Jennie Simpson, Ph.D.

Jennie M. Simpson, Ph.D., serves as an associate commissioner and the state forensic director at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission in addition to her faculty position in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.

Simpson is a nationally recognized policy expert on cross-sector collaborations between behavioral health and criminal justice systems. In her position with the health and human services commission, she is responsible for the coordination and oversight of forensic services as directed by Senate Bill 1507, 84th Legislature, Regular Session (2015) and leads innovative statewide policy and technical assistance initiatives.

Simpson has served in senior advisory positions with the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, leading policy initiatives, strategic planning, and training and technical assistance activities related to criminal justice and behavioral health, including initiatives focused on reducing the number of individuals with mental and substance use disorders in jails and improving clinical and case management programs and practices for justice-involved individuals. Over the tenure of her career, Simpson has provided training and technical assistance to law enforcement agencies on behalf of the U.S. Department of Justice, consulted to law enforcement leadership on behavioral health and conducted research on behavioral health and law enforcement collaborations.

Simpson serves as an executive advisory board member for the Caruth Police Institute at the University of North Texas at Dallas and a member of the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors Research Institute’s Mental Health/Criminal Justice Advisory Council. Previously, she served on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s Medicaid Reentry Workgroup. Simpson received a Ph.D. in anthropology from American University.