University of UH Pacific Center for Advanced Technology Training (PCATT) Director Dan Doerger has been named a 2025 Workforce Development Hero by the Hawaiʻi State Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR). The annual awards recognize outstanding individuals and organizations for their leadership in advancing workforce opportunities across the islands.
As director of PCATT, Doerger oversees workforce development in technology sectors across UH’s seven community colleges. He collaborates with industry leaders, faculty and staff in both credit and non-credit programs to assess workforce needs, design training and upskilling opportunities, and create statewide pathways—from K–12 to post-secondary to apprenticeships to career—for student and worker success.
A lifelong educator with more than three decades of teaching experience in secondary schools and at the university level, Doerger previously served as director of workforce innovation in the UH Community Colleges system.
“Each of this year’s Workforce Development Heroes has gone above and beyond in creating pathways to opportunity,” said Workforce Development Council Executive Director Bennette Misalucha. “Their efforts have empowered individuals, strengthened communities and contributed to the overall resilience and competitiveness of Hawaiʻi’s workforce.”
Doerger was one of two recipients from Oʻahu, along with Julie Morikawa, founder and president of ClimbHI. Other 2025 Workforce Development Heroes are: Katie Taladay, director of workforce development at the Maui Economic Development Board (Maui); Jackie Kaina, executive director of the Kauaʻi Economic Development Board (Kauaʻi); Clinton Mercado, executive director of the Hawaiʻi Workforce Development Board (Hawaiʻi Island); and Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Daniel Iaela of the Hawaiian Council (formerly Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement).
The honorees will be recognized at the Future of Work 2025 Conference on September 24, at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaiʻi.
