Mental Health and Justice Partnerships

Kati Habert manages the technical assistance for the mental health and justice partnerships project, supporting state and local policymakers in identifying approaches that improve responses to behavioral health emergencies. Before joining Pew, Habert was a program director at the Council of State Governments Justice Center, where she led Stepping Up, a national initiative focusing on behavioral health and local justice systems. She also worked as a senior associate at the National Association of Counties. Habert holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in criminology from the University of Maryland, College Park.

April Rodriguez provides research and writing support for Pew’s mental health and justice partnerships and public safety performance project. Before joining Pew, Rodriguez served in several research positions, including one at a nonprofit organization working alongside incarcerated individuals assisting with advocacy work and policy issues. Rodriguez holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a double major in criminal justice from Florida International University. She is pursuing a master’s in forensic and legal psychology from Marymount University.

Rebecca Smith provides research, writing, and project management support for Pew’s mental health and justice partnerships and public safety performance project. Before joining Pew, Smith served as principal investigator on a research project funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. She previously worked as a research analyst at a juvenile justice agency and a clinician at inpatient forensic and acute psychiatric hospitals. Smith holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Mary Washington, a master’s in clinical social work from Virginia Commonwealth University, and a master’s and doctorate in developmental psychology also from VCU.