Jennifer Wagner joined the Center in 2015 and is a member of the health team. She focuses primarily on Medicaid eligibility and enrollment issues including the policy, operations, and technology that affects the enrollment experience for clients and staff. She also coordinates with SNAP and TANF staff to analyze opportunities to improve access and advance coordination with Medicaid.

Before joining the Center, Wagner served for five years as an Associate Director with the Illinois Department of Human Services.  In that capacity, she oversaw SNAP and cash assistance policy as well as the local offices throughout the state that determined eligibility for cash, SNAP, and medical assistance.  She assisted Illinois with Medicaid expansion under the ACA and improved customer service through business process re-engineering in the local offices.   Prior to that, she was a staff attorney at the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, where she focused on public benefits.

Wagner received her B.S. from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and her J.D. from the Northwestern University School of Law.