Katherine Dames is the managing director of Workforce Development at BlueForge Alliance, a non-profit integrator supporting the US Navy. In this role, Katherine leads strategic initiatives to advance workforce development in partnership with government, industry, community organizations and educational entities nationwide. Before joining BlueForge Alliance, Katherine was the founding regional director of a manufacturing-focused adult education & workforce training program in deep South Texas. Katherine’s prior experiences provide a unique perspective on career and technical education, college access, and workforce development. She led college/career readiness, access, and completion work across deep South Texas for an education-focused non-profit, served as CTE & College Readiness director for a rural school system, and spent a decade in the classroom in Texas, Florida, and Missouri. Katherine holds a BS in Education, a Master of Arts and is a doctoral candidate at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.