We had a great group at our Closing the Gap: Real-World Negotiation Skills for Women panel last week! So no one has to experience too much FOMO, here’s a recap of the wisdom from our terrific panel, listed below. We are so grateful for their participation!

• Kara Southard – Associate General Counsel & Senior Director at Lithia & Driveway

• Chelsea Urban – Realtor and community leader with a decade of business experience

• Lt. Rebecca Pietila – First female Lieutenant at Medford Police Department

• Danielle Benitez – HR leader with 15 years of experience across finance, retail, and tech, and incoming President of Rogue Valley SHRM

Among the key takeaways were strategies for building confidence in your value, preparing with purpose, and sharpening your negotiation skills to get the outcomes you deserve.

Here are just a few tips and tools our attendees took away from the event:

• “Preparation, context, and knowing what you want the outcome to be are key to successful negotiations.”

• “When negotiating, it’s always worth taking your best shot — be confident and advocate for the value you bring.”

• “I appreciated the ease and knowledge of the panel. There were so many good takeaways that reinforced what I’ve spent decades studying.”

• “Aside from the great speakers, I loved being around amazing local women. It’s uplifting and inspiring—and that alone makes it worth attending.”

Thank you again to everyone who joined us for the October Negotiation Panel! We loved hearing your reflections and seeing the connections formed throughout the evening.

We’re hoping to host our next formal WLC Program in January, focusing on the exciting topic of AI, so make sure to stay tuned for more details!

Warmly,

The WLC Programs Team