November 20, 2007 - PHI President Steven L. Dawson is the recipient of the 2007 Cindy Marano Trailblazer Award for Innovative Leadership in Sector Workforce Development. The award was presented to Dawson on November 14 by the National Network of Sector Partners, on behalf of his work at PHI.

The Trailblazer Award for Innovative Leadership is given in recognition of innovation and excellence in industry-specific workforce strategies that bridge the needs of employers and workers. A national committee of his peers – senior practitioners of sector workforce development – chose Dawson for the honor.

“It’s possible that there may have been, eventually, a sectoral workforce development field without Steve Dawson—but I doubt it would ever have been taken nearly as seriously as it is today,” says Andy Van Kleunen, the executive director of The Workforce Alliance. “Steve was among very few folks who, over a decade ago, challenged the workforce field to think not only about training workers, but also about changing jobs and industries for the benefit of both employees and employers. That wasn’t just a slogan for Steve. He knew the amount of work it would require for a sectoral initiative to demonstrate its true value as an expert within an industry. But Steve and his PHI colleagues didn’t shy away from the challenge, and the direct-care industry—workers, clients, and firms—is the better because of it. It’s the gold standard of the sectoral field.”

Also this fall, Dawson co-authored a book in collaboration with three colleagues from the Aspen Institute in the field of sectoral employment development. Sectoral Strategies for Low-Income Workers: Lessons from the field describes how sectoral programs are helping workers, regional economies, and businesses become more competitive.