Roberta Gassman
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Employment and Training Administration
Deputy Assistant Secretary of
Employment and Training Administration
Roberta Gassman has been appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training in the U.S Department of Labor (DOL).
Prior to the appointment, Roberta served in the Cabinet of Governor Jim Doyle as the Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development from 2003 through 2010. As Wisconsin's longest serving labor secretary, she led over 1600 employees in strengthening Wisconsin's workforce; providing training, employment and dislocated worker services; working with employers to fill jobs; enforcing workers' rights; and administering Unemployment Insurance, Apprenticeship and Worker's Compensation. Under her leadership, Wisconsin received national recognition for targeting training resources to regional industry partnerships in areas such as advanced manufacturing, health care, clean energy and technology, as well as career pathways for low wage workers and numerous workforce innovations in skills certification, reemployment services and assistance to veterans and people with disabilities.
Roberta is recognized as a leader on employment, workforce development and labor issues. She has testified before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee and has presented before numerous business, workforce, educational, philanthropic and public policy groups including DOL, the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, the National Academy of Social Insurance, the National Association of State Workforce Agencies, the National Governors Association, the Joyce Foundation and the Urban Institute.
Roberta has also held additional senior leadership positions in state, city and county government and the private sector, having served as a senior bank vice president and as a top aide to a previous governor, mayor and county executive. Roberta earned her BA, with honors, and MSSW from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has won many Wisconsin public service and professional honors. She held numerous leadership roles in the National Association of State Workforce Agencies and in 2010 she was elected to the National Academy of Social Insurance. She was honored by the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Social Work with their 2010 Distinguished Alumni Award, which included the establishment of the Roberta Gassman School of Social Work Opportunities Fund and the Roberta Gassman Distinguished Lecture Series. Gassman has been very active in her community, serving in a variety of roles.
