About Craft Education

We exist to change lives by building pathways to opportunity.

Craft is a nonprofit, and an essential part of WGU. We are building the public data utility that scales apprenticeship and ends skilled labor vacancies in the country, so the next generation can earn, learn, and build a career without taking on debt.

Our MissionMeet the Team
10M
Skilled job vacancies we exist to help end
Nonprofit
An essential part of WGU, mission before margin
Debt-free
Pathways that pay learners, not the other way around
Our mission

Change lives for the better by creating pathways to opportunity.

Our mission is about learners, creating opportunities for them to improve their life and economic mobility. It is why we show up. The pathway we are focused on is apprenticeship. For an apprenticeship to meet our quality standard, it has to clear three tests. We share this mission with WGU, of which we are an essential part.

01

Economic mobility

It moves a learner toward a family-sustaining wage, not just a first job. The destination has to be worth the journey.

02

Credit for work

The work itself counts. Hours on the job earn credit toward a credential, so learning and earning happen at the same time.

03

No debt

It does not burden the learner with debt. A pathway to opportunity cannot start by putting someone in a hole.

Our vision

Build and operate the public data utility that scales apprenticeship and ends skilled labor vacancies in the country.

Our People

Built for Learners. Backed by Believers.

We’re strategists, technologists, educators, and advocates who believe systems should serve the people who use them.

Adam Davis
Chief Operating Officer
Adam Marinelli
Regional Workforce Development Manager (Northeast)
Amani Ariel-Wamala
Director, Product
Chloe Sun
Lead Customer Success Coordinator
Dennis Williamson
Lead, Workforce Partnerships
Karen Riddell
Senior Sales Engineer
Kim Eckert
Lead, Apprenticeship Degrees
Mallory Dwinal-Palisch
President
Melanie Flowers
Lead, Workforce Services
Melinda Perez
Manager, Workforce Operations
Patricia Saenz-Armstrong
Head of Data & Research
Patty Moore
VP Product & Technology
Ray Valenzuela
Business Development Representative
Robert Owens
Grant Strategy
Ryan Shellen
Senior Technical Partnerships Manager
Scott Smith
Head of Marketing
Sonia Cruz-Cassatt
Senior Technical Partnerships Manager
Victoria Lawrence
Head of Customer Success
Wendy Parker
Workforce Partnerships Manager

We're hiring!

Open positions
The Thread

Recent Posts

Insights from Craft & our partners.

3 Barriers Keeping Paras from Teaching (and How to Remove Them)

This post reframes paraprofessionals as a hidden teacher pipeline and focuses on the three core barriers—time, tuition, and fear of failure—offering practical program design moves districts can use to remove each one and build stronger grow-your-own pathways.
Read more
Insights

5 Key Mentor Roles in Apprenticeships for Success

Mentors are vital for successful apprenticeships, bridging theory and practice. Learn their 5 key roles: Advisor, Teacher, Role Model, Advocate, and Connector, fostering growth.
Read more
Insights

5 Signs Your Apprenticeship Program Has Outgrown Spreadsheets

5 signs your apprenticeship program has outgrown spreadsheets: version control chaos, reporting nightmares, security risks & more. See how Craft helps programs achieve 95%+ rates.
Read more
Insights
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Join the mission

Help us end the skilled labor gap.

Whether you run a program, fund one, or want to build the utility with us, we would like to hear from you. Tell us where you fit and we will point you to the right conversation.

Employers and partners building pathways. Funders and agencies backing the work. People who want to come build with us.
Discovery call

Start the conversation.

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