Happy New Year!
As we step into 2026, I want to begin with deep gratitude. Thank you to our members, sponsors, volunteers, leadership council, and allies who continue to champion our mission. As a nonprofit organization, Partners in Diversity is able to advance this work because of the commitment of employers across sectors who invest through organizational membership and the sponsorship of our programs and events.
Your support fuels everything we do from welcoming professionals of color new to our region, to supporting communities too often overlooked, and to building workplaces where everyone can thrive. None of our impact would be possible without our member organizations and supporters like you.
Let’s be honest. 2025 tested many of us. Organizations and employees felt the strain of tighter budgets, shifting priorities, and increased financial pressure, alongside a changing and often confusing landscape around DEI. Many of us found ourselves in the unusual position of knowing exactly what our communities need and want while having to describe that work without the words we have used for the last two decades.
And yet, here’s what inspires me:
You didn’t walk away.
You stayed engaged.
You kept showing up.
You supported our community events and educational programs, lifted one another up, and continued doing the work regardless of changing vocabulary or political winds.
Maya Angelou once wrote, “Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently.” Her words feel especially timely now. Courage is exactly what keeps us steadfast.
It also keeps us honest about something essential: race matters.
It matters in how companies attract and retain top talent.
It matters in how employers innovate and stay competitive.
It matters in whether organizations can effectively serve all the customers, clients, and constituents who make up Oregon and southwest Washington, communities that are increasingly diverse, dynamic, and interconnected.
Ignoring race doesn’t make these realities go away. Acknowledging it, with intention, humility, and care, helps organizations and their leaders build stronger teams and deliver better outcomes. That is not political. That is simply good leadership and good business.
And that is why I’m optimistic about 2026.
As we look ahead, I invite all of us, employers, community partners, advocates, and allies, to continue choosing courage over convenience. To keep doing the right thing, even when it is harder. Because the path to a brighter future for our region depends on leaders who act with integrity, consistency, and compassion, especially when uncertainty is the norm, not the exception.
At Partners in Diversity, we remain steadfast in our mission. We will continue supporting professionals of color, building networks of belonging, offering spaces for learning and connection, and strengthening the practices that make our workplaces and communities healthier and more resilient.
Thank you for being part of our community, for your resilience, and for believing in the future we are building together.
Here’s to 2026, a year of courage, connection, creativity, and continued progress.
With gratitude and hope,
Jenny Kim
Executive Director
