Jessica Rao

Jessica Rao

Executive Director

Jessica Rao received a BA in Psychology from Hofstra University and an MPH in Community Health Education from the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy. Her Master’s thesis was entitled “A Multifaceted Approach to Malaria Prevention in Humjibre, Ghana,” based on her fieldwork in rural Ghana. After completing her MPH, Jessica worked as a consultant for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), where she contributed to data collection and analysis to evaluate the city’s novel mandate requiring fast-food restaurants to label calorie content on menu items, as well as the NYC Coalition for a Smoke-Free City where she concentrated on policy change. Jessica continued on to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering-City College of New York Partnership for Community Outreach, Research, and Education, focusing on community-based participatory research and community outreach related to cancer health disparities. She later returned to the DOHMH within the Citywide Immunization Registry, working closely with healthcare providers and electronic health record vendors to ensure the reporting of complete, accurate, and timely immunization data to the registry. Jessica joined the CET team in 2020, and is interested in environmental interventions for physical and mental health issues.