Lina Stepick (they/them)

As Director of Research, Lina supports PHI’s strategy for building the evidence base on state and national policies and workforce interventions that improve the quality of direct care jobs and the quality of long-term services and supports for older adults and people with disabilities. Lina is responsible for designing and conducting research on issues and initiatives affecting direct care job quality, workforce outcomes, and care outcomes, as well as working with the research team to manage key PHI resources, such as PHI’s Workforce Data Center and the Direct Care Workforce State Index.

Lina is a mixed-methods labor sociologist with a background in research justice and participatory action research approaches. They have conducted applied research in partnership with workers, community residents, and diverse organizations on job quality, low-wage work, union and worker center organizing, unstable scheduling, carework, and racial equity.

Prior to joining PHI, Lina led care economy research as a Senior Researcher at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and on faculty with the University of Oregon Labor Education and Research Center (LERC). Previous experience includes working as a researcher with the UCLA Labor Center, as a labor educator with the Dolores Huerta Labor Institute, and as an anti-displacement community organizer with the East LA Community Corporation (ELACC). Lina received their PhD and MA in Sociology from UCLA as a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellow and their BA in Sociology, Anthropology, and Gender Studies from Dartmouth College. They are based in Oregon.