Candice Dias, PhD

Dr. Candice Dias is the Executive Director of the Center for Guaranteed Income Research (CGIR) at the University of Pennsylvania and a Lecturer in the MSSP and MSW Programs. A community-engaged mixed methods researcher and evaluator, her work focuses on identifying mechanisms of material hardship and economic instability across domains including health, education, and job access, with particular attention to populations typically excluded from or underrepresented in research. She has led large-scale studies including developing longitudinal panel survey designs alongside qualitative data approaches to generate actionable insights and inform policy development.

Prior to joining SP2, Dr. Dias led research and evaluation for the Camden Promise Neighborhood initiative. Her work in Camden centered on developing systems to support meaningful analyses and feedback loops to make data accessible and actionable for programmatic stakeholders. Dr. Dias previously worked at the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services on projects spanning child welfare reporting, TANF and SNAP utilization and churn, and Medicaid provider access.

Dr. Dias earned a PhD in Urban and Regional Studies from the University of Groningen and a Master’s in Regional Planning from Cornell University.