The strategies that shaped workplace culture in 2020 were born from urgency. But urgency without evolution becomes inertia — and in 2026, many organizations are still running the same playbook while wondering why nothing has changed.
This candid panel brings together voices across difference — a DEI practitioner who has stepped away from the field, a workforce strategist offering a white male perspective, and a People Operations leader representing AAPI voices — to ask the questions most organizations are still afraid to ask out loud. This isn’t about tearing down the work. It’s about telling the truth about what we need to unlearn before we can move forward. You’ll leave with a personal Start | Stop | Do More Of | Do Less Of framework and a 30-Day Action Plan built around one commitment you can begin practicing immediately.
Before you register, sit with this question: If the programs your organization put in place five years ago disappeared tomorrow — would anyone notice a difference in how people actually experience belonging at work? If that question makes you pause, this conversation is for you.
Part 1 of a 2-part series | Hosted by the Los Angeles NHRA ABC Collective
Rachel Ann Williams
Workplace Culture Navigator
Rachel Ann Williams is an accomplished Chief Diversity Officer with extensive C-Suite leadership experience, now also serving as an Academic Lecturer for the Masters in Computational Social Science program at UC Berkeley. She offers progressive insights into Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI), and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategies, leveraging her expertise to create meaningful, inclusive work environments. With a proven track record at top-tier organizations like Yelp and Google X, Rachel balances business objectives with employee engagement, fostering collaborative and innovative workplaces.
Her expertise in strategic cultural planning, team education, and advocacy makes her highly effective in creating initiatives that authentically connect with underrepresented communities. Rachel has successfully developed and executed DEI programs on both national and international scales, enhancing corporate integrity and productivity.
Most recently, as Chief Diversity Officer at The Motley Fool, Rachel’s core responsibilities included integrating diversity and inclusion as foundational values across all business functions. She reported directly to the CEO and ensured adherence to DEI-related policies while leading cross-functional collaborations to enrich organizational culture.
Rachel’s professional development focuses on enhancing her strategic capabilities to integrate DEI more effectively across global operations. She seeks to gain deeper insights into cutting-edge DEI strategies and leadership frameworks, positioning her to drive impactful DEI initiatives that align with the mission of empowering individuals and organizations worldwide.
Her extensive experience aligning DEI strategies with business goals and her leadership in developing DEI programs at companies like Google X make Rachel a vital contributor in her field. She remains dedicated to advancing DEI initiatives that promote inclusive practices, boost innovation, and enrich corporate culture.
Mark Putrus
Workforce Strategist and Coach
Mark Putrus is the Vice President of Talent Strategy & Rewards at Life360 (NASDAQ: LIF), a remote-first organization dedicated to keeping the ones we love connected and safe, delivering peace of mind to millions of families worldwide. With over 20 years of leadership experience across commercial and HR roles, he specializes in building high-leverage, inclusive workplace cultures within the Adtech, Edtech, Medtech, and Consumer Tech industries. At Life360, Mark is designing the company’s talent operating system, optimizing for new ways of working in the agentic era. He oversees talent management, learning, leadership development, and compensation to shape a new generation of workforce architecture focused on a human-led, AI-enabled operating model.
Previously, Mark served as Chief People Officer at Nativo, where he managed the People, IT, and Legal functions for a fully distributed workforce. During his tenure, he aligned the people strategy with business goals, delivering outsized performance and revenue growth, while positioning the late-stage startup for its successful $120M acquisition by Life360. Prior to Nativo, he was the Chief People Officer at Zovio (NASDAQ: ZVO), where he drove a comprehensive cultural and business model transformation. His foundational expertise includes scaling global talent development pipelines at ResMed (NYSE: RMD) and early commercial leadership roles at Metagenics, Shire Regenerative Medicine, and Bard Peripheral Vascular.
Lalita Nordquist
People Operations Executive Advisor
Lalita is a founding member of the NHRA-LA’s DEI Council (now ABC Collective). While no longer an active contributing member, she remains a strong proponent of the collective’s mission — believing that equitable, inclusive workplaces are built with intention, not assumption.
A seasoned HR executive, Lalita has led AI adoption initiatives and currently sits on the NHRA-LA’s AI Council. She understands that being an effective HR leader today means being fluent in psychology, business and finance, labor law, and technology. The thread running through all of it is safety, belonging, and equitable treatment.
As AI reshapes how organizations hire, develop, and retain talent, Lalita brings both the practitioner’s lens and the advocate’s voice — ensuring that the humans most at risk of being left behind by these systems remain at the center of the conversation.
Dr. Anita Polite-Wilson
Elite Team Strategist and Chair of The ABC Collective
Dr. Anita Polite-Wilson, Founder & CEO of Dr. Anita Enterprises, Inc., reframes diversity conversations from difficult to different. As a C-Suite trusted advisor and board director, she helps leaders and teams navigate the complexity of diversity endeavors — shifting the paradigm from “check-the-box-initiatives” to “change-the-culture-behaviors” that noticeably improve collaboration. Working with leaders for more than 20 years across corporate, government, and nonprofit sectors, she is a Fellow for the Simmons University Institute for Inclusive Leadership and lead facilitator for Duke CE (Corporate Education).
