Priscilla D. Allen

Priscilla D. Allen, PhD, LMSW, serves as Professor and Louisiana Nursing Home Association Sister Michael Sibille Professor in Aging and Geriatrics at Louisiana State University's School of Social Work. She holds dual leadership roles as Executive Associate Director of LSU's Life Course and Aging Center and Associate Editor of The Journal of Comparative Social Welfare. Her professional engagement extends to LEADER (Louisiana Enhancing Aging Through Dignity Empowerment and Respect), where she serves on the board as co-founder of Louisiana's first nursing home culture change coalition.

Her academic foundation includes:

• PhD in Social Work from Fordham University (2001)
• MSW and Certificate in Gerontology from University of Connecticut (1994)
• BA in Sociology from Keene State College (1990)

Prior to academia, she championed resident rights as long-term care ombudsman for 3,400 nursing home residents in Southwestern Connecticut, complemented by frontline roles as nursing home social worker and rural town social worker.

Dr. Allen's research program critically examines systemic challenges in aging through four interconnected pillars: long-term care reform, healthy aging promotion, aging policy analysis, and ageism mitigation. Her work bridges clinical practice and policy advocacy, particularly focusing on nursing home culture change implementation and disaster vulnerability of older populations. She investigates workforce dynamics including female labor participation trends and retirement transitions, consistently centering social justice perspectives in gerontological scholarship.

Her publication portfolio reveals strong interdisciplinary integration across social work, public health, and policy domains. Recent works demonstrate methodological diversity from quantitative analyses of labor force trends to qualitative disaster response evaluations, with consistent thematic emphasis on dignity preservation in aging services. Key contributions include developing assessment frameworks for nursing home psychosocial care and establishing evidence-based disaster protocols for elderly populations.

Scientific Awards: No awards listed in source documentation.

Advising and Grants: Secured $10,000 CSWE Gerontological Education Grant (2009-2011) from John A. Hartford Foundation for Certificate in Gerontology Program development. While specific advisees aren't documented, her leadership in specialized curriculum development and Life Course and Aging Center suggests extensive student mentorship in gerontological social work.

Labs and Teams: Directs research initiatives through LSU's Life Course and Aging Center, focusing on translational aging research. Co-leads LEADER coalition's statewide efforts to implement person-centered care models across Louisiana's nursing homes, facilitating collaboration between regulators, providers, and advocacy groups to transform long-term care culture.