Jen is a principal research director in the Health Sciences department at NORC at the University of Chicago. She is a versatile research leader with over 18 years of experience managing data collection, analysis, dissemination, and technical assistance efforts for federal and other clients. She leads teams of researchers and data scientists to synthesize health information from diverse sources, including survey and administrative data, to create high-quality reports and data visualizations highlighting key findings. She leverages her expertise in research methods and the social and behavioral sciences, training in epidemiology, and background in community health to oversee the development and delivery of user-friendly guidance and technical assistance to health researchers and clinicians.

Jen currently serves as Associate Project Director for the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), where she is responsible for providing oversight for technical assistance and analytics. She also leads analytics and user support for the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Under her leadership, the MCBS has released an expansive suite of resources for data users, including innovative products such as the MCBS Chartbook, which was recognized with a CMS Operational Excellence Award for its importance in increasing transparency, and the MCBS Interactives’ COVID‐19 Data Tool, which won an Association of Public Data Users (APDU) Data Viz Award. In addition, Jen manages NORC’s work in partnership with Johns Hopkins Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality to implement and evaluate the AHRQ Safety Program for MRSA Prevention, a multi-year quality improvement program to reduce healthcare-associated infections in hospitals and long-term care facilities throughout the U.S. 

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Jen directed data collection, analysis, and reporting for a rapid needs assessment for the National Foundation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s study on Maintaining Physical and Mental Well-Being of Older Adults and their Caregivers during Public Health Emergencies. She previously managed studies on health-related topics for The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, including surveys focusing on long-term care and caregiving, medical errors and patient safety, incarceration, healthy aging, obesity, and the Zika virus.

Prior to NORC, Jen coordinated academic research studies on behavioral health funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) for the Division of Prevention and Community Research at Yale University's School of Medicine and at the Institute for Juvenile Research at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She started her career as an outreach worker for a community-based health organization.