Cortex Consulting
Cortex Consulting provides strategic consulting across policy, politics, and communication.
We bring the analytical rigor of a research scientist, the strategic instincts of a campaign operative, and a deep understanding of how people make decisions. With an evidence-first approach, we help clients navigate complexity, sharpen their strategy, and deliver results.
Whether you need help developing a policy platform, drafting a behavioral health grant, navigating government relations, or building a campaign, we would love to talk.
We’re also happy to take on work that doesn't fit a tidy description. If you're not sure whether it's the right fit, reach out anyway — we’re flexible, fast, and enjoy tackling new challenges.
Services
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We help clients turn ideas into actionable policy, from research and policy development to legislative strategy and stakeholder engagement. Whether developing a new policy platform or sharpening an existing proposal, we provide clear, evidence-based guidance and research. Our approach is grounded in quantitative analysis, interdisciplinary science, measurable outcomes, and established best practices.
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We help clients cut through complexity to understand, navigate, and influence the legislative process. From bill analysis and legislative tracking to stakeholder mapping and engagement with policymakers and the public, we translate complicated legislative and political landscapes into actionable insights and effective advocacy strategies.
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We help clients navigate the often-confusing intersection of policy and government. While translating complex political and institutional landscapes, our work includes strategic guidance on engaging executive agencies, legislative offices, and regulatory bodies, as well as stakeholder outreach, coalition-building, and preparation for testimony, briefings, and public comment.
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Drawing on a background in neuroeconomics, we craft messaging that is compelling, creative, and informed by behavioral economic and neuroscientific insights. We help clients develop persuasive messaging frameworks, narrative strategy, talking points, public-facing materials, and issue positioning for diverse audiences and political environments.
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We bring a data-driven focus grounded in real-world impact to campaign work, advocacy efforts, and public affairs initiatives. From messaging and policy development to stakeholder development and strategic planning, we help clients set clear goals, communicate effectively, and build momentum.
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Clear communication is essential to effective policy, advocacy, and research. We bring substantial expertise in both academic and policy writing, translating complex ideas into compelling narratives that inform, persuade, and drive action. We provide writing and editing support across formats, including policy briefs, reports, grant materials, presentations, public communications, op-eds, and research summaries, tailoring each piece to diverse audiences and strategic goals.
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We help clients move projects from concept to completion. From research initiatives and grant programs to policy campaigns and stakeholder engagement efforts, we provide the planning, coordination, and execution needed to keep work moving forward.
Subject-Matter Expertise
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We bring substantial expertise in behavioral health policy, advocacy, and research, with experience spanning mental health, substance use, public health systems, and community-based care. We offer policy and messaging development, grant support, project management, and more to help individuals and organizations navigate complex behavioral health issues and advance evidence-based solutions.
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Our expertise is rooted in research and a focus on the overlap between the criminal justice and behavioral health systems, including mental health diversion, reentry support, treatment access, community-based care, and peer-support networks. Working towards true public safety so that people feel safe and threats are responded to effectively, we have fought for prevention, treatment, and addressing root causes. We offer policy and messaging development, legislative strategy, stakeholder engagement, writing support, and preparation for testimony, briefings, and public comment.
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With training in the sciences and a track record of peer-reviewed publication and editing, we help clients translate complex scientific issues clearly and effectively. We advise policymakers, organizations, institutions, and researchers on science-related policy and communications, helping decision-makers understand the evidence landscape and act on it with confidence.
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At a time when nuance is often sacrificed for optics, we help individuals, campaigns, and organizations handle issues of antisemitism, mis- and disinformation, hate, and extremism with thoughtfulness and compassion. We bring deep familiarity with Jewish institutional priorities, communal life, and the policy landscape around educational resources, Holocaust education, grant programs, community-based initiatives, and hate-crime prevention and enforcement. Our expertise spans policy development, messaging strategy, outreach and engagement, coalition-building, grant support, and public affairs. Drawing on a background in neuroscience and decision-making, we provide a distinctive lens on misinformation, from how it spreads and why it resonates to how to counter it effectively. Our approach is based in historical understanding, political awareness, sensitivity to changing dynamics, and a commitment to constructive dialogue.
Meet Zoe
Zoe Guttman, Ph.D., is a neuroscientist turned policy strategist with a decade of experience in legislative affairs, research, advocacy, and campaigns. Trained in neuroscience at NYU and UCLA, she specialized in neuroeconomics to study how people make irrational decisions under conditions of risk and uncertainty. Her work combined behavioral economics and cognitive neuroscience to better understand why people do not always act in their own best interests and how those same choice biases can be leveraged to drive behavioral and social change.
She has spent the years since putting those insights to work in legislative offices, advocacy organizations, and campaigns, building coalitions and advancing policy on issues ranging from mental health and criminal justice to reproductive rights.
Please contact us for a resume or full CV.