Jen McGowan-Tomke, MPH

Chief Operating Officer
She/Her/Hers

Jen McGowan-Tomke has led the NAMI Chicago team since May 2016, initially serving as Associate Director, and transitioning to Chief Operating Officer in September 2020. Jen oversees all daily operations of NAMI Chicago, building processes and policies, and ensuring our stability and growth. Jen also leads NAMI Chicago’s legislative advocacy and provides key support for NAMI Chicago’s role in the Williams Consent Decree.

Jen’s advocacy efforts in Chicago and Springfield include coordinating and crafting legislation, and building relationships with policy stakeholders. Jen is one of Chicago's experts on the relationship between mental health and insurance coverage, as well as the impact of individual mental health within the criminal court system. She served as co-chair of the Illinois Mental Health Task Force for Youth Mental Health, which focused on youth diversion from the criminal court system and early mental health intervention and continues to advocate for the implementation of the Task Force recommendations. 

Jen worked for 3 years as a policy analyst in former Governor Pat Quinn’s administration, where she served as a lead on implementing the Affordable Care Act in Illinois and specialized in health care reform for the Illinois Governor’s Office of Health Innovation and Transformation.  Prior to joining NAMI Chicago, Jen served as a Health Planning Coordinator at UIC MidAmerica Center for Public Health Practice on the Illinois State Health Improvement Plan. 

Jen is originally from Skokie, IL. She earned a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science and Sociology from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and a Masters Degree in Health Policy and Administration from the University of Illinois at Chicago's School of Public Health. Jen is committed to working with community leaders, passionate lived-experience individuals, and policy experts to tackle a system in need of significant reform.