Rachel Fulmer is a Senior Associate at Justice System Partners. In this role, Ms. Fulmer leads and oversees research focused on law enforcement and first responder collaboration. Prior to joining JSP, Ms. Fulmer was a project manager at the Institute for Justice Research and Development (IJRD), where she led a multi-county research project analyzing law enforcement responses to mental health and substance-use related crises investigating alternatives to police arrest. Ms. Fulmer was also instrumental to the development of the Community Advisory Board consisting of previously incarcerated individuals whose feedback provided critical perspectives to the agency’s work.

Ms. Fulmer pulls from private industry experience as a department manager of a diverse workforce, where she built cohesion, developed conflict resolution strategies, and increased sales. But her dedication to police-civilian collaborations comes from working alongside law enforcement in advocacy and crisis response positions in Virginia, Washington, and Florida. These experiences drive her commitment to build effective evidence-based solutions to minimize reliance on the justice system while increasing public safety and community well-being.

Ms. Fulmer holds a M.A. in Criminology and an M.A. in Social Work from Florida State University and a B.A. in Women’s Gender and Sexuality studies from Virginia Commonwealth University. In her free time, you can find her mountain biking, hiking with her dog, and searching for the best local honey.