Deb McConnell

Deb McConnell’s work focuses on health systems innovation and improving community health.

Since joining Mathematica in 2022, McConnell has worked on the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation’s Value-Based Care Learning System project and the Mass in Motion Evaluation with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Currently, she is a senior advisor for the Value-Based Care Learning System project, designing curricula and facilitating learning collaboratives to accelerate care innovation and enhance quality of life for Medicare beneficiaries. McConnell also serves as a project director for the Mass in Motion Evaluation, leading the design and implementation of a mixed-methods evaluation that involves community-based participatory research to understand and measure the impact of community partnerships in addressing the causes of inequities on healthy food access and active living opportunities across Massachusetts. McConnell contributes expertise in public health nutrition to a U.S. Department of Agriculture evaluation of efforts to modernize outreach and support for participants of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (popularly known as WIC) in the associated Farmer’s Market Nutrition Program to help reduce diet-related disease.

McConnell has been a practicing nurse for more than two decades, and her experience caring for diverse patients across the United States led her to a career in public health. Before joining Mathematica, McConnell worked with state governments, regional health systems and health foundations on innovative initiatives to prevent chronic disease and improve care quality through clinic–community partnerships. Her work in underserved communities motivated her to collaborate with multidisciplinary health professionals outside the clinic’s walls to improve access to affordable food and safe green spaces for healthy and active lives. McConnell holds an M.P.H. from Tufts University with a concentration in nutrition and health services management and policy. She holds a B.S. in nursing from the University of Michigan.