M. Antwon Keith is the Assistant Secretary for the Division of Employment Security in the North Carolina Department of Commerce as appointed by Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders in December 2022.

Antwon has worked for more than 25 years in Workforce Development and Unemployment Insurance serving the citizens of North Carolina. For the past 10 years he has focused solely on North Carolina’s Unemployment Insurance Program.  Most recently, Antwon served as DES’s Chief Deputy of Programs, in which he was directly responsible for all Program areas within DES to include: Tax, Appeals, Integrity, Benefits, and RESEA.

Prior to serving as Chief Deputy of Programs, Antwon served on the Charlotte/Mecklenburg, Isothermal, and Northwest Piedmont Workforce Development Boards. Previously, he managed the Employment Security Commission (ESC) offices in Shelby, Winston-Salem, and Charlotte, North Carolina.   

Antwon is a graduate of North Carolina A&T State University, located in Greensboro, as well as an alternate on the Board of Directors of the National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA) and past-chair of the NASWA Integrity Steering Committee.