About

The Sobering Center Contributes to a Safe Community
Founded in 2018, the Sobering Center was built with the intent of providing the community with a safe place to recover from intoxication in lieu of the jail or the emergency room and to then be referred to community based resources as needed. Today, we have provided this service to over 3,900 individuals, and continue to evolve our services to meet the needs of our community. Our clients reflect the Austin/Travis County community in that we are regularly providing sobering services and brief interventions for college students, festival goers, partakers of downtown entertainment, and the chronically homeless. All are welcome and our staff will work to individualize the intervention.
Board of Directors


Jana Ortega, JD
BOARD CHAIR
Sole practitioner and founder of OrtegaLaw, PLLC

Christopher Ziebell, MD
BOARD VICE-CHAIR
Medical Director of the Emergency Department at Dell Seton Medical Center.

Hon. Kathie Tovo
BOARD SECRETARY
City Council Member
Austin City Council, District 9

Liz Boston
BOARD TREASURER
Community Member

Paulette Blanc
MPH, CPHQ Co-Founder & Chief of Research, MEASURE

Hon. Margaret Gomez
Commissioner, Travis County Precinct 4

Jessica Palvino
Assistant General Counsel, Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Lynn Sherman
Solo Practitioner Attorney at Lynn Sherman Law Firm & Consulting

Douglas Smith
Policy Analyst with the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition

Rick Ybarra
MBA & CTFA Director of Development at Texas State University
Ex-Officio Members


Rey Arellano
Designee for Austin City Manager Spencer Cronk

Jasper Brown
Designee for Austin/Travis County EMS Chief Ernesto Rodriguez

Joseph Chacon
Designee for Austin Chief of Police Brian Manley

Stephanie Hayden
Director of Austin Public Health Department

Sally Hernandez
Travis County Sheriff

Roger Jefferies
Designee for Travis County Judge Andy Brown
Staff Leadership


Laura Sovine, LMSW-AP
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Danie Connick, MA
Director of Finance & Operations

Christine Hassall, LCDC
Program Manager

Torance Gibson
Paramedic Manager