60 Seconds With...Jessica Newberry Le Vay

Jessica Newberry Le Vay is a Senior Researcher in Climate Change and Child Health in the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry research group.

Tell us a little about yourself, and what attracted you to working at the University of Oxford?  

I’m a policy researcher, interested in generating and translating evidence that can impact policy and practice. My work focuses on how to protect mental health and wellbeing in a changing climate, and how climate action can have multiple benefits for mental health, wellbeing and equity. I worked in this field for four years at Imperial College London with Dr Emma Lawrance, and have joined Oxford as part of Emma’s team – she will be leading work on climate change and mental health within Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

What is your vision for the research you do?

I’m particularly interested in how the climate change and mental health research process can be as impactful as the outcome. Some of the ways we explore this include methods that create space for connection, community building, and foster collaboration across diverse disciplines and sectors. I have also just come back from the UN climate conference COP30 in Brazil, where I was advocating for mental health to be included in climate policies. A big outcome at COP30 was the inclusion of a mental health indicator in a global effort to track progress on adapting to climate change impacts (the Global Goal on Adaptation). COP30 felt like a moment of growing momentum and opportunity for more aligned climate action and mental health action, so I’m excited to build on that into 2026.

What is currently at the top of your To-Do List?

I am getting stuck with a new phase of a project exploring how education can better empower young people to live, work and thrive in a changing climate (the Compass Project), working with partners in the UK and globally. Phase 1 of this project involved research and co-design with students and educators in schools, colleges and universities. I’m excited to learn from the incredible school and community-based youth mental health work happening at Oxford.

How did you get to where you are today?

I am lucky to have had brilliant mentors. I wouldn’t be here without leaders (like Emma Lawrance!) who lift their team up with them. This has not only shaped where I am now, but who I want to grow into as I continue my career. I’ve also tried out a few different paths – studying zoology and then global health, working in recruitment, working in cancer research – before coming to the climate and mental health field. I’ve been able to weave together experiences, skills and learnings from each of these to find out what I love. 

Who or what inspires you?

So many things! Spending time with nature.

If you were not in your study programme/job currently, what would you like to be doing?

I feel grateful to have found work that connects deeply with my values, where I am constantly learning, and endlessly inspired by the incredible global climate and health community that I am lucky enough to be a part of. I wouldn’t change it, but if I were to do something totally different (and if I had the skills!) I would love be a jazz pianist, or find a way to do long distance hiking for a living.

What’s your favourite place in the world?

My favourite place has always been a village called Durgan in Cornwall. I’ve spent time there with my family most years of my life, including seeing in many New Years with a midnight swim in the sea!