Dawn Karber is a workforce development strategist and leader who has spent her career designing systems that help organizations evolve. She currently serves as Executive Director of SkillsFWD, a national demonstration project sponsored by Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors that accelerates adoption of skills-first hiring and Learning & Employment Records (LERs). In this role, she and the SkillsFWD team partner with funders, nonprofits, states, and regions to test new models that expand opportunity and improve economic mobility.

Dawn brings more than 15 years of leadership experience, including serving as Chief Operations & Equal Opportunity Officer of a regional workforce nonprofit and as a mayor-appointed civic leader in Spokane, Washington. She specializes in building initiatives that don’t yet exist—whether piloting AI applications in community-based organizations, co-designing workforce solutions with employers, or creating cross-sector partnerships that align policy and practice.

What excites her most is translating big, abstract ideas into tools and systems people can actually use, while supporting the growth of emerging leaders.

Dawn Karber