Born in El Salvador, Patti Perez began living as a compassionate sharpshooter early in life. Patti and her family moved to the United States when she was three, and throughout the next several decades, she lived in San Francisco; Los Angeles; Houston; Washington, DC; Mexico City; and San Diego. These experiences taught her to be flexible and open-minded—making diplomacy and communication key skills.

Patti has continued to hone these skills in her professional life. A graduate of UCLA and the UCLA School of Law, Patti began her career as an employment law litigator, but quickly learned that the life of a litigator was not her calling. Her post-litigation career included leading an international judicial education program in Mexico City, working as the head of HR at Skadden Arps in DC, and serving as a shareholder at Ogletree Deakins in San Diego. Patti also founded Puente Consulting and for 14 years she dedicated her career to helping prevent and address workplace drama, including conducting more than 1,000 workplace investigations, training thousands of professionals, and serving as an expert witness. During that time, two California governors appointed Patti to the Fair Employment and Housing Council, where she authored a number of regulations clarifying various aspects of the state’s employment laws.

Patti currently serves as Vice President of Workplace Strategy for Emtrain, a culturetech company offering comprehensive online training programs, expert guidance, and insightful data analytics—all with the goal of creating healthy workplace cultures and eliminating workplace drama.

Patti and her husband, Tom, live in San Diego, where they spend their time enjoying the life of empty nesters but still miss their kids: Nick, Christina, and Tony.