Jaroslava Pallas-Brink, Ph.D., is the research and development lead at IMPART Alliance, a role she has held since May 2025. As a cultural anthropologist, she brings a deep understanding of how care, culture and community intersect—expertise that shapes her approach to strengthening Michigan’s direct care workforce.
Pallas-Brink earned her master’s degree and doctorate in anthropology from Wayne State University, where her research focused on the moral economies of food aid and community care. Over time, her work expanded to explore how social infrastructures of care function in moments of crisis and uncertainty. This interest in the lived experience of care, and in the research methods that illuminate it, ultimately led her to IMPART Alliance.
At IMPART Alliance, Pallas-Brink applies qualitative and mixed-methods approaches to projects that support caregivers and care workers across Michigan. Her work emphasizes collaboration, bringing together educators, researchers and community partners to improve training, career pathways and workforce policy for direct care professionals. She also works closely with state agencies and community organizations to share data, build resources and amplify the voices of direct care workers and employers.
Outside IMPART Alliance, Pallas-Brink teaches a college course on food and culture at Wayne State University. She is also the mother of a spirited 5-year-old, an experience that she says continually deepens her understanding of care and interdependence.
Her passion for advocating on behalf of the direct care workforce stems from both personal experience as a caregiver and her scholarly work on care and culture.
“Care takes many forms across families and communities,” she said, “and it depends on trust and relationships. Supporting those who provide that care every day is essential.”
Pallas-Brink believes that as health care continues to evolve, direct care work will become increasingly central.
“As technology takes over more routine tasks,” she said, “the human side of care—empathy, communication and emotional intelligence—will only grow in value.”
The most rewarding part of her career, she said, has been seeing research make a tangible difference in people’s lives.
“Collaboration that leads to real change is what keeps me inspired,” she said. “Being part of a team that values care, curiosity and connection reminds me why this work matters.”
