There are leaders who serve a system—and then there are leaders who build one.
As Bob Knight enters retirement, NAWB honors a career that helped shape the workforce ecosystem as we know it today. Bob is the founder of NAPIC—the National Association of Private Industry Councils—which later became the National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB). Across decades, his work strengthened the bridge between public purpose and private-sector leadership, and helped the nation move toward a more coordinated, customer-centered workforce system.
And while Bob will be enjoying well-earned travel in retirement, we’re grateful he will still spend some time supporting the field through periodic work with Equus Workforce Solutions, where he has served as Director of Government Relations and Workforce Policy.
From PICs to workforce boards: helping build the modern system
To understand Bob’s legacy, you have to understand what the nation asked of workforce leaders over the last 40+ years.
In the era of the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA), Private Industry Councils (PICs) were designed to bring employer leadership directly into the governance of job training. PICs became a cornerstone of local service delivery—anchoring oversight, strategy, and accountability with business at the table.
Bob didn’t just support that vision—he organized it, amplified it, and made it sustainable by founding NAPIC as a national voice and learning community for PIC leaders.
Then came the next major evolution: the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA), which replaced JTPA and advanced the One-Stop system and local boards. Later, WIOA updated and reauthorized the system again—strengthening alignment across programs and reinforcing the role of local boards in connecting talent and opportunity.
Through these transitions, Bob’s fingerprints are everywhere in the ideas that endured:
-
a business-facing workforce system that treats employers as true customers,
-
a local, convening role for boards that aligns partners,
-
and a relentless focus on outcomes for job seekers and communities.
A policy leader with real field credibility
Bob’s credibility didn’t come only from titles—it came from lived experience across the full policy-to-practice pipeline.
Equus describes Bob as a leading expert in workforce development, welfare-to-work, and youth employment policy, with experience that includes service as a professional staff member for a U.S. Senate subcommittee, and as President & CEO of NAWB.
And as many workforce professionals can attest, Bob’s influence is also personal: he has been a teacher to the field—generous with context, history, and practical guidance, and committed to preparing the next generation of leaders.
The scale of the legacy: boards, businesses, and millions of lives
NAWB today champions the mission of more than 570 local and State workforce development boards across the United States and its territories—boards that convene partners, support employers, and help job seekers access training and employment pathways.
That national network exists in part because Bob believed local leaders deserved:
And the system those boards help lead is vast: federal workforce services operate through a nationwide network of around 3,000 One-Stop centers, connecting people to training, credentials, and jobs.
When we say Bob’s work has impacted thousands of businesses and millions of job seekers, we’re not using poetic license—we’re describing the real scale of a national infrastructure he helped build and strengthen.
A reflection from NAWB CEO Andrew Bercich
Andrew Bercich, CEO of NAWB, shared “Bob Knight, who I count as a mentor and friend, didn’t just witness the evolution of the workforce system… he helped author it. From the earliest days of NAPIC to the national influence of NAWB, Bob championed business-led, community-rooted solutions that kept opportunity within reach. His legacy lives in every board convening employers around talent needs, and in every job seeker who found a pathway forward because Bob insisted the system could deliver better—smarter, more humane, and more accountable.”
Retirement—without stepping away from the mission
Bob is retiring, yes—but he is not disappearing.
As he looks forward to travel and a new season of life, we’re grateful he will remain part of the workforce family through occasional support to Equus Workforce Solutions at various events and conferences.
Thank you, Bob
Bob Knight helped build the architecture of modern workforce development—and more importantly, he helped build the belief that workforce systems can be a force for dignity, mobility, and shared prosperity.
From all of us at NAWB: thank you, Bob. Congratulations on retirement, and we can’t wait to see where your travels take you next.
Member Portal