New York, New York

Oscar Jiménez-Solomon is a mental health researcher and advocate. He has dedicated his career to improving the financial wellness of people with psychiatric disabilities and addressing social determinants of mental health through research, program development and policy advocacy. Oscar holds a PhD. in Social Policy from the Columbia University School of Social Work, a Master of Public Health from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and a Bachelor of Sociology from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru.

Since 2013, Oscar has served as Research Scientist at the New York State Psychiatric Institute (NYSPI). In 2024, Oscar was also appointed as Assistant Director for the New York State Center of Excellence for Cultural Competence (NYSPI-CECC). At the NYSPI-CECC, Oscar leads a study to develop and test a peer-led financial empowerment intervention to reduce financial hardship and suicide risk funded by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. In 2022, Oscar also joined the NYSPI Mental Wellness Equity Center where he leads the development of a community-based intervention to reduce financial hardship as a social determinant of mental health. Oscar is also a research affiliate with the Columbia Center on Poverty and Social Policy (CPSP) where he completed his PhD studies. At the CPSP, Oscar is conducting research in collaboration with Drs. Irwin Garfinkel and Chris Wimer to better understand the longitudinal relationships between income, material hardship and psychological distress.

For more than 20 years, Oscar has led or collaborated in research and program and policy development in the United States, his native Peru, the Dominican Republic and Chile. His past roles include Director of Economic Development at the Alliance for Rights and Recovery (formerly, New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services), Officer of Research at the Mailman School of Public Health, Research Associate at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru and international consultant at the United Nations Population Fund.