Ms. Robin Fernkas serves as the Deputy Administrator of the Office of Workforce Investment and manages the Division of Strategic Investments for the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) at the U.S. Department of Labor.  In this position, she provides leadership in developing programs and policy guidance for ETA’s discretionary investments in skills training and employment programs. This division administers the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training program, H-1B Technical Skills Training grant funds, Ready to Work, Pay for Success, TechHire, and Strengthening Working Families grant initiatives.  Before joining this division, she provided leadership in developing policy guidance and technical assistance to the public workforce system on adult and dislocated worker employment and training programs and career pathways funded under the Workforce Investment Act.

Ms. Fernkas brings a wealth of knowledge of workforce development through her work experience with workforce investment system advisory boards at the local, state, and national levels. Prior to joining ETA in 2003, she worked for a private sector consulting firm, DTI Associates, managing projects for both the U.S. Departments of Labor and Education and worked for several Washington, D.C. based Intergovernmental Groups on workforce policy issues. She holds a B.A. in international economics from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts.