Samantha Matthews

Samantha Matthews (she/her) is an assistant policy researcher at RAND and a Ph.D. student in the Community-Partnered Policy and Action stream at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. Her research is focused on behavioral health, suicide prevention, homelessness, and criminal justice. At RAND, she has assisted in research on the implementation of 988, the national suicide and crisis hotline, and led a review of literature on emergency mental health hotlines in the United States. Her work also centers on workforce in behavioral health and homeless services.

Prior to joining RAND, at the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments, she managed state- and county-funded homelessness and housing programs and coordinated with government agencies, elected officials, and service providers in responding to and preventing homelessness in eastern Los Angeles County. She has an M.P.A. and a B.A. in political science and communication from the University of Pennsylvania.