Dr. Paul M. Buckley has honed his expertise in workforce experience, people and culture throughout his impactful career in Higher Education and academic healthcare, leading the culture and experience strategy as Vice President and Chief Workforce Experience Officer, and the former Chief Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Officer, at the Fred Hutch Cancer Center (Seattle, WA).
Dr. Buckley invests in the transformation of organizational culture and structure for the benefit of patients, researchers, clinicians, staff, and administrators. He has laid a deep foundation for sustainable change in academic healthcare, inclusive excellence in cancer research and treatment, and workplace culture. As a daily workforce experience practitioner, he is an experienced facilitator of dialogue processes, difficult conversations, strategy and leadership development. Grounded in scholarship, reflective and intentional living, leadership praxis, and skill, Paul is a capacity builder for groups and organizations. He brings critical insight, passion, and care to solutions-driven work including building psychological safety and belonging, policy activation, strategy and implementation, solidarity development, the interrogation of power, and innovating inclusion. Paul is a norm disrupter and bridge builder for sustainable change.
Prior to his work at Fred Hutch, Dr. Buckley championed an impactful career in Higher Education, spanning twenty-five years of service and innovation in several areas including access and retention, multicultural affairs, diversity education, leadership development, community engagement, and men’s identity development. His former roles include: Assistant Vice President and Inaugural Director of The Butler Center (for diversity, equity, inclusion, intercultural exchange, and empowerment) at Colorado College; Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Students at Dartmouth College, where he was recognized for excellence in advising and contributions to furthering a dialogic campus on diversity topics; Associate Dean for Student Life at Andrews University, where he engaged the campus in a series of consciousness-raising University Forums centered on social justice at the intersections of faith and spirituality. He spent a decade at Syracuse University, where in 2003, he co-founded the nationally recognized and award-winning WellsLink Leadership Program, for which he won a Silver Award of Excellence from the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) in 2006. Dr. Buckley has been an activator for best practices in student development, leadership, and inclusive excellence, and serves as a consultant for diversity and social justice topics in Education. He is passionate about developing and facilitating transformative experiences for students and professionals, believing in Education as a powerful vehicle for change.
Buckley earned his Ph.D. in Cultural Foundations of Education from Syracuse University’s School of Education (2012). He has presented papers and speeches on various aspects of his scholarly work. In 2013, he became a Fellow for the Gender Research Institute at Dartmouth (GRID), furthering his interest in Black masculinities at the intersection of faith commitments. He is a speaker and presenter at inter/national conferences and retreats. He was associate faculty for the inaugural African American Policy Forum Summer School (2021). His recent service to community-based organizations, statewide and national boards and councils, includes the National Cancer Center Network, TIAA Diversity & Inclusion Council, Life Science Washington, Cierra Sisters, and the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education (founding vice chair). Dr. Buckley is a mentor to hundreds of youth and young professionals. He believes strongly in the critical work of humanistic praxis. He enjoys his family, hiking, good reads, and great company.
