Kezia Scales

Kezia Scales, PhD, is the Vice President of Policy, Research, & Evaluation for PHI, a national organization committed to promoting quality direct care jobs as the foundation of quality care for older adults and people with disabilities. In her role, Dr. Scales defines PHI’s strategy for building the evidence base and advocating for state and national policies and workforce interventions that improve direct care jobs, elevate this essential workforce, and strengthen care processes and outcomes. Dr. Scales currently serves on the Family Caregiving Advisory Council convened by the Administration for Community Living, co-leads the Advancing Workforce Analysis and Research for Dementia (AWARD) Network, represents PHI as a core partner and subject matter expert for the national Direct Care Workforce Strategies Center, and serves on the Advisory Board for the Center for Excellence in Assisted Living (CEAL@UNC) and the Steering Committee for the Moving Forward Nursing Home Quality Coalition, among other roles and contributions. She has testified before Congress on the value of the direct care workforce, is regularly quoted in national news outlets including the New York Times and NPR, and has been named a national Care Guild innovator. Dr. Scales holds an MSc in Comparative Social Policy from Oxford University and a PhD in Sociology from the University of Nottingham (UK), and has completed postdoctoral fellowships at Duke University and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. She works from her backyard “tiny office” in Durham, North Carolina.