Olivia is a research scientist at NORC, where she evaluates programs and policies related to behavioral health. Her methodological expertise spans quantitative and qualitative methods, including experience with large claims data, survey research, and conducting, analyzing, and reporting findings from qualitative interviews and focus groups.

At NORC, Olivia served as the qualitative lead for the Access Narcan and Behavioral Health Corp programs under the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act Evaluation, the Trauma-Informed Workforce Initiative Evaluation, the Substance Use Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities (SUPPORT) Act Provider Survey, and two task orders for the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE). She also contributed to the analysis and reporting of survey data for the Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (JCOIN) project.

Prior to joining NORC, Olivia was an adjunct researcher at the RAND Corporation, where she performed policy surveillance of opioid use disorder treatment policies and examined the effects of state policies on access to and quality of treatment. During her doctoral studies, Olivia served as a co-investigator on grant-funded projects focused on family dependency drug courts, recovery coaching for family members of individuals with opioid use disorder, and person-centered care in behavioral health treatment programs.

Golan has a wide range of research publications, including exploring the impact of COVID-19 on Florida family dependency drug courts (2024); conducting a systematic review of state office-based buprenorphine treatment laws effective during 2022 (2024); examining Medicaid expansion effects on buprenorphine treatment utilization by county rurality and income (2023); and analyzing how state policies are associated with services offered by substance use disorder treatment facilities (2023). Other notable work includes studying the effects of state policies on buprenorphine treatment per capita (2023), performing a systematic review and meta-analysis of quality-of-life changes following initiation of buprenorphine for opioid use disorder (2022), and investigating factors influencing drug court graduation (2022). Golan has also explored reasons for starting and stopping methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone treatment among individuals with opioid use disorder (2020).