“Data are more than things; they are living connections animated through the exchange of story.” – Margaret Kovach

Jennifer is a community-engaged researcher whose work is rooted in a deep commitment to equity, justice, and collective liberation. Her work focuses on building access to culturally grounded behavioral health services for immigrant and refugee communities, with particular attention to the structural and systemic forces that shape health disparities. She specializes in conducting research in partnership with refugee communities, as well as people engaged in the immigration or criminal-legal systems. Jennifer joined Wilder in 2022 after ten years in academia.

Jennifer’s projects at Wilder span a broad range of topics, including mapping barriers to affordable housing for newly arriving refugees, evaluating restorative justice practices in the criminal-legal system, and partnering with Tribal communities to evaluate best practices around the implementation of the Indian Child Welfare Act. Jennifer is also deeply invested in supporting emerging researchers to build their research careers. At Wilder, she heads a unit that provides mentorship and professional development support to emerging researchers.

Jennifer holds a doctorate in social work from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, a Master of Social Work from University of Washington in Seattle, and a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities.

Jennifer lives with her family in Duluth but hates winter. She does love running, reading, and delicious food.