Dr. Wehmah Jones

Dr. Wehmah Jones is a senior researcher at American Institutes for Research (AIR) with more than 15 years of experience designing, implementing and managing research projects that focus on improving the developmental, educational and health outcomes of youth and adult populations. Her areas of content expertise include youth development, school improvement, social and emotional learning, school climate, mental health and trauma, and health disparities. She has methodological expertise in program evaluation, qualitative and mixed-methods research design, and implementation science.

In addition to her research and evaluation work, Wehmah provides tailored and universal technical assistance (TA), facilitation and resource development to various education and health related capacity-building projects. Her 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 and psychological and educational testing services to children, adolescents and adults, and couples. She has also worked as a therapist at two large universities and an outpatient mental health clinic where she provided mental health and crisis intervention services. Wehmah has a PhD and a master’s degree in counseling psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University.