Dr. Rucha Londhe, Senior Director, is a strategic leadership team member focused on developing and advancing human-centered approaches to evaluation, research, project delivery practices, and internal organizational capacity. She is an experienced human development specialist, with a demonstrated history of working in education and behavioral health industries over the last 18 years and currently leads Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) projects at Abt Global. Skilled in qualitative research methods such as interviews and focus groups, Dr. Londhe has multiple experiences conducting embedded assessments and community-based participatory research.
Trained as a mental health consultant in Mumbai, India, in the recent years, Dr. Londhe has focused on the practice of a trauma informed approach (TIA) in research and implementation. This includes ideation and development of a practice guide on TIA for SAMHSA, design and implementation of TIA training for research and practice staff at Abt Global, and a forthcoming chapter in a book on TIA processes.
Before joining Abt, Dr. Londhe worked with the Brazelton Touchpoints Center (BTC) as a project director with the Research and Evaluation Team. At BTC, Dr. Londhe focused on the study of differences in maternal and children’s health. She worked with Native American Tribes, collecting evaluation data around health differences using a community-based participatory research model and collaborated with program teams on designing efficient evaluation data collection and analysis strategies.
Over the years, Dr. Londhe has played multiple roles working with federal agencies on mental health issues, ranging from strategic planning of mental health preventive services to children and families to identifying, developing, and disseminating evidence-based best practices associated with strengthening families and communities to conducting research to evaluate mental health program implementation.
Expertise
- Program evaluation and research
- Qualitative research methodology
- Resource development
- Fluent in English (Fluent), Marathi (Native), Hindi (Fluent), and German (Intermediate)
Publications
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2023). Practical Guide on Implementing a Trauma-Informed Approach. SAMHSA Publication No. PEP23-06-05-005. Rockville, MD: National Mental Health and Substance Use Policy Laboratory. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. https://store.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/pep23-06-05-005.pdf
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) (2021). Prevention and Treatment of Anxiety, Depression, and Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors Among College Students. SAMHSA Publication No. PEP21-06-05-002 Rockville, MD: National Mental Health and Substance Use Policy Laboratory. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. https://store.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/SAMHSA_Digital_Download/PEP22-06-02-004.pdf
- Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (2020). Strengthening Partnerships: A Framework for Prenatal through Young Adulthood Family Engagement in Massachusetts. Boston, Massachusetts: DESE. https://www.doe.mass.edu/sfs/family-engagement-framework.pdf
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) (2020). Treatment of Stimulant Use Disorders. SAMHSA Publication No. PEP20-06-01-001 Rockville, MD: National Mental Health and Substance Use Policy Laboratory. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Education
- Ph.D., Human Development and Family Studies, University of Connecticut.