Jordan Brandt is a technical expert lead on the RCORP-TA team and serves as the cohort lead for RCORP-Overdose Response. She was a member of the inaugural RCORP-TA team and is a behavioral health policy expert focused on harm reduction and overdose prevention. Jordan took a brief hiatus to complete her Master’s degree in Public Policy with a concentration in Behavioral Health Policy from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. During that time, she also served as chief of staff for the North Carolina Survivor’s Union, a national leader in harm reduction and the organizing of directly impacted people. The organizational budget doubled during Jordan’s time serving there, and she received an invaluable education on how the overdose crisis exists on the ground, and the nature of the gaps between public health and directly impacted people.
Some of Jordan’s earliest work to reduce harm associated with substance use including expansion of evidence-based practices, including methadone and peer supports, in Vietnam while working for SAMHSA. Her previous work at JBS involved assisting state agencies, healthcare providers, and nonprofits across the country through various technical assistance projects. These include SAMHSA’s Clinical Technical Assistance for Adolescent and Transitional-Aged Youth, the State TA Project’s State Targeted Response to the Opioid Crisis, and RCORP. Jordan loves learning from community members, celebrating grantee successes, and brainstorming how to address barriers.
Growing up as the daughter of two career foreign service officers and picking up the travel bug along the way, Jordan has lived in nine countries and all around the eastern U.S. She currently lives in Washington, D.C. with her fiancé and their dog, Morris. When not talking about drug policy, Jordan can frequently be found hiking or cooking a new recipe.