Full Name
Robin Jacobowitz, PhD
Job Title
Director
Company
Institute for Disaster Mental Health
Speaker Bio
Robin Jacobowitz, PhD, is Director of the Institute for Disaster Mental Health (IDMH) at SUNY New Paltz. She is a researcher and public policy scholar whose work has focused on public education and more recently, on disaster mental health. At IDMH, she leads research and evaluation initiatives designed to strengthen disaster preparedness, improve systems of support, and translate evidence into effective policy and practice.
Dr. Jacobowitz served as the principal investigator of the inaugural New York State First Responder Mental Health Needs Assessment, a large-scale study of the mental health challenges and needs of first responders across NYS. She also leads the multimodal research and evaluation component of the Disaster Mental Health Preparedness Training Program, a statewide initiative to build the capacity of victim service providers and other professionals to respond to mass violence and disaster-related trauma. Her broader research has examined the effectiveness of mental health awareness training in preparing participants to support young people following disasters, a countywide initiative addressing the opioid crisis, and New York State’s grades 3–8 testing program. Bridging her expertise in public education with her work in trauma and disaster mental health, Dr. Jacobowitz also leads a large-scale collaboration with a regional school district to strengthen mental health and resilience programming for students, faculty, and staff.
Prior to IDMH, Dr. Jacobowitz worked with the Benjamin Center for Public Policy Initiatives at SUNY New Paltz and has held research positions at New York University’s Institute for Education and Social Policy and the University of Chicago’s Chapin Hall Center for Children. Her commitment to public education also includes 13 years of service on the Kingston City School District Board of Education, from 2011 to 2024. She holds an MEd in education policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a PhD from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.
Dr. Jacobowitz served as the principal investigator of the inaugural New York State First Responder Mental Health Needs Assessment, a large-scale study of the mental health challenges and needs of first responders across NYS. She also leads the multimodal research and evaluation component of the Disaster Mental Health Preparedness Training Program, a statewide initiative to build the capacity of victim service providers and other professionals to respond to mass violence and disaster-related trauma. Her broader research has examined the effectiveness of mental health awareness training in preparing participants to support young people following disasters, a countywide initiative addressing the opioid crisis, and New York State’s grades 3–8 testing program. Bridging her expertise in public education with her work in trauma and disaster mental health, Dr. Jacobowitz also leads a large-scale collaboration with a regional school district to strengthen mental health and resilience programming for students, faculty, and staff.
Prior to IDMH, Dr. Jacobowitz worked with the Benjamin Center for Public Policy Initiatives at SUNY New Paltz and has held research positions at New York University’s Institute for Education and Social Policy and the University of Chicago’s Chapin Hall Center for Children. Her commitment to public education also includes 13 years of service on the Kingston City School District Board of Education, from 2011 to 2024. She holds an MEd in education policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a PhD from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.
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