Addressing Hate in Idaho

if you have questions about this event please contact IFHC Education Project Director, Peg Richards at [email protected]. Limited number of scholarships available. Contact Peg.

Intermountain Fair Housing Council is inviting the community to a panel discussion in how we can unite against hate, harassment, and discrimination in Idaho. Panelists include some of the top legal minds across local, state, and federal law programs in Idaho.

Panelists include:

The Honorable United States Attorney for the District of Idaho Joshua Hurwitt. On June 15, 2022, Joshua D. Hurwit was sworn in as the 32nd presidentially-appointed United States Attorney for the District of Idaho after having been nominated by President Biden and confirmed by the United States Senate. Mr. Hurwit joined the Office in 2012 as an Assistant United States Attorney. He has investigated and prosecuted financial crimes, public corruption cases, environmental crimes, cases brought under the RICO Act, and drug and firearms offenses. When he initially joined the office, he served in the civil division, handling environmental litigation and enforcement actions on behalf of the United States. In 2015, Mr. Hurwit received the Director’s Award for Excellence by a Litigative Team for his work as part of the team that successfully prosecuted United States v. Swenson et al., the securities and wire fraud case arising from the collapse of DBSI, Inc.

Mr. Hurwit grew up in Eugene, Oregon, and graduated from Stanford University in 2002. Before attending law school, Mr. Hurwit worked for a fair housing organization in the Bay Area. Mr. Hurwit graduated from Harvard Law School in 2006. He then clerked for U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald of the Southern District of New York and worked at national law firms before joining the United States Attorney’s Office in Idaho.

Mr. Hurwit has taught as an adjunct professor at the University of Idaho College of Law, has volunteered his time speaking to high school students about the criminal justice system, and has served on the boards of local non-profits.

Assistant United States Attorney Jacqueline Sahlberg, (details to follow)

Assistant United States Attorney Kate Horwitz, after graduating from art school, Kate Horwitz started volunteering with a sexual assault and domestic violence shelter. While there, she was exposed to the state criminal courts and the process of obtaining protective orders for survivors of domestic violence. That led her to law school, after which she clerked for three judges over four years – Judge Robin Cauthron in the Western District of Oklahoma and Judges Mary Beck Briscoe and Robert Bacharach on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. After clerking, Kate joined the Appellate Division in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Oklahoma. Now, as Executive Assistant United States Attorney with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho, she is pleased to work hand-in-hand with federal law enforcement to prosecute a variety of federal crimes, including intellectual property, civil rights, and child exploitation.

United States Department of Justice Community Relations Service Regional Director, Western for the Rocky Mountain and Northwestern Regions, Vincent Plair. In this capacity, he oversees all CRS field operations. Vincent Plair has joined the Community Relations Service (CRS) after decorated careers in law enforcement with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD), and United States Marine Corps active duty and reserve components. Having worked many assignments during his LASD tenure his most notable law enforcement tasks include establishing community outreach programs, training/education, public information, and being a long-time crisis negotiator where he worked with many of the southern California tactical teams during high-risk incidents. An Infantry Officer by military occupational specialty, he retired as a Colonel having worked a multitude of tactical, operational and staff assignments. An avid believer in seeking professional growth, Mr. Plair earned his Bachelors of Business Administration from the University of Houston, a Masters of Business from National University, and most recently a Doctorate of Education in Organizational Leadership from Brandman University. His research interests include leadership, social media/branding, and social justice. His doctoral dissertation titled “A Qualitative Study to Describe Behaviors that Exemplary Municipal Police Chiefs and Sheriffs Practice to Lead Their Organizations through Conversation” can be found at: https://digitalcommons.brandman.edu/edd_dissertations/157/

United States Department of Justice Community Relations Service, Conciliation Specialist James Ritter. Ritter’s 40-year law enforcement career spanned from 1980 until his retirement in 2020. As the Seattle Police Department’s full-time LGBTQ liaison, Ritter developed and coordinated dynamic and innovative community outreach programs, including the internationally recognized SPD SAFE PLACE Initiative. This concept was showcased during President Obama’s 21st Century Policing Conference and has been adopted by hundreds of law enforcement agencies throughout the United States and Canada. Jim Ritter is an internationally known subject matter expert on hate crimes awareness and improving LGBTQ/police relations.

Attorney and Partner Stoel Rives LLP and former United States Attorney for the District of Idaho, Wendy Olson (details to follow)

The program wil be facilitated by Intermountain Fair Housing Council Executive Director, Zoe Ann Olson who has served in this capacity for twelve years now. Ms. Olson has 14 years of experience as an attorney with Idaho Legal Aid Services, Inc. Ms. Olson has extensive housing law experience including the FHA and the Idaho housing law. She was a fair housing speaker at the Washington Affordable Housing Association Conference in 2019, at the Housing Solutions Conference in 2020, at the National Low-Income Housing Coalition Member Updates and the Fair Housing in Land Use and AFFH Conference at the University of Idaho in 2021, at the IREM and NARPM Fair Housing Idaho Conference in 2022 and 2023 respectively, and the lead fair housing training throughout Idaho in 2012 to 2023. In 2022, she is the recipient of the Idaho Woman Lawyers Bertha Stull Green Public Service Lawyer Award and the Inns of Court Unsung Hero Award.

Host or Publisher Intermountain Fair Housing Council