Vera Institute of Justice

Chelsea joined Vera in August 2014 as a research analyst for the Substance Use and Mental Health Program (SUMH) and special assistant for Jim Parsons, Vice President and Research Director. She has done research related to the intersection of the criminal justice and public health systems at Columbia University and with the Health Research Training Program of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Bureau of Mental Health. Prior to joining Vera, Chelsea managed the Incarceration and Public Health Initiative at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, focusing on the impacts of stop and frisk, correctional health, and children of incarcerated parents. Chelsea also taught in the Bard Prison Initiative. She has interned at Vera at both SUMH and the Center on Immigration and Justice. Chelsea received her BA from Vanderbilt University and her MPH in the History and Ethics of Public Health from Columbia University’s Mailman School, where she completed her thesis on the role of mental health and drug courts in the public health system and received the Community Scholar award.