Laura Demarse, Vice President, Charles Koch Foundation
Square Pizza
Laura Demarse has spent nearly 20 years working at the intersection of higher education, workforce development, industry, and philanthropy. Today, as Vice President for Future of Work at the Charles Koch Foundation, she is focused on helping more people connect to purpose, opportunity, and economic mobility.
In this episode of the Square Pizza Pod, Greg and Laura explore how higher education is evolving, why workforce development and higher ed should work more closely together, and what employers can do to create stronger pathways into meaningful careers. Laura also shares lessons from her time at Ford Motor Company, how the Charles Koch Foundation approaches partnership and social entrepreneurship, and why skilled trades are experiencing a major resurgence.
The conversation also goes deeper into the Foundation’s work in Charlotte, including why the city became an important place-based investment, what Laura and her team learned from local partners, and how philanthropy can help de-risk new workforce solutions and inspire others to invest alongside them.
In this episode, you’ll learn more about:
- Why a four-year degree should be one signal of potential, but not the only one
- How higher education and workforce development can better learn from one another
- What Laura learned about employer engagement and talent development from her work at Ford
- Why the Charles Koch Foundation is investing in skilled trades, social entrepreneurs, and place-based workforce solutions
- What the Foundation has learned from its workforce investments and partnerships in Charlotte
- How AI could disrupt early-career white-collar jobs while creating new opportunities in skilled trades, entrepreneurship, and emerging industries
- Why Laura now believes scalable change can come from small, innovative organizations—not just large institutions
