Presentation Details

"Building Culture Through Community and Co-Creation"

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This session explores how modern organizations build meaningful culture by partnering with the very people who shape it every day. Rather than treating culture as a top-down initiative, the conversation focuses on how community engagement and co-creation drive stronger connection, relevance, and business impact.

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Drawing from extensive experience leading people strategy in fashion and lifestyle brands, Rachel Donahue will share practical examples of how organizations can actively involve employees, customers, and broader communities in shaping workplace culture. The session highlights how listening at scale, creating shared ownership, and fostering authentic dialogue can elevate engagement while supporting performance and brand credibility.

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Attendees will gain insight into how community-driven culture supports innovation, strengthens talent retention, and keeps organizations aligned with evolving workforce expectations, particularly among younger generations. The discussion will also address common challenges, including balancing speed with inclusion, maintaining authenticity as organizations grow, and translating cultural values into everyday behaviors.

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This presentation is designed for leaders, HR professionals, and brand builders who want to move beyond culture as messaging and toward culture as lived experience. Expect practical frameworks, candid perspective, and actionable ideas that can be applied across industries.

Ultimately, the session reinforces a simple but powerful idea: culture is strongest when it is built with people, not just for them.

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Participants will leave ready to:​​

1. Co-create culture with employees and communities by involving the people who experience it every day in shaping values, initiatives, and decision-making.

2. Build systems for listening and authentic dialogue that help organizations stay connected to employee and customer perspectives while strengthening trust and relevance.

3. Turn cultural values into shared ownership and everyday behaviors that boost engagement, strengthen retention, and translate culture into measurable impact.

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Speaker Bio:

Rachel Donahue is Head of People at Pacsun, where she leads the strategy behind the brand’s most important asset: its people. With more than 25 years in fashion retail HR leadership, she has built a reputation for translating culture into real business impact, scaling teams, strengthening leadership capability, and creating workplaces where both performance and authenticity can thrive.

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Before Pacsun, Rachel held senior people leadership roles at Aritzia, Saks, Tory Burch, Macy’s, and TJX, partnering closely with executives to align talent, brand, and business strategy. Her approach blends operational rigor with cultural intuition, equal parts data, empathy, and a healthy respect for how unpredictable humans can be.

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At Pacsun, she has been instrumental in advancing youth-driven culture initiatives, leadership development frameworks, and community partnerships that keep the brand connected to the next generation. She’s particularly passionate about building organizations that move fast, stay human, and don’t take themselves too seriously along the way.

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Known for her candid style, sharp humor, and ability to make even HR topics feel relatable, Rachel brings both insight and levity to conversations about leadership, culture, and the future of work. She believes great culture isn’t perks or posters on the wall, it’s how people show up for each other when things get busy, messy, or just plain real.