SUNY Oswego’s Office of Workforce Innovation and External Relations (OWIER), launched by SUNY Oswego President Peter O. Nwosu in fall 2023, has named Kathryn Watson as its inaugural director of workforce innovation and community impact. 

The OWIER provides a designated point of entry into SUNY Oswego for industry, non-profit, public, private, and community partners to connect with institutional assets. OWIER staff members identify and form mutually beneficial partnerships with the greater Central New York community to generate economic and social benefits for the region that align with the priorities and vision of SUNY Oswego and with the mission to contribute to the common good while advancing SUNY Oswego’s institutional-wide priorities and goals. 

Watson will report directly to President’s Cabinet member and Assistant Vice President for Workforce Innovation and External Relations Kristi Eck to help advance grant applications that align with immediate institutional and workforce innovation priorities while providing timely and necessary programming to support workforce innovation and upskilling demands and connecting the greater community with SUNY Oswego employees and students as related to these areas of focus.

"We are thrilled to have Kathryn join our team at SUNY Oswego and within the OWIER,” Eck said. “Kathryn has an exemplary and established leadership record in our community and a proven ability to identify and unite partners around achieving a shared goal and desired impact. Kathryn will be a great addition to the OWIER team. I cannot wait to work with her."

Within her responsibilities as director of workforce innovation and community impact, Watson will serve as the project director for the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) of Oswego County and as SUNY Oswego’s Instructor Bootcamp project coordinator. 

Before joining SUNY Oswego’s Office of Workforce Innovation and External Relations, Watson served as the executive director of the Children's Museum of Oswego, located downtown in the Port City. A passionate educator, who prioritized making high-quality cultural experiences accessible to all, Watson worked with CMOO from 2019-2024. A true believer in community partnerships, she and her team at the museum launched dozens of museum initiatives with businesses, nonprofits, and organizations in the region.

Watson is a member of the Greater Oswego-Fulton Chamber of Commerce Advisory Council and served as the keynote speaker for the chamber’s annual meeting in January 2022. Watson also sits on the Oswego County Tourism Advisory Council and the Pre-K through 16 Micron Steering Committee.

Watson holds an Ed.M. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education (2014) and an MA in the history of art from the Courtauld Institute of Art (2010). She completed her undergraduate degree with dual bachelor’s degrees in history and art history from Johns Hopkins University (2009).

For more information on the Office of Workforce Innovation and External Relations (OWIER), visit oswego.edu/owier.