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:
This session is designed for HR professionals, senior leaders, managers, directors, and those responsible for shaping workplace culture and strategy.
Thank you to our sponsor Port of Portland.
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. She is a passionate and dedicated professional, specializing in culture change, creating belonging in the workplace. With a background in mediation, facilitation and restorative practices, she addresses systems and organizations cultivating a culture of learning and belonging. In her 20 year career, Martine has developed and delivered several trainings on cultural and linguistic responsiveness, including working with immigrant and refugee populations, communicating across cultures, addressing implicit bias, managing conflict, inclusive leadership and more. Her approach is to meet individuals where they are, develop relationships and engage in dialogue.
Panelist, Joy Fowler
As the City of Vancouver Washington’s Director of Engagement and Access, Joy Fowler is responsible for the direction of the city’s community and employee engagement along with establishing accessibility throughout the city. She has introduced a new initiative that strengthens their belonging efforts, titled Vancouver for All. Joy serves as an advisor to the Mayor, City Managers and leadership team, while ensuring Vancouver for All is infused throughout our culture, strategies and goals. With over 12 years’ experience leading this work, Joy has a dedicated focus - providing leadership, strategy and vision around equity, inclusion, access and belonging for all Vancouver residents and employees. Joy has previously led similar efforts at Multnomah County and the Port of Portland in Oregon as well as Umpqua Bank (now Columbia Bank) in five states, which includes Washington. She is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, The Links, Incorporated - Portland (OR) Chapter, and co-founder of A MIRacle Foundation, that supports special needs children throughout the Pacific NW. She enjoys traveling and spending time with family!
Panelist, Iván Resendiz Gutierrez
Iván Resendiz Gutierrez is a litigation partner with Miller Nash LLP. He serves the appellate, employment, and litigation needs of public and private clients, with an emphasis on supporting K-12 and higher education institutions and energy companies. Iván is a regular speaker and author on employment law, diversity, and litigation topics. A former judicial clerk for the Honorable Lynn R. Nakamoto, Iván has been recognized by national, state, and local organizations, including receiving the Hispanic National Bar Association’s “Top Lawyers Under 40” Award, the Oregon State Bar President’s Diversity & Inclusion Award, and was named to the Portland Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 list in 2021. In 2024, Iván completed the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity Fellows Program.
Panelist, Rashida Willard, Ed.D.
Dr. Rashida Willard (she/her) is a champion of equity and student success through transformative cultural and structural change. With nearly two decades of professional experience in diversity, equity, and inclusion and lived experience as a Black woman, she is committed to helping individuals and organizations embed equity into systems, policies, and practices using an intersectional, anti-racist lens. Dr. Willard moves equity knowledge and frameworks into actionable strategy. Her work includes facilitation, executive coaching, training, and organizational consulting, using a relational approach that builds trust, strengthens leadership capacity, and drives measurable outcomes. She brings expertise in social equity, disability justice, and intercultural development, and is highly skilled in aligning institutional values with operational practice. Dr. Willard serves as the Interim Associate Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Mt. Hood Community College, and has held senior equity leadership positions across both university and community college systems. She is also the Principal Executive Officer of Collective Work Consulting, LLC, where she advises corporate, nonprofit, and educational organizations on equity-centered strategy, leadership development, and systems change. Dr. Willard is a Qualified Administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) and holds a certification in Student Success Analytics from the California State University system. She is also a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. She holds an associate’s degree in organizational dynamics, bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business, and a Doctor of Education with a specialization in Leadership, Inquiry, and Continuous Improvement. Her passion is creating community, belonging, and affinity for members of systemically underrepresented populations. Dr. Willard most importantly cherishes her roles as a wife of 30 years and mother to her adult children. She enjoys spending quality time with her (chosen) family and friends.
