ኤሪን ኢሞን ጋቪን

As chief of staff and a member of McKnight Foundation’s Executive Leadership Team, Erin Imon Gavin advances the opportunities of the organization and its mission in a rapidly shifting world.

Since 2013, Erin has played a pivotal role at McKnight, holding leadership positions across enterprise and program teams. Prior to her role as chief of staff, she helped align program strategies across the Foundation and led high-impact initiatives like the GroundBreak Coalition, a cross-sector group of more than 40 philanthropic, private, and public institutions mobilizing billions to expand wealth building opportunities for Twin Cities residents, starting with Black homeowners, entrepreneurs, and commercial developers.

Erin began her McKnight journey in 2013 as a program officer, where she led our Pathway Schools Initiative, a multi-partner effort focused on literacy, leadership, and teaching in Twin Cities schools. Outside of this initiative, she shaped key strategies to recruit and support Minnesota’s early childhood educator workforce and elevate the voices of families and communities in education policy.

Before joining the Foundation, Erin worked in Brooklyn Center Public Schools as a classroom teacher and literacy interventionist. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Carleton College, a master’s in education policy and management from Harvard University, and a doctorate in K–12 educational leadership and policy from Vanderbilt University.