Debra Brucker

debra brucker 

Degree: 1995, MPA

Job Title: Research Associate Professor, University of New Hampshire, Institute on Disability

During Debra's time at the Biden School, she worked closely with Dr. Robert Wilson on studies related to alcohol and substance abuse prevalence and the need for treatment. She also spent a semester as a Legislative Fellow. Debra attributes her work with Dr. Wilson and time as a Legislative Fellow to providing a solid foundation of understanding how research and data can inform policy at the local, state, and federal levels. After receiving her MPA in 1995, she held research positions at behavioral health and welfare state agencies and private research institutions. Debra later obtained a job at Rutgers University, working on disability policy research, and leveraged that opportunity to obtain a Ph.D. in urban planning and public policy in 2007. Immediately after receiving her Ph.D., Debra held a state research manager and adjunct teaching position. In 2011, she joined the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire and has advanced her career there. In her current position as a Research Associate Professor at the UNH, she conducts federally-funded quantitative and qualitative research that examines economic security and health disparities for people with disabilities. In early 2024, Debra was elected to the National Academy of Social Insurance for her research contributions that examined economic security among persons with disabilities. ​