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<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-outline-level: 1" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-VARIANT: small-caps; FONT-SIZE: 16pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman">Press Release<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman">For Immediate Distribution</FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman">February 21, 2012</FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman">CONTACT: Bob Estabrook, 503-709-0730</FONT></P>
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<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-outline-level: 1" class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Century Schoolbook'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Avakian Names Sunny Petit to Council on Civil Rights<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">Chair of Commission for Women joins OCCR effort on Equal Pay issues<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></I></P>
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<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">PORTLAND</st1:City></st1:place>—Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian today named a new member of the Oregon Council on Civil Rights (OCCR): Sunny Petit, current chair of the Oregon Commission for Women.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Petit will join her new OCCR colleagues at a Council meeting this Thursday, February 23, at 2:30pm in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Portland</st1:City></st1:place>.</FONT></FONT></P>
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<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman">“I’m pleased that Sunny has accepted this appointment,” Avakian said.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>“Sunny’s work to empower women to advance in politics and other fields is personally inspiring, as well as being invaluable to OCCR’s crucial effort to lay out an action plan to ensure equal pay for equal work in the state of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Oregon</st1:State></st1:place>.”</FONT></P>
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<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">Avakian established OCCR to advise him, as head of <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Oregon</st1:place></st1:State>’s Bureau of Labor and Industries and the state Civil Rights Division, and other interested agencies on civil rights issues affecting Oregonians.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Made up of diverse civil rights champions from around <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Oregon</st1:State></st1:place>, OCCR is currently focused on developing a practical, community-driven plan to promote pay equity and reward businesses for doing the right thing.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></P>
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<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman">“Equal pay for equal work is a challenging and necessary problem to address and I’m eager for that challenge,” Petit said.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>“OCCR brings together great minds and great perspectives and I look forward to adding to an already strong group.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Our Equal Pay Action Plan will be a great collaborative product.”</FONT></P>
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<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman">Petit is the Associate Director of Portland State University’s Center for Women, Politics and Policy and has studied and worked on issues such as human trafficking and women’s political development in the United States and abroad.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>A native of <st1:City w:st="on">Eugene</st1:City>, Petit has two degrees from <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Portland</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">State</st1:PlaceType> and helps to run the National Education for Women’s Leadership Oregon program which educates and empowers <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Oregon</st1:State></st1:place> college women for active participation in the public policy arena.</FONT></P>
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<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman">Information about OCCR’s meetings can be found </FONT><A href="http://www.oregon.gov/transparency/PublicMeetingNotices.shtml#Meeting_Calendar_View_"><FONT color=#0000ff size=3 face="Times New Roman">here</FONT></A><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman">; read more about Petit </FONT><A href="http://www.oregon.gov/Women/members.shtml"><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman">here</FONT></A><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman">. </FONT></P>
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<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoFooter align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman">The mission of the Bureau of Labor and Industries is to protect employment rights, advance employment opportunities, and protect access to housing and public accommodations free from discrimination. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></I></P></BODY></HTML>