Russia, Dr. Shankman was asked to deliver the plenary paper as representative of the United States.  he was selected to the Executive Council and appointed Chairman of the International Scientific Committee of the World Federation.

Dr. Shankman has given invitational lectures in England, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Italy, and Israel.  He has also served as a consultant regarding drug abuse policy for the governments of Israel and the United Kingdom, where a special report of his work was broadcast worldwide by the BBC.  In turn, Second Genesis plays host to many international visitors who want to observe and learn from this highly successful treatment modality.

Dr. Shankman was appointed by former President Reagan to serve on the White House Conference for a Drug Free America.  He has served as adviser to the White House for National Drug Abuse Policy.

At the request of U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy, Dr. Shankman testified before the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources on the success of long-term treatment and the need for treatment dollars to curb the tide of addiction.

Dr. Shankman is a member of the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Orthopsychiatric Association, The Washington Psychiatric Society, and the medical societies of Alexandria, Virginia, the District of Columbia, Montgomery County, Maryland, and the State of Virginia.  He is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.  He is licensed in the states of Maryland, Tennessee, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.  He has been recognized in various biographical indexes: Who's Who in America, the Dictionary of International Biography, and La Societe International de Who's Who.