Juli Leber is a policy analyst at Healthy Minds, where she equips policymakers with data and evidence to drive practical solutions that increase Oklahomans’ access to mental health and substance use care.

She joined Healthy Minds in 2022 and completed a two-year fellowship focusing on intensive home- and community-based services for Oklahomans with serious mental illness.

During her fellowship, Juli published an in-depth research report on the state’s Programs of Assertive Community Treatment (PACT), examining how well Oklahoma’s current PACT teams meet the demand for their services and offering recommendations to improve and expand PACT services statewide.

She also regularly writes issue primers to help policymakers and advocates engage with complex behavioral health topics, especially surrounding the community mental health system.  

Before she joined Healthy Minds in 2022, Juli worked in direct service, advocacy, and research, including with Thresholds in Chicago as a member of the organization’s Homeless Outreach Program. She also worked for the National Alliance on Mental Illness’ Chicago affiliate, focusing on workplace wellness best practices.  

Juli, a licensed social worker in the state of Illinois, holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Boston University and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Chicago’s Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice. While attending Boston University, Juli co-founded and chaired the student government’s mental health committee, which is still active on campus today, and received the 2017-2018 Alma Baker Campbell award for supporting those in need on campus.