Jane Oates

Senior Advisor at WorkingNation

Jane is the Senior Policy Advisor and recent President for WorkingNation. She is a former U.S. Department of Labor official who has played a key role in WorkingNation’s mission to raise awareness about the challenges facing the American workforce. Jane served as Assistant Secretary for the Employment and Training Administration under Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis after being nominated for the position by President Barack Obama in 2009. Prior to her appointment, Jane was Executive Director of the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education and a senior advisor to Governor Jon S. Corzine. She also served for nearly a decade as senior policy advisor for Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts. Jane began her career as a teacher in the Boston and Philadelphia public schools and later as a field researcher at Temple University’s Center for Research in Human Development and Education. She received her B.A. in education from Boston College and her M.Ed. in Reading from Arcadia University.

2024 Back to School

Jane Oates

Senior Advisor at WorkingNation

Jane is the Senior Policy Advisor and recent President for WorkingNation. She is a former U.S. Department of Labor official who has played a key role in WorkingNation’s mission to raise awareness about the challenges facing the American workforce. Jane served as Assistant Secretary for the Employment and Training Administration under Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis after being nominated for the position by President Barack Obama in 2009. Prior to her appointment, Jane was Executive Director of the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education and a senior advisor to Governor Jon S. Corzine. She also served for nearly a decade as senior policy advisor for Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts. Jane began her career as a teacher in the Boston and Philadelphia public schools and later as a field researcher at Temple University’s Center for Research in Human Development and Education. She received her B.A. in education from Boston College and her M.Ed. in Reading from Arcadia University.

2024 Back to School
2024 New York, 'Back to School' Summit Day 2
Wednesday, September 11, 2024
4:00 pm

Degrees vs. Credentials: Beyond the All-or-Nothing Debate

Against a backdrop of declining enrollment and waning public confidence in the value of a college degree, this session explores the evolving landscape of university credentials, examining the past, present and future of the college degree in an increasingly skills-focused world.