Samhita Kumar is a Senior Associate Director at the Carter Center, a nongovernmental, not-for-profit organization founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalynn Carter in partnership with Emory University. Samhita leads the Mental Health Program’s global behavioral health portfolio, which focuses on enhancing policies, services, health systems, and social inclusion to improve population mental health and access to mental health care globally. Her work has focused in low- and middle-income countries affected by conflict and violence. Prior to the Carter Center, Samhita worked at the World Bank, where she collaborated with experts across sectors on analytical and operational work addressing mental health and psychosocial support as well as conflict and violence. Samhita is co-author of the first-ever joint United Nations – World Bank flagship study on preventing violent conflict, Pathways for Peace. Samhita holds a master’s degree in epidemiology and global health from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. She is pursuing her Ph.D. from Emory University Rollins School of Public Health and is a second-year doctoral student in the inaugural cohort of the Global Health & Development program. Her research interests are in the integration of mental health with current and emerging health priorities, health systems strengthening, health priority-setting and financing, and global health education and leadership training.
