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November 19, 2007 – Last month, Amy Robins became PHI’s fifth state policy director, expanding the organization’s presence in Massachusetts and adding to the overall depth of PHI’s policy team.

Robins’ hire allows PHI to assume a more active role in long-term care issues affecting Massachusetts. Previously, PHI facilitated the formation of a direct-care coalition that supported the passage of the Massachusetts Extended Care Career Ladders Initiative (ECCLI), which brought educational opportunities to direct-care staff in home and residential care.

“We look forward to collaborating with PHI once more,” says Carolyn Blanks, vice president of labor and workforce development for the Massachusetts Extended Care Federation. “PHI staff were vital partners in some of our past efforts to support Massachusetts’ direct-care workforce, and I know Amy will be a great help going forward.”

More recently, PHI’s New England team has been focused on the Northern New England LEADS Institute, which worked with 12 long-term provider organizations to improve direct-care worker retention and the quality of caregiving in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Meanwhile, the passage of the Massachusetts Health Care Reform Law and the establishment of the Quality Workforce Council has positioned Massachusetts to become a leader in improving the quality of long-term care for elders and people with disabilities by committing to quality jobs for direct-care workers.

Robins comes to PHI following seven years at the Boston-based non-profit Jobs for the Future (JFF). In her role as a program director, Robins led national efforts to advance low-wage workers through education and workforce strategies. “Amy has focused her career on meeting the needs of low-wage working populations,” says JFF President and CEO Marlene Seltzer. “Her new position will allow her to apply her extensive national knowledge to the concerns of the Commonwealth. PHI and direct-care workers in Massachusetts are lucky to have her.”

Before joining JFF, Robins managed the welfare-to-work program at the Seattle-King County Workforce Development Council for three years. She has also worked in the Women’s Bureau at the U.S. Department of Labor and spent five years as a legislative aide for the U.S. Congress. Robins is a graduate of Wesleyan University and holds a Master of Public Administration from the Evans School at the University of Washington.

Robins joins a policy team at PHI that includes focused activities in Michigan, New York, Northern New England and Pennsylvania and a growing national agenda. Her understanding of working with Workforce Investment Boards and community colleges will not only help her in her work in Massachusetts but strengthen the policy team overall. Robins’ position was made possible by a grant from the Boston Foundation.

“PHI is thrilled to have a renewed presence in Massachusetts, and even more excited to have a person of Amy’s caliber leading that effort,” says Steve Edelstein, national policy director for PHI. “I know Amy will do a terrific job advancing the cause of quality jobs and quality care in the state and help raise the level of PHI’s policy work with our nation’s workforce development system on behalf of all direct-care workers.”