Jessica (Jess) Lifton '20, MPP'22, is a Research Associate II at the Institute for Behavioral Health, working across the Schneider Institutes for Health Policy and Research. Currently, she focuses on SAMHSA program evaluation, research at the intersection of disability and behavioral health, and project management. Jess has also led stakeholder engagement efforts for CCBHC implementation technical assistance, including coordinating learning collaborative meetings, co-facilitating EBP workgroups, and overseeing the distribution and analysis of a statewide behavioral health community needs assessment survey.
Her research interests include policy evaluation, harm reduction, evidence-based practices, social determinants of health, youth mental health, and the intersection of behavioral health services with social services and systems such as Medicaid, disability services and benefits, the criminal legal system, and the child welfare system.
Jess holds a Master of Public Policy with a concentration in behavioral health policy from the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, as well as dual bachelor’s degrees in Health: Science, Society, and Policy (HSSP) and Psychology from Brandeis University.