Beginning in 2026, I took a “radical sabbatical”—not a break, but a reckoning.

After more than two decades as a legal expert in workplace discrimination, harassment investigations and workplace conflict, I reflected not only on my own career journey, but the hundreds of stories that were entrusted to me from the spaces I had worked that I carried forward on this journey of introspection.  

I thought of the migrant farm workers working in the sun in Colorado whose rights were ignored; the unhoused individuals on Skid Row searching for work; the mothers facing cancer and wondering whether they would lose their jobs and benefits.  I thought of the employees who risked everything to speak up.  In addition, I thought of the countless leaders and employers I have worked with who found themselves navigating fear, conflict, burnout and organizational failure.  The leaders who felt isolated, overwhelmed, and pressured, as they lacked the tools to address complex and seemingly impossible situations.  I thought about the boards who wrestled with decisions to define an organization’s future and the managers trying to lead through situations they were not prepared to handle. And lastly, I thought of my own father, a janitor who worked his entire lifetime, in whom I witnessed the quiet dignity of hard work, the lasting impact workplaces have on people, the opportunities they create as well the burdens they impose, and the marks they leave long after any workday. 

I scrutinized the common patterns in my span of work in tribal law, higher education, public interest law, labor, state/federal government, non-profit organizations and even globally when I worked in the international human rights arena in Mexico City. Combined with the years of stories and conversations I held, it revealed a truth I could no longer ignore: Workplace Harm Prevention serves everyone and litigation serves no-one. 

By the time a complaint becomes a lawsuit or a crisis becomes a headline, the damage has already spread and the window of opportunity to prevent harm is gone.  The reputation, the trust and unnecessary bleeding, of sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars now sits in the courtroom. Though litigation is sometimes necessary, it rarely ends in success. It is a consequence of risks that went unidentified, conversations that never happened and cultures that needed support.

This sacred period of reflection created the clarity and space necessary to build something new. Through intentional inquiry, deep learning and purposeful design, the foundation of Beyond Acknowledgment was born. 

Beyond Acknowledgement is a practice built on the premise that workplace harm can be prevented and be addressed before it becomes litigation, before attrition and before organizational crisis. And most importantly workplace harm can be prevented in a manner that is grounded in dignity and integrity. Our practice combines organizational risk prevention with integrity strategy and resolutions rooted in Indigenous Peace Making court frameworks to create a workplace ecosystem where everyone thrives.

Jennie Marie Duran, J.D.
Founder, Beyond Acknowledgment LLC