Erin Imon Gavin serves as McKnight’s director of strategic initiatives. Erin leads internal work to create greater coherence in McKnight’s practices across our program areas and manages special projects that intersect with multiple programs.
Erin joined the Foundation as a program officer in 2013. She managed the Foundation’s Pathway Schools Initiative—a multipartner effort to improve teaching, leadership, and PreK-3 literacy outcomes in seven Twin Cities district and charter schools. Outside of the initiative, Erin has collaborated with a diverse group of nonprofit, government, higher education, and PreK-12 stakeholders to launch initiatives aimed at improving Minnesota’s early childhood workforce and supporting language learners. Prior to the transition to the Vibrant & Equitable Communities program, she oversaw the implementation of McKnight’s strategies to prepare, recruit, and retain diverse, effective educators and to elevate the voice of families and communities in education policy.
Erin began her career in the classroom as a teacher and literacy interventionist in Brooklyn Center Public Schools, Minnesota. She graduated from Carleton College, completed her master’s degree in education policy and management at Harvard University, and earned a doctorate in K-12 educational leadership and policy from Vanderbilt University. An avid St. Paul-ite, Erin lives in the city with her husband and two children.
