Green Room Board Leadership

Adrienne Livingston is from Portland, Oregon, has a dog, Romeo, and has a life value of giving back to community and upholding justice and care. She lives that out through the work she does and as a volunteer with organizations that are serving vulnerable communities. She has served in the role of Director of Anti-Sex Trafficking Initiatives with WorldVenture for 10 years. She has served in the nonprofit philanthropic and grant making community for over 25 years. Adrienne currently serves as a board member for Volunteer of America Oregon and The Lowenstein Trust. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, International Business and International Studies from Oregon State University and her Master of Arts in Intercultural Studies from Western Seminary. Adrienne is bilingual in Spanish and English and has traveled to and or lived in numerous countries including Costa Rica, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Lebanon and India. She is a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar to the Dominican Republic. On the artistic side, Adrienne is an auctioneer and a voiceover actor where she enjoys sharing her voice to bring stories and characters to life in commercials, e-learning, nonprofit videos, documentaries and animation!

Adam Edgerly is the founder and CEO of Culture Consultants, and an interculturalist with Awaken Group. He is an intercultural specialist and gifted communicator who has led transformational workshops for thousands across five continents. With over thirty years of experience in public speaking, Adam has a unique ability to distill complex concepts into memorable principles and actions. His consulting work draws upon the latest technology in the fields of intercultural communication, behavioral science, and the neuroscience of change, along with his twenty plus years of senior executive experience, leading and training diverse teams. Adam loves learning. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Biola University, where he earned his BA and MA in Intercultural Studies, with field research in leadership and language in Mali, West Africa. He also has an MBA from Emory University, with an international exchange at the University of Manchester, and a Certificat de Langue Français from Université Paris Sorbonne (Paris IV). Adam is passionate about integrating biblical principles into life and leadership. He is the Founder of Newsong Los Angeles Covenant Church, a multicultural community committed to reconciliation in Christ. Prior to his twelve years as Lead Pastor of Newsong LA, Adam served the Evangelical Covenant Church Denomination as Associate Director of Global Evangelism, and as the Pacific Southwest Regional Director of Church Planting. He currently resides in Los Angeles, where he loves spending time at the beach with his wife and daughter.

Deborah Wilds is a Senior Fellow at the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust. Dr. Wilds has dedicated her life’s work to expanding the secondary school to college pipeline for underrepresented students as a teacher, founder of an independent school, president of the College Success Foundation, senior program officer for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and deputy director of the American Council on Education’s Office of Minorities in Higher Education. Throughout her career, Dr. Wilds has served on numerous public, university and non-profit boards. She serves as a coach in the Trust’s Essentials of Development and Board Leadership Development programs, as well as a faculty member in its Green Room: Board Leadership for People of Color. She holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education Policy, Planning and Administration from the University of Maryland College Park. She and her husband, Fred, reside in Sacramento, CA.

Since 2018, Cedric has been a trusted Advisor at Seattle Foundation where he supports philanthropists to build relationships and bridge their passions with critical community needs. Cedric brings expertise in philanthropy, non-profit leadership, sales, marketing and consulting. From families to nonprofits to businesses, Cedric works with a wide variety of philanthropists and impact organizations to ensure they receive a personal approach to their community impact. Prior to the Seattle Foundation, Cedric managed national partnerships at Casey Family Programs – the nation’s largest operating foundation focused on safely reducing the need for foster care in the United States. As an active community member, Cedric has served as a University Trustee, Board Director, Board Advisor, Committee member and Coach across the nonprofit sector. Cedric’s personal philanthropic interests and passions include affordable housing, education, mentorship and youth development, preventing gun violence and vigilantism, and foster care. In his personal time, Cedric enjoys spending time with family, golfing and playing capoeira.

For more than 30 years — College President, Dean & Professor, Impact Strategist, Executive Coach…and even Marine Drill Instructor for Officers — West has partnered with work leaders to align efforts to impact. By profession, Russ is a certified executive performance coach, facilitating C-suite decision support for Advent Health in Tampa, Ocala, North Pinnelllas and several non-acute teams (HR, Marketing, VPs). He excels at cultivating empathic work teams that leverage their strengths for uncommon social impact. In his spare time, he learns quiet from horses, autonomy from a sailboat and whimpering through pandemic-induced yoga.

Katherine served Southcentral Foundation as President and CEO for more than 30 years. She is faculty of the Harvard Medical School since 2015, she has won several awards such as the 2015 Harry S, Hertz Leadership Award presented by the Foundation for Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, she is a 2004 MacArthur Genius fellow, she has two honorary doctorates one from Alaska Pacific University and one from the University of Alaska. She owns Katherine Gottlieb Strategies, LLC, working with global and local leaders in redesign, mentorship, and improvements of healthcare and cultural approaches. As a Senior Fellow, Katherine will provide valuable support to the Trust in our convening work as well as critical insight into the current needs of Native communities, communities in Alaska and the healthcare sector and how we can continue to offer meaningful support.

Dr. Kinney began her early career in education as a middle and high school English teacher, a middle and high school principal, and a district school administrator. Her experiences also include working in the business world with the IBM Corporation as a marketing support representative. Her position with IBM optimized and developed skillsets which were transferable from business to education perspectives, as well as developed personal growth opportunities. Her acquired expertise as a coaching consultant, both with the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust and with Cadence Leadership & Communication, includes strategic planning, board development, effective communication skills, cultural proficiency awareness, and philanthropy. Dr. Kinney provides leadership training in building and improving individuals and organizations in developing effective leadership skills. Dr. Kinney’s coaching approach is to empower her clients to become effective leaders based on three essential components: open and honest communications, inquiry, and listening for understanding. Her coaching style is to build a positive relationship based on trust that supports an organization and/or individuals to achieve their intended mission and goal. She has served on several non-profit boards, which include, but are not limited to: Providence St. Vincent Medical Foundation Council of Trustees, Providence St. Vincent Heart Advisory Board, Portland State University Foundation Board, George Fox University Board of Trustees, CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) Board of Trustees, Antioch University Seattle Board of Trustees, and World Affairs Council of Oregon Board of Trustees. Dr. Kinney received her B.A. from Yankton College, South Dakota; M.A. in Psychology from Antioch University, Seattle; and Ed.D. from Lewis & Clark College, Portland, Oregon.

Perry Rhue is an Executive Coach-sultant and former internal Leadership Coach at IBM. Perry is also the founder of The Rising Awareness Journey, a social change movement equipping professionals with the skillset to effectively navigate through the “difficult and challenging” conversations about racism and related social constructs. His 30 plus years of experience in various areas of business gives him a healthy and diverse background for coaching business professionals and teams. Perry is known for his work in executive coaching, team coaching, coach training, talent management, and professional development. His expertise is helping individuals and teams understand their unique personality traits, gifts, talents, strengths, temperament, and “blind spots.” Next, he coaches them to a place of effective performance and service within an organization. Perry’s clients have continued to be recognized for their leadership accomplishments as a result of coaching. Specializing in: • Professional & Leadership Development • Executive Coach-sulting • Career Transition Coach-sulting • Building More Cohesive Teams • Creating Leadership Coaching Cultures w/i Organizations

Dr. Yvette M. Alex-Assensoh serves at the University of Oregon as Vice President for Equity and Inclusion, with the responsibility for collaboratively leading the University of Oregon’s efforts to embed inclusion, equity and diversity in its institutional practices, policies, and norms. Her portfolio reaches broadly across many aspects of campus life, supporting the academic mission of the institution to ensure that students, faculty and staff from all backgrounds have an equal opportunity to access, as well as to thrive and, ultimately, to succeed at the University. Prior to joining the University of Oregon in her current position, Yvette served as a tenured Professor of Political Science and a Dean at Indiana University in Bloomington. While there, she won outstanding research awards, secured national funding for her research projects, served as a Fulbright Scholar at University of Zagreb in Croatia and also led national committees focusing on issues of equity, diversity, teaching excellence and ethics. She is the author/co-author of five books, dozens of scholarly essays and numerous journalistic/trade essays. She is a consultant on diversity/gender issues. Yvette, who is a trained lawyer and registered mediator, is a member of the Indiana State Bar. Yvette and her husband (Indiana University History Professor Emeritus A.B. Assensoh) are parents of two teen-age sons.