Her work includes facilitating Logitech G’s 2025 DEI Summit — a forward-thinking initiative that brought gaming industry employees, creators, and partners together to confront bias, build psychological safety, and develop actionable commitments to belonging — demonstrating how DEI can be reframed as human-centered culture work long before it became common practice.
A certified Psychological S.A.F.E.T.Y. Practitioner, Gallup Certified Strengths Coach, and iPEC Certified Professional Coach, Dr. Anita holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Human and Organizational Systems from Fielding Graduate University. She is a founding member of the NHRA’s LA/OC Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council, Chair of The Advocacy, Belonging, and Culture Collective, author of seven leadership books, and host of the podcast Keeping It Real with Dr. Anita
UCLA Extension is the continuing education division of UCLA. We offer courses and certificate programs online & campus.
UCLA Extension is the continuing education division of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). We offer over 5,000 open-enrollment courses and 180+ certificates in 80 fields of study. Courses are offered days, evenings, and weekends on the UCLA campus in Westwood and Downtown Los Angeles, and online. Courses range from business, arts, engineering, and IT to entertainment studies, public policy, public health, the humanities and more. Explore UCLA Extension at www.uclaextension.edu.
With more than 500 attorneys in 36 offices across the United States, Fisher Phillips is a national labor and employment firm providing practical business solutions for employers’ workplace legal problems. Labor and employment law is all the firm does, offering deep and broad knowledge and experience in the area of law the attorneys know best. Fisher Phillips attorneys help clients avoid legal problems, are dedicated to providing exceptional client service, and are there when you need them.
What Sets Us Apart
IMA
Employees want benefits, and businesses need to save while delivering value to hard-working teams. What if you had experts in health insurance, wellness programs and other benefits at your fingertips?
IMA offers a comprehensive suite of value-added services. We work closely with Human Resources Professionals to analyze current plans and identify coverage needs, then leverage relationships with underwriters to design terms and coverage for disability, vision, dental and health insurance.
IMA’s clientele represents annual premiums of more than $500 million, and we serve many sectors, with education, nonprofits and social services being best represented.
In every relationship, we rely on these fundamentals:
✔ People-first: Our style is consultative, and clients think of us as an extension of their team
✔ Beyond Insurance: We offer expertise in loss-control, ergonomics and more
✔ National and Global Resources: IMA is licensed in all 50 states
✔ A Culture of Engagement: A happy staff translates to happy clients
Our internal approach to your business is collaborative and allows us to be proactive, to stay on track and anticipate the needs of your growing business. IMA is unique in its approach to fielding client inquiries before and after plan implementation.
We’re honored that the Insurance and Brokers of the West (IABA) named IMA a top five broker and Agency of the Year.
If I can help you review coverage and create a custom employee benefits plan, reach out to me.
Nicole Ramirez
Associate Broker, Employee Benefits
(626) 507-1029 direct
(626) 922-7465 mobile
Specialties:
✔Employee benefits and HR support
✔Compliance services
✔Property and casualty insurance
✔Personal risk management
✔Alternative funding solutions
✔Talent acquisition services
✔Wellness programs
✔Industry specialists
✔Risk management and loss control
i4cp is the leading authority on next practices in human capital.
Discover next practice through a combination of global future of work research and a powerful peer community that allows you to make real-time, real-world decisions.
i4cp’s free Employer Resource Center helps thousands of CHROs and senior HR executives make better decisions on hybrid work, return to office, and more.
Nissin Foods
Creative, results-oriented Human Resources Leader with highly developed analytical and problem solving skills, proven strategic development abilities combined with the ability to collaborate with top organizational management to align organizations, culture and people to meet the needs of rapidly changing businesses, improve efficiency, productivity to achieve business objectives. Bilingual Spanish.
Specialties: Change agent, strategic partner, relationship builder, business alignment, shareholder focused, mentor, coach, leader, manager, and functional team-builder.
Employment Law Partner
As Partner at Fisher & Phillips, one of the largest US law firms representing management in labor and employment law, I have spent my career supporting business owners, companies, and employers in all aspects of employment law.
I help clients minimize regulatory and legal risk so they can focus on what really matters – their business. My experience includes working with small businesses to Fortune 500 companies with thousands of employees across a wide variety of industries from healthcare to manufacturing, construction, professional services, consumer goods, health care, food service, retail, non-profit and technology.
Employer Defense Partner
Hannah represents employers in all aspects of employment law, including advice and counsel.
Hannah’s focused areas include the defense of employers in class actions, PAGA claims and other wage and hour matters. Hannah also has experience in defending employers in employment discrimination, harassment, retaliation and wrongful termination litigation.
HRL Laboratories, LLC
Paula is an energetic Human Resources Leader with in-depth, broad-based Human Resources and organization development experience in start-up companies, turnarounds and market leaders in telecommunications, financial services, technology and energy research industries. A member of the various Human Resources teams. Proven analytical, and negotiation skills and reputation of leadership, professional coaching, management acumen and operational execution.
