Sarah DeMark
VP, Workforce Intelligence & Credential Integrity & Interim Director of the Open Skills Network | Western Governors University
Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Sarah DeMark serves as VP, Workforce Intelligence & Credential Integrity & Interim Director of the Open Skills Network at Western Governors University.
Areas of Expertise:
Innovative Learning and Assessment Models at Scale, Competency-based Education, Skills-based education and hiring, Program Development, Workforce Intelligence, Credential Integrity, and Credential Valuation
Education:
Arizona State University: Ph.D., Educational Psychology 2002
Vanderbilt University: B.A., Education, Psychology 1995
Biography
Sarah DeMark serves as Vice Provost, Workforce Intelligence & Credential Integrity at Western Governors University, where she has worked since 2014. She is a strong advocate for creating skills-based credentials that benefit and align both individuals and employers to improve workforce development. She helps keep WGU at the forefront of competency-based education by leading the university’s credential integrity strategy and ensuring all program offerings align to in-demand and workforce-relevant skills. While at WGU, Sarah has also served as the vice president of program development and the vice president of General Education innovation. Sarah also currently serves as the interim Executive Director of the Open Skills Network, a 1400-member coalition dedicated to advancing an open skills-based education and hiring ecosystem. Additionally, she sits on UPCEA’s Council for Credential Innovation and the Credentials Future Coalition.
Selected media appearances and articles
Video
ASU+GSV, April 6, 2022
ASU+GSV, April 6, 2022
Articles
Bring in the Translators and Decoders: The Language of Credentialing Needs Help
The Evolllution, June 23, 2022
Language is a powerful tool in communicating skills and competencies. What matters most is using transparency and context to accurately convey what a learner knows and can do.
Open Skills Libraries Help Today's Education and Training Providers Respond to the Recent Surge in Skills-based Hiring Practices
The Evolllution, May 11, 2022
Over the past two years, we have seen the pandemic break down time-honored hiring conventions and accelerate new trends. Among these, many employers, particularly in IT and IT-related fields, have discontinued degree requirements and turned their attention to skills-based hiring and promotion practices.
Enabling pathways to opportunity through a skills-based architecture
The Journal of Comptency Based Education, March 22, 2021
Individuals need the shortest path to opportunity and employers require the shortest path to a skilled diverse workforce. To solve for this, Western Governors University (WGU) has created a skills-based architecture to map our competencies and credentials to high-demand knowledge, and technical skills as well as powerful, enduring, employability skills like critical thinking, social-emotional intelligence, creativity, and the ability to work with diverse collaborators.