photo of Zach Boren
Zach Boren
HE/HIS/HIM
Senior Policy Program Manager
Center on Labor, Human Services, and Population
At Urban, we're modernizing the successful apprenticeship model by introducing it to emerging sectors like tech and clean energy and helping small businesses thrive. Moving forward, we must make apprenticeships more accessible—because we all win when everyone has a shot.

Zach Boren is a senior policy program manager in the Center on Labor, Human Services, and Population at the Urban Institute. He is a highly experienced workforce development professional, with more than 15 years of expertise in shaping government policies on workforce development and apprenticeships and building training programs with employers and labor. Since 2020, he has directed projects for Urban to expand and modernize apprenticeships and has written extensively on policies to improve the labor market and conditions for business and workers. Before joining Urban, Boren was the director of registered apprenticeship and policy in the US Department of Labor’s Office of Apprenticeship. He is a frequent presenter, trainer, and author, lending his expertise on apprenticeships, equal employment opportunity, and labor issues. His work has been featured with Bloomberg, NPR, NBC News Radio, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and the Public News Service. He has a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University and a master’s degree from the Catholic University of America.

Research Areas
Workforce
Climate change, disasters, and community resilience
Artificial intelligence
Tags
Apprenticeships
Climate mitigation, sustainability, energy and land use
Employment
Job markets and labor force
Youth employment and training