Relay Resources Adds Vice Presidents of Employee Experience, Business Transformation

PORTLAND, Ore.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#DisabilityInclusion—Relay Resources, the Pacific Northwest’s leading social enterprise nonprofit committed to advancing disability inclusion in the workplace, has added two senior leaders to its executive team: Oscar Rico-Cazares was named Vice President, Employee Experience and Talent Management, while Paulien van Uden was promoted to Vice President of Business Transformation.

As Vice President, Employee Experience and Talent Management, Rico-Cazares will design and execute a disability-centric talent strategy that supports the success, growth, and well-being of disabled and non-disabled Relay employees. Van Uden, as Vice President of Business Transformation, will play a key role in advancing Relay’s most important initiatives, including leading Relay’s enterprise transformation efforts to advance the organization’s operational excellence, mission impact, and sustainable growth.

“The addition of Oscar and Paulien is key to achieving our ambitious growth targets at Relay,” said Relay Resources CEO, Chief Disability Inclusion Officer, and President Dr. Jennifer Camota Luebke. “Paulien has been an asset leading our Enterprise Project Management Office, and we’re excited for her continued leadership in her new role. Oscar’s long track record of human resources expertise, uplifting minoritized communities, and designing employee experience programs make him a great fit for our team.”

Oscar Rico-Cazares, Vice President, Employee Experience and Talent Management

With expertise in organizational operations, human resources, and workplace culture, Rico-Cazares has spent more than a decade as a progressive leader working in HR and beyond.

Most recently, he spent three and a half years at the nonprofit Latino Network, serving as Director of Human Resources before becoming Director of Human Resources & Benefits in 2023, then taking on the role of Interim Deputy Director of Workplace Culture and Operations in 2025. As deputy director, he supported Latino Network’s management and the organization’s $25 million budget, ensuring alignment between programs, operations, and strategic priorities.

Rico-Cazares currently serves on the board of Adelante Mujeres, a nonprofit that addresses the needs of marginalized immigrant Latina women. Before joining Latino Network, he worked for six years at HR consulting company Xenium HR, serving as Human Resources Business Partner for his last three years there.

Rico-Cazares has a bachelor of arts in Business Administration: Human Resources Management and a master of arts in Educational Leadership and Policy, both from Portland State University. He is a certified coach in CliftonStrengths—a development tool for leadership, learning and professional growth—and earned a certificate in adult learning as part of his master’s degree.

Paulien van Uden, