Kayla C. Elliott, PhD is Director of Workforce Policy at The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, America’s Black think tank. She leads a team of experts who center Black communities in policy debates concerning the future of work, workforce development, and access to good jobs. Prior to The Joint Center, Kayla was the director for higher education policy at The Education Trust where she focused on advancing access, success, and affordability for students of color and students from low-income backgrounds. She has shared her expertise on outlets such as The Washington Post, TheGrio News, and The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Kayla holds a master’s degree from the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, and has worked with a range of nonprofit organizations, including Lumina Foundation, the Southern Education Foundation, and Teach For America. A daughter and granddaughter of career educators, Kayla has worked on P-20 education issues for more than 10 years. She earned a PhD in higher education leadership from Florida Atlantic University, where she taught undergraduate courses and held research roles in the College of Education and the Provost’s Office.
A proud HBCU advocate and third generation alumna, Kayla earned a BS in business administration from Fisk University, where her experience serving as a student representative on the university’s board of trustees piqued her interest in higher education advocacy. Kayla is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and sits on the boards of the Center to Advance CTE, the Howard University Educational Leadership and Policy Studies program, and UNITE, Inc. She enjoys traveling, cooking, reading, writing, and exploring parks, festivals, and restaurants in the Washington, DC area.