Wehmah Jones

Wehmah Jones is a principal researcher at AIR with over 18 years of experience designing, implementing and managing research projects that focus on improving the developmental, educational and health outcomes of youth and adult populations. Dr. Jones has methodological expertise in program evaluation, qualitative and mixed-methods research design, and implementation science. Her research and evaluation interests focus on youth development, social and emotional learning, mental health, trauma, and educational equity.

Dr. Jones’s recent work includes leading multiple qualitative and mixed-methods research studies including an evaluation of the Capitol Region Education Council’s trauma informed schools professional development support services, a Department of Education-sponsored study of state implementation of the Unsafe School Choice Option policy, and a qualitative study of the Better Math Teacher Network improvement communities. She is also the co-investigator/project director for the Prime-Time Sister Circle Evaluation, an NIH-funded randomized controlled trial of a community-based intervention designed to eliminate health disparities in African-American women. In addition, she serves as a lead report writer for the Massachusetts Monitoring Site Visit Project, where she is responsible for the data analysis and development of quick-turnaround, school-level reports to inform school improvement efforts.

In addition to her research and evaluation work, Dr. Jones provides tailored and universal technical assistance (TA), facilitation and resource development to various education and health related capacity building projects. This includes her role as a state liaison and technical assistance provider for the Retaining Employment and Talent After Injury or Illness Network (RETAIN) project, a U.S. Department of Labor-led demonstration project designed to increase employment retention, and reduce long-term absences of individuals who acquire or are at risk of developing disabilities that inhibit their ability to work. Her additional TA expertise focuses on building district and school capacity to support students social and emotional development, improve conditions for teaching and learning, and foster safe, trauma-sensitive, and equitable learning environments. She also co-leads cultural and linguistic competence capacity building at AIR and engages in comprehensive action planning, resource development, and organization-wide training to support the integration of cultural and linguistic competence into all policies, practices and projects.

Prior to joining AIR, Dr. Jones worked as a resident in clinical psychology, providing counseling, psychological and educational testing, and crisis intervention services to children and adolescents, adults, and couples.