About Jessica
Jessica Collins has dedicated her career to enhancing quality of life for communities through collaborations that create programmatic, policy and infrastructure change on issues including food policy and childhood obesity (CambridgeWalks, Shape Up Somerville and Live Well Springfield), preschool oral health (BEST Oral Health), healthcare access and health inequities (Equity in the 413) and more recently youth mental health. She is the Executive Director of the Public Health Institute of Western MA which leads regional assessment, evaluation, coalition convening and advocacy and was the Co-Executive Director of the BeHealthy Partnership MassHealth ACO (2018-2023). Ms. Collins brings regional equity perspective to state efforts serving on the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Community Promotion and Prevention Behavioral Health Commission (2018 and 2025); and served as President of the MA Public Health Association Board of Directors (2017-2019). Ms. Collins has a master’s degree from Tufts University and is a proud graduate of Wellesley College. She was named a 2021 BusinessWest “Women of Impact” awardee and was elected to her town’s Board of Health for seven years (2017-2024). She lives in South Hadley with her husband and two teenagers.
