Suzanne Townsend is a partner in AgreementsWork, a dispute resolution and consulting firm that has provided negotiation, facilitation and training around the world since 1979. She comes to her work as a mediator, facilitator and teacher with a background and training in law. After more than twenty five years as a litigator, legal advisor and arbitrator, Suzanne changed her career focus to the teaching and practice of collaborative negotiation and facilitation.

Suzanne’s skills include conflict resolution, public and private meeting facilitation, board training and development, strategic planning, intercultural communication training and negotiation coaching. As a facilitator, Suzanne can quickly comprehend complex information and data, and she can synthesize the information into manageable executive summaries. She is noted for her ability to work with many different kinds of peoples and philosophies, and for her ability to create a comfortable climate that allows people to move difficult agendas towards a common goal.

Suzanne has substantive experience in the areas of government regulation and licensing, including practical experience in administrative, environmental and construction disputes on both the state and federal levels. She also has practical experience in the areas of environmental and public policy planning, transportation planning, real estate, public and private contracting, energy generation, hydropower licensing processes, international trade disputes, elections, labor management, federal Indian law and indigenous dispute resolution practices.

Suzanne's experience as an administrator and problem-solver makes her a sought-after facilitator and organizer for complex cases and projects. As a facilitator or trainer, she is organized, approachable and unflappable. She is a frequent speaker, and trains in the areas of collaborative negotiations and intercultural communication. She is a past President of the National Native American Bar Association, a past President of the Oregon State Bar Government Law Section, a past Commissioner for the ABA’s Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession.

Suzanne is a member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, enrolled at Fond du Lac. She currently serves as Chief Judge for the Klamath Tribal Court, as Judge for the Grand Ronde Tribal Court, and on the Appellate Courts panel for the Northwest Intertribal Courts System.

• Moot Court Board
• Regional winner - Best Brief, International Moot Court Competition
• Law review staff, Cohen Handbook of Indian Law, 1980 edition

• National Native American Bar Association, Immediate Past President
• Northwest Indian Bar Association, Board member
• ABA, Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession, Commissioner
• ABA, House of Delegates, Member
• ABA, Section on Environment, Energy and Natural Resources, Vice Chair
• ABA, Tort and Insurance Practice Section, Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee, Vice Chair
• National Coalition of Bars of Color, Steering Committee Member
• Oregon State Bar, Government Law Section, Past Chair
• Oregon State Bar, Alternative Dispute Resolution Section, Executive Committee

• Partner, AgreementsWork

  AgreementsWork provides services, consultation and training in the areas of negotiation, multi-party facilitation, arbitration and intercultural communication. We have extensive experience throughout the United States, in Indian Country, and in Russia, (including the former Soviet Union), Nicaragua, Guatemala, Cuba, Australia, Canada, Poland, Ecuador, Costa Rico and Mexico.
  
  Suzanne’s most recent projects include facilitation of a multi-party hydropower re-licensing negotiation, providing negotiation training and coaching for both labor and management at a large Washington hospital about to enter labor negotiations, and facilitation of a state-wide discussion regarding Oregon DEQ’s Use Attainability Analysis process. All projects came to successful conclusions.
  
  Suzanne is a member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe. Her partner, Jon Townsend, is a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.

• Oregon Deputy Secretary of State – 1998-2000

  The Deputy Secretary of State serves as the Chief Operating Officer for the Oregon Department of State, which includes the Oregon Audits, Elections, Corporation, and Archives Divisions. The agency has 200 full time employees and a biennial budget in excess of $30 million.

• Assistant Attorney General, Oregon Department of Justice – 1990-1998

  Suzanne served as the Attorney-in-Charge of the DOJ Government Services Section, overseeing the work of the general counsel attorneys advising the core agencies of Oregon government, including: the Judicial Department; the Oregon Lottery Commission; Oregon State Police; the Department of Corrections; the Oregon Youth Authority; the Oregon Department of Transportation; the State Fire Marshall, the Secretary of State; the State Ethics Commission; the Department of Administrative Services (Executive, Budget and Management, Purchasing, Risk Management, Accounting); Legislative Administration, Special assignments: Governor’s contact with the USTR for international trade issues; Indian Law specialist; ADR Czar.

• Regional Trial Counsel, FDIC – 1987-1990

  Suzanne served as both a litigator and as advisory counsel for the San Francisco regional office of the FDIC, preparing and litigating complex cases in a five-state region. The practice focus included banking law and regulation, commercial business and lending. Suzanne regularly advised federal bank examiners and liquidators working for bank trustees about environmental issues related to failed loans.

• Attorney-at-Law, Portland, Oregon – 1980-1987

  General business and commercial litigation practice. Suzanne advised business clients in such diverse contract and environmental matters as environmental assessments in real estate purchasing to compliance with hazardous waste disposal regulations in the metal fabricating industry. Her diverse client base included dry cleaning establishments, restaurants and large manufacturing concerns.