Satabdi Samtani, PhD

Senior Research Associate
Begun Center for Violence Prevention Research and Education
Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences

Satabdi Samtani joined the Begun Center in May 2024 as a Senior Research Associate. She primarily works on the Ohio Behavioral Health Juvenile Justice (BHJJ) initiative with Dr. Jeff Kretschmar. At the Begun Center, her efforts involve rigorous research and evaluation to assess the effectiveness of the BHJJ initiative, identify best practices, and drive continuous program improvement. This work is pivotal in producing insights that benefit not only the youth directly involved in the program but also in shaping broader strategies and policies in youth justice and mental health at the state level. She also provides methodological and analytical support for other program evaluations conducted by Dr. Kretschmar's team.

Satabdi’s prior work includes evaluating behavioral health programs such as the Louisiana State Opioid Response, the Zero Suicide Model for Health Systems funded by SAMHSA, and the Pay for Success Initiative funded by the DoJ. She also has experience working on youth development programs and was the primary researcher for a national evaluation of sixteen character-focused youth programs as part of her post-doctoral experience at Montclair State University. She has also collaborated with school leaders on ethical leadership and social-emotional learning in the Greater St. Louis region during her tenure as a research scientist for the Center for Character & Citizenship at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

Satabdi’s current research interests include behavioral health disparities, social emotional learning, and innovative mixed-method designs. She also has expertise in program evaluation and secondary data analysis.

Satabdi earned her doctorate in Human Development and Family Studies from Texas Tech University, with minors in Health Care Administration and Cross-Cultural Studies. She holds a master’s degree in International Development from the University of Sussex, UK, and another in Human Rights from the University of Calcutta, India. She completed her BS degree in Economics from the University of Calcutta.

Satabdi grew up in India and loves to keep up with global issues. In her free time, she enjoys growing plants, exploring different cuisines, listening to podcasts, and going on road trips.