Heather Ringeisen

Heather Ringeisen, PhD, is Vice President of the Surveillance and Survey Science Department within RTI’s Data Analytics and Digital Solutions Capability Area. Dr. Ringeisen has more than 25 years of experience as a mental health and child welfare researcher with expertise in both surveys and program evaluations focused on children, youth, young adults and families. 

Dr. Ringeisen is an expert in several of our nation’s largest behavioral health surveillance efforts, including the National Survey of Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) and the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW). She has served as a principal investigator of NSCAW since 2006. NSCAW is an Administration for Children and Families (ACF)-funded longitudinal study that examines the physical, behavioral, and emotional well-being of children involved in the child welfare system.

She also led RTI’s efforts on the Mental and Substance Use Disorders Prevalence Study (MDPS), also referred to as the National Survey of Mental Health. This study, funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), provided up-to-date national estimates of specific mental health and substance use disorders among U.S. adults, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorders. The study included a nationally representative sample of households and prisons, as well as local samples of homeless shelters and state psychiatric hospitals. 

Dr. Ringeisen has served on multiple federal committees established to coordinate activities related to child welfare and mental health. She was a member of the National Center for Health Statistics’ Child Technical Expert Panel for the redesign of the National Health Interview Survey.

Prior to joining RTI in 2006, Dr. Ringeisen was Chief of the Child and Adolescent Services Research Program at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). She previously received the Society for Research in Child Development and American Association for Advancement of Science policy fellowship.