Jennica Allen
The countless mentors in my life have reminded me that, while I don’t know if the change I wish to see will happen in my lifetime, I can be assured it won’t if I don’t do the work. That reminder gets me out of bed and back to work every day.
Doctoral Fellow Alum Jennica Allen supports the strategic planning process set forth by Dr. Tami Gouveia and the Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health (CISWH) team. She worked with other graduate fellows, CSIWH staff, and other team members to prepare the center for work with an outside vendor, conducting survey development and data analysis, and supporting a center-wide (re)launch. Jennica is also the manager of Community Engagement Practices within the Bureau of Community Health and Prevention at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. She has coordinated the Division’s statewide chronic disease efforts, overseen the Massachusetts Partnership for Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention, and currently provides leadership to the Bureau’s community health planning initiatives with health care systems and community organizations focusing on capacity building for community engagement and social determinant of health investing and strategy implementation. Jennica has participated in the Bureau’s Racial Equity Movement since its early days and in this capacity leads affinity work, takes part in core trainings and serves as a member of the Racial Equity Leadership Team. In 2021, the deBeaumont Foundation named Jennica one of the 40 Under 40 Leaders in Public Health.
Jennica holds a Bachelor of Arts in community health and child development from Tufts University and a Master of Public Health from Boston University School of Public Health with a concentration in social behavioral sciences. She anticipates earning her Doctor of Public Health from the Boston University School of Public Health in 2026.