Meet the Commissioner

Sarah Swanson
Montana Department of Labor & Industry
P.O. Box 1728 | Helena, MT 59624 | Phone: 406-444-1785

Sarah Swanson was appointed Commissioner of the Montana Department of Labor & Industry (DLI) by Governor Greg Gianforte in August 2023. As Commissioner, Sarah leads the agency’s mission to empower every Montanan through work and opportunity. Under her leadership, DLI has championed and implemented generational occupational licensing reform, streamlining nearly 200,000 professional licenses, and launched Montana’s first Registered Teacher Apprenticeship program. In August 2025, Governor Gianforte signed the 406 Jobs Executive Order—her capstone initiative—aligning all state workforce efforts under a unified strategy to eliminate duplication, strengthen partnerships, and ensure every Montanan has a pathway to a career and a plan to achieve it.

Before her appointment, Sarah served as DLI’s Director of Strategic Engagement, focusing on innovation at the intersection of education and workforce. She previously served as Chief of Staff at the Montana Office of Public Instruction and has extensive experience in private enterprise, as an owner and General Manager of Farm Equipment Sales, Inc., a prominent Montana John Deere dealer organization. There, she oversaw expansion to three new locations, and achieved more than 1,300 percent growth in sales.

Sarah played a pivotal role in the design and launch of “Build Montana” in collaboration with the Montana Contractors and Equipment Dealers Associations. This groundbreaking effort centered on providing Montana high school students access to the industry classroom and curriculum on the exclusive John Deere University training platform. Today’s participants earn industry recognized credentials from John Deere, Volvo, Caterpillar, or CaseIH, providing direct access to high-skill high-wage jobs to students across Montana.

A proud native of Eastern Montana, Sarah brings decades of leadership experience in both public service and business, with a career defined by advancing opportunity for Montanans across the state.