Jessica Collins has dedicated her career to collaborative efforts that build equitable communities and sustain programmatic, policy, and infrastructure change that supports quality of life. She is the Executive Director of the Public Health Institute of Western MA, which leads regional assessment, evaluation, coalition convening, and advocacy. She founded and led many community-based coalitions like Shape Up Somerville; Live Well Springfield and Equity in the 413. She was named a 2021 BusinessWest "Women of Impact" awardee, awarded the Healing Racism Institute Community Builder Award in 2023 and the Urban League of Springfield Inclusion Luminary Award in 2025. Ms. Collins brings regional equity perspective to state efforts recently appointed to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Community Promote and Prevent Behavioral Health Commission; served as the Co-Director of the BeHealthy Partnership, the Accountable Care Organization made up of Health New England, Baystate Health, and Caring Health Center (2018-2023) and served as on the MA Public Health Alliance Board of Directors for ten years and as President 2017-2019 and currently serves on Health Care for All Board; Ms. Collins has a master’s degree from Tufts University and is a proud graduate of Wellesley College. Her passion for health equity began from experiences as a Jesuit Volunteer and US Peace Corps Volunteer in West Africa. More recently, she spent over ten years coaching youth basketball 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.

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