Amy Lock, PhD
Dr. Lock is a thought leader and gerontology specialist with a passion for service.
Dr. Lock is acutely aware of the need to raise awareness of the broad scale needs of our rapidly accelerating aging population and the impact on families and communities. Some level of need inevitably occurs among individuals and their families as part of the aging process. Through her personal and professional experience as well as her academic research, Dr. Lock understands that whether aging issues manifest slowly or during a health crisis, most individuals and their families find themselves unprepared and ill-equipped. She strongly feels that education and awareness are key elements to avoiding situations that can result in intentional or unintentional neglect or harm. Dr. Lock feels education and awareness cannot begin too early.
In service to her community, Dr. Lock contributes to the field of aging by serving on the Carteret County Community Advisory Committee. In this role which is appointed by resolution of the board of county commissioners, she visits skilled nursing and assisted living facilities to actively listen to the residents in the role of volunteer ombudsman. She also listens challenges and success of the facility staff while she observes for state regulatory compliance.
Dr. Lock serves on the Carteret County Equalization and Review Board, a quasi-judicial board also appointed by resolution of the board of county commissioners that reviews and rules on appeals of tax valuations by property owners that cannot be resolved by the tax office.
In further service to her community, Dr. Lock has served on the Carteret-Craven Electrical Co-operative Board of Directors since 2018 when she was elected by the membership to represent District 5, the town of Emerald Isle. She is currently president. Rural electric cooperatives are member owned non-profits who have been the backbone of providing power across the U.S. since 1933. She has achieved the highest level of co-op director credentials available.
Dr. Lock makes her home in Emerald Isle, NC.
A resource and advocate for the aging population and their families.
Dr. Lock entered the field of gerontology when she became her mother’s healthcare advocate during acute and chronic illness which resulted in a year-long rotation through emergency departments, hospital, rehab, skilled nursing then finally hospice. This was the catalyst that inspired Dr. Lock to open the in-home eldercare agency. During her tenure with her agency, Dr. Lock worked with elder individuals and their families to optimize living at home for as long as possible. She provided care for her father who moved in with her for two years before passing away at age of 92. Her experience as an in-home eldercare agency owner and hands on care provider has given Dr. Lock a broad inside perspective (working in the weeds) on the struggles, frustrations, and emotions of familial caregiving.
Dr. Lock served in the corporate arena in marketing communications and digital operations for twenty-five years before entering the field of gerontology. She opened her own in-home eldercare agency in 2015 on a foundation of more than ten years’ experience in ownership, administration, and hands-one care. Dr. Lock holds a bachelor’s degree with honors in communications from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and a Master of Science in Management from Pfeiffer University. In 2021 she completed her PhD in Gerontology & Leadership from Concordia-Chicago.
My passion is raising awareness about the challenges associated with aging for individuals, family members and friends before a crisis occurs.