Fresh Solutions for Flexible Workplaces


Brand Story – Are you trying to find your workplace’s new state of normal? How about ways to attract and retain talented staff? Join this webinar and hear from three major, local employers as they discuss why and how to plan for a future that includes hybrid, remote, and in-office work.

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From headlines about “The Great Resignation,” to stories about the heads of major companies making ultimatums for their staff to return to the office, only to be met with varying degrees of pushback, it’s hard to overlook the fact that our culture is undergoing a major shift in its attitude about where work is performed. Other factors are also impacting attitudes toward commuting for work: rapidly rising fuel prices, ever-lengthening commutes, and the stubbornly persistent health and safety concerns associated with COVID-19. If you own or manage a business with employees who worked from home during the pandemic, some combination of these factors is, most likely, making you think long and hard about whether and to what extent you will require your team to reconvene in person.

You are not alone! Join Get There Oregon and partners for the third installment of the Thriving Workplaces Webinar Series, which will bring together leadership from three major, Portland-area employers who have grappled with this exact issue. This panel of experts will have a round-table discussion about their varying approaches to hybrid and remote work, the circumstances that led them to adopt their current policies, and the outcomes of those policies thus far. Panelists will field audience questions at the end of the discussion.

Moderator:

 

Jeff Pazdalski

Jeff PazdalskiJeff is Executive Director of Westside Transportation Alliance (WTA), a nonprofit that provides member organizations and their employees information, incentives, and assistance to encourage transportation options use, including transit, carpooling, vanpooling, bicycling, and walking, for commute trips in Washington County. WTA creates customized services to meet the unique needs of businesses and their employees and manages incentive programs that are open to anyone that lives or works in Washington County. Jeff has more than 25 years of nonprofit leadership experience, and he serves on the Board of Directors of the Transportation Options Group of Oregon. Jeff’s passion for promoting transportation options was sparked when he previously spent nearly eight years relying on bicycling, walking, and transit for commuting to work and getting his kids to school.

Featured Panelists:

 
Cassie Buckroyd

Cassie Buckroyd 1120x1120Cassie is currently the Sr. Manager of Total Rewards Experience at Columbia Sportswear Company (CSC). She has worked at CSC for 8 years and started as the company’s first Wellness Program Manager, growing the corporate wellness program from inception to what is currently a global initiative and cornerstone of total rewards and talent programs. Cassie’s current team is focused on delivering impactful Total Rewards programs across CSC’s diverse workforce using CSC’s Total Rewards Philosophy and 5 Pillars of Wellbeing to drive program design and delivery.

Cassie currently resides in Portland, OR. She was born and raised in the Willamette Valley of Oregon and received her Master of Public Health degree from Portland State University and Bachelor’s degree at Oregon State University. She serves on the Board of Directors for two local nonprofits — as Board Chair for the Westside Transportation Alliance, and as the Personnel Committee Chair for Adelante Mujeres.

In her free time, she can mostly be found in the outdoors, hiking and backpacking around the Pacific Northwest and beyond.

Eric LoPrete

Eric LoPrete 1120x1120Eric LoPrete is the Sustainability Education Coordinator at Washington County. In this role, Eric helps educate County staff and community partners on sustainability topics such as climate change, energy efficiency, environmental justice, and transportation options. To help support a hybrid work environment, Eric transitioned all the County’s sustainability education opportunities to a virtual format, including live Sustainability Series events and at-your-own-pace online learning modules. Eric has a Master’s in Sustainability from Arizona State University and served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Paraguay before returning home to Oregon.

Dave Vernier

Vernier David 5x7 1120x1120Dave Vernier founded Vernier Software in 1981, when he was a Hillsboro High School physics teacher.  The company, now Vernier Software & Technology, just celebrated their 40th anniversary. They employ about 105 people in Beaverton, Oregon. They produce sensors, interfaces, software, books, and related equipment for science teachers. Vernier products are using in over 130 countries. Dave is still involved on a daily basis, promoting the use of Vernier products in STEM education. Vernier Software & Technology has received numerous awards and has been named “One of the Best 100 Places to Work in Oregon” over 20 times, and Best Green Workplaces every year since that competition started.

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Brand stories are paid content articles that allow Oregon Business advertisers to share news about their organizations and engage with readers on business and public policy issues.  The stories are produced in house by the Oregon Business marketing department. For more information, contact associate publisher Courtney Kutzman.