NPA December, 2024 Member Spotlight

Jennifer Burt,  PhD

I became an NPA member when I applied to be a licensed psychologist in Nebraska in 2009. At that time, we took the jurisprudence examination in person and two NPA members attended to introduce us to the benefits of NPA membership. I’ve been committed to being an NPA member since I entered the field and deeply appreciate the work NPA does across the state to advocate for the profession, connect psychologists, and offer high quality CEUs. I always encourage all our trainees to join NPA as a student and to join their state psychological association once they move onto their next professional role.

Although I’ve been a member of NPA for 15 years, I’ve only recently became involved at a deeper level. Last year, I joined the Legislative Committee to learn more about policy and advocacy in the field and plan to continue my involvement on that committee. Post pandemic there is not only an increased need for behavioral healthcare but also an increased awareness and acceptance of the benefits of behavioral health care. I believe we are at pivotal time in the field to capitalize on this recognition and advocate for meaningful change that can strengthen access to behavioral health care for all people. I’m particularly passionate about opportunities to build and train the workforce, increase access to behavioral health services for individuals from underserved and marginalized communities, and reduce barriers to preventative behavioral health care.

I majored in psychology and criminal justice in undergrad and knew I wanted to attend graduate school but was unclear what type of psychology I wanted to study. After college I spent a few years serving as a volunteer teacher in an AmeriCorps program with the University of Notre Dame called Alliance for Catholic Education. I taught third grade in an underserved parochial school in Shreveport, Louisiana and in the summer completed intensive course work to earn a master’s in education at Notre Dame. At the time, Notre Dame didn’t have an education program and brought in visiting professors. I took this opportunity to meet with the psychology professors to learn more about opportunities in the field and identified school psychology as a good fit. I attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for my doctorate and then did my doctoral internship and fellowship at the Munroe-Meyer Institute (MMI) at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

I’ve been employed at MMI as a faculty member in the psychology department since 2010. I am serving as the Associate Director of Clinical Services in Psychology, Director of Postdoctoral Fellowship, and provide clinical services in an integrated primary care clinic at Children’s Physicians Dundee. My clinical and research interests focus on the integration of behavioral health into primary care settings, behavioral health work force development, health disparities, and violence prevention and trauma. I am committed to prevention and promoting parental knowledge of developmental milestones and positive parenting practice and have received funding through the CDC’s Learn the Signs Act Early campaign (LTSAE) to assist with the development of resources for the campaign and served as the Nebraska Act Early Ambassador and Children’s Mental Health Champion to Nebraska.

I was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar and received training in leadership and health equity. I currently serve as the behavioral health consultant for a hospital-based violence prevention and intervention (HBVIP) program at Nebraska Medicine called ENCOMPASS and I am the PI of the BHWET-CAY grant to strengthen the workforce to address behavioral health needs of youth and young adults in rural and under-served areas.