Brent Parton
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary and Acting Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration

Brent Parton is the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary and Acting Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA). In that role he helps oversee many of the Department’s workforce development, employment, and unemployment insurance programs, and works to ensure those programs’ investments advance the Biden-Harris Administration’s workforce and equity priorities.

An expert on workforce, labor and career, and technical education policies, before joining DOL, Brent was the deputy director of the Center on Education & Labor at New America, a policy and research institution based in Washington, D.C. At New America, Brent led national research and technical assistance efforts and worked closely with state and local leaders, as well as with philanthropy, business, and labor to develop and implement strategies and investments that deliver more equitable labor market and education outcomes for workers, students, and communities. His 2017 research on youth apprenticeship led to the establishment of the Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship, a national initiative to support states and cities across the U.S. to connect high school students to apprenticeship opportunities.

Prior to New America, Brent served as a senior policy advisor at the U.S. Department of Labor during the Obama Administration, and held roles at the National Governors Association, and in the education sector of the World Bank. Brent has a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s degree in international education policy, both from Vanderbilt University; he is from Santa Rosa, California.