Photo of Laurie Lippin, Ph.D. and Stephanie Puentes on this page by ©2009 John Mutrux

Laurie B. Lippin, Ph.D. is a passionate presenter whose commitment to diversity inspires all who work with her. She is a founding partner of Equity Action, LLC and teaches at the University of California, Davis. As a soulful accordionist with the HarmoniaSchvesters she plays her own ethnic Yiddish music. In addition to her work with clients, Laurie is a frequent conference presenter where her keynotes and seminars are enthusiastically received. Laurie believes we need to work as individuals and in coalitions to bring needed societal changes and equity for all.

Laurie is co-author of the popular text: UnRaveling Whiteness (Kendall-Hunt, 2009), which is used extensively in Equity Action's diversity offerings. She has been involved in diversity work for most of her adult life, but only in the last 20 years did she begin to interrogate her own whiteness, and through that, her own Jewessness. Her collaboration with Judy Helfand for the original 2001 publication of Understanding Whiteness/Unraveling Racism was the result of many years of participation in a women's whiteness group and then community offerings of workshops on the topic. The goal of her diversity commitment is the elimination of racism in our lifetime. She believes that we will not end racism until white people are just as committed to ending it as are people of color. AND, when that happens, we will remove some existing barriers to a truly multicultural society.

Laurie served for 15 years on the training faculty of the Association of Psychological Type International, and currently delivers Myers Briggs Type Indicator^® (MBTI^®) certification trainings for Psychometrics Canada. The MBTI^® is a cornerstone of Equity Action's teambuilding practice. She is a graduate of the Newfield Network, and Organizational and Relationship Systems Coaching schools and offers executive, relationship, and diversity coaching to Equity Action clients.

Click here to read Laurie B. Lippin's resume.

Stephanie Puentes brings her deep commitment to social justice to her work as a presenter, trainer, and facilitator. After a 28-year career in the high tech industry she cofounded Equity Action, LLC to pursue her passion for a more inclusive and multicultural world. She believes that individual transformative learning is the key to creating change in ourselves and our communities.

Stephanie's work in the area of racial justice uses a combination of experiential techniques and lecture to increase the understanding of both the normativeness of whiteness in the United States, and the experiences of people of color in adapting to that world. This is also the basis for her work on climate justice where she acts as a bridge between the social justice and sustainability communities to help strengthen equity's place in the triple bottom line along with the environment and the economy.

Stephanie is an expert in employee resource group (ERG) development and leads groups through the process of re-energizing their membership and understanding the ERG Lifecycle. She was a founding member of Hewlett Packard's first global ERG and served in leadership roles with both the Latino and LGBT ERGs in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Stephanie is a certified Myers-Briggs Type Indicator^® (MBTI^®) practitioner and a presenter at the APTi bi-annual conference. She is a Fellow of the Leadership Institute for Ecology and the Economy. Stephanie is a board member of Community Action Partnership Sonoma County and President of the Board of Downtown College Prep (DCP), a charter high school whose mission is to prepare under-achieving students to thrive at four-year universities.

Click here to read Stephanie Puentes' resume.