Brenda Fenton, Ph.D. is the Director of Behavioral Health and Research and Evaluation
Dr. Fenton has over 15 years of experience conducting large-scale research and evaluation studies in both academic and public sector settings. Prior to joining MATRIX, Dr. Fenton worked as an administrator and senior scientific writer for Harvard University's Massachusetts General Hospital. From 1996 through 1999, she worked as a Research Associate and Co-director of the Epidemiology Research Group at the University Hospital of Geneva (Geneva, Switzerland) conducting a study funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation on bipolar and substance use disorders. She received her doctoral degree from the Epidemiology and Public Health Department of the Yale University School of Medicine, her master's degree in epidemiology and biostatistics from McGill University (Canada), and her undergraduate degree from Boston University in psychology. Dr. Fenton is an expert in evidence-based programs and practices in the fields of substance abuse and mental health prevention and treatment.
Prior to starting graduate school, she worked for the State of Massachusetts in the Department of Public Health's Healthy Start Program which guaranteed uninsured women access to prenatal care. She is dedicated to community applications of empirically-based research and increasing the capability of community-based organizations.