Bethany Jean Elston

Bethany is a doctoral student at The Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice. She graduated from Crown with an A.M. in social work and is a licensed clinical social worker. Her clinical career focused on training social workers, working with clients living with chronic illness and medical trauma, and consulting with organizations to support people living with chronic illness and chronic pain.

Most recently, Bethany worked with education researchers at Northwestern University researching district organizational learning and policy implementation.

Bethany’s research interests include trauma-informed models in education with a focus on the connections between organizational dynamics, the role of nonprofit and coalition partnerships in shaping mental health policy in schools, and how educators and administrators interpret and implement mental health policies.