Darlene (Dee) O’Connor, Ph.D.
Director of Strategic Alliances

Dee O’Connor is an expert on long-term care policy and with over 25 years experience in policy and research. She was Director of Long Term Support Studies at UMass Medical School. Prior to that she was the National Project Director for the Home and Community-Based Services Resource Network, and before that she oversaw long-term care services for the Connecticut Department of Social Service. Her leadership in state policy has focused on developing and expanding home and community-based services through state-funded and Medicaid waiver programs.
As Director of Strategic Alliances for JEN, Dee develops partnerships with policy makers, researchers, consultants and funders to encourage research that will improve decision-making and address future health policy challenges. Dee’s research interests include aging and mental health, integration of acute and long-term care services, and alternatives to institutionalization. In addition to her position at JEN, she is an Associate Professor in UMass Medical School’s Department of Family Medicine and Community Health.