Women’s History Month – Cascadia celebrates at leadership brunch

The Women of Cascadia Health Leadership Brunch brought together 75 if the organization’s women at the Jupiter Next Hotel on March 21. The event focused on inspiration and empowerment for women in the workplace.

Organized by Sandy Wilborn, Chief Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Officer, and the other women on the Executive Team (Beth Epps, Alana Silverman, and April Sweeney), this event celebrated the remarkable achievements and contributions of women leaders at Cascadia.

Wilborn’s opening speech noted the intentionality behind planning this event for Women’s History Month and emphasized the importance of fostering meaningful connections both professionally and personally. She underscored how these connections serve as the backbone of effective leadership, driving positive change within organizations and communities alike.

Diane Benavides Wille, MA, LCP, CADC I, Vice President of Equity, Inclusion, and Workforce Development at Lifeworks Northwest, echoed Wilborn’s sentiments. In her address, she emphasized the significance of finding community, sharing personal narratives, and uplifting others as essential elements of leadership.

A highlight of the event was a dynamic panel discussion sparked by topic submissions from attendees. Benavides Wille and Elle Marc-Charles, MBA, Vice President of Impact at Trillium Family Services joined Wilborn, Alana Silverman (Chief People Officer), Beth Epps (Chief Community Solutions Officer), and Saskia Hostetler Lippy (Medical Director of Acute Crisis Services) to share their insights on topics ranging from career advancement to advocacy.

The panelists addressed pressing issues like gender parity in promotions, the importance of supporting and uplifting fellow women in the workplace, and strategies for advocating for oneself in professional settings.

In a meaningful moment at the top of her speech, Wilborn said that she used the event’s sign-in sheet to determine that there were a staggering 500 years of female leadership experience represented in the room that morning. This pronouncement served as a testament to the wealth of knowledge and expertise present among Cascadia Health’s women leaders, as well as the advancement opportunities those represented at the event have been able to leverage.

The Women in Cascadia Health Leadership Brunch was designed not only as recognition for the dedication of our female leaders. Ideally, the conversations that started on Thursday will be a catalyst for ongoing dialogue and action towards a more equitable and inclusive future. Wilborn is using feedback from the event to generate more topics of discussion, employee resources, and future programming in support of employees.

Her ongoing efforts reflect Benavides Wille’s insistence that “March isn’t just a month of commemoration, it’s a call for action.”