Vice President of Policy
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A nationally recognized expert in applying public health approaches to increase community safety and cohesion, Rebecca Levin leads public policy and advocacy initiatives for TASC and its Center for Health and Justice (CHJ). As Vice President of Policy, Rebecca oversees organizational policy efforts regarding public systems (courts, corrections, youth and family services), public health, and racial/social justice. She provides strategic leadership and analysis on emerging policy solutions; tracks and monitors the progress of state and federal legislation; and works with government officials and community stakeholders to enact policies to create a healthier, safer, and more just society.

For over 20 years, Rebecca has led national, state, and local initiatives to address violence as a public health concern. At the American Academy of Pediatrics from 2001-2011, she oversaw violence and injury prevention initiatives and created the positive youth development program Connected Kids. In 2011, Rebecca was hired by Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago to found and lead what became Strengthening Chicago's Youth (SCY), Chicago's largest comprehensive violence prevention and positive youth development collaborative. As Executive Director of SCY, she developed the Juvenile Justice Collaborative, a youth diversion program model that successfully connects young people to needed services and reduces their involvement in the justice system, and for which TASC leads care coordination.

From 2020 to 2022, Rebecca served as Senior Advisor and then Executive Director of Public Policy in the Cook County Sheriff’s Office. She led public policy and legislative activities; spearheaded innovative programs focused on decriminalizing mental illness, including creation of the Community Resource Center; and served as the primary internal public health expert in controlling the spread of COVID-19 in one of the nation’s largest, single-site jails.

Rebecca was a Chicago United for Equity Fellow in 2017-2018 and is a trained peace circle keeper. She serves on the Program Committee of Alternatives, Inc. and was Board Chair of the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence. She has held numerous leadership roles at the national and local level including establishing a Chicago citywide youth substance use prevention coalition, receiving an appointment to Illinois’ Mental Health Opportunities for Youth Diversion Task Force, chairing the Illinois Partnership for Safety, and serving as Principal Investigator on a National Institutes of Health grant and on several CDC expert panels.

Rebecca received her bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University, with a double major in Integrated Science and Biology and a minor in Science in Human Culture. She obtained her Master of Public Health (MPH) degree, with a concentration in Health Policy and Administration, from the University of Illinois at Chicago.