Breakfast for Champions - Evolving the Work Through Change: Leading in a Shifting Legal Landscape

Description

What happens when the work you’ve been leading, investing in, or defending suddenly becomes uncertain, scrutinized, or constrained? 

Across industries, leaders in HR, DEI, and executive roles are navigating a new reality where legal shifts are reshaping how organizations approach culture, hiring, and leadership. Many are asking: What can we still say? What should we change? What must we hold firm? 

Join us for this candid Breakfast for Champions panel conversation where leaders will speak openly about how they are recalibrating strategies, managing risk, and continuing to lead meaningful culture work in an increasingly complex environment. 

This session will move beyond theory to share real-world decisions, tensions, and tradeoffs, offering practical insights on how to lead with clarity, credibility, and purpose while staying grounded in both legal realities and organizational values. 

Participants will learn how to: 

• Adapt strategies without losing momentum or organizational trust 
• Lead through ambiguity while balancing risk, compliance, and impact 
• Make values-driven decisions in environments of increased scrutiny 
• Apply a DEIB lens in ways that are thoughtful, sustainable, and aligned with evolving expectations 

This session is designed for HR professionals, senior leaders, managers, directors, and those responsible for shaping workplace culture and strategy.

Meet the Panel

Moderator, Shari Dunn

Shari Dunn is the CEO of ITBOM LLC, a strategic consulting firm specializing in equity-centered leadership and communications. Shari is the former chair of the Oregon Workforce and Talent Development Board. She is the author of Qualified: How Competency Checking and Race Collide at Work (HarperCollins), shortlisted for the 2025 SABEW Best in Business Book Award. A former attorney, journalist, and nonprofit CEO, Shari’s work has been featured in TIME, Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal, and Forbes. She is known for turning complex social dynamics into clear, actionable insight. 

Panelist, Martine Coblentz

Martine is the Director of Culture and Strategy at the Port of Portland.

Panelist, Joy Fowler

Joy is the Engagement and Access Director at the City of Vancouver, Washington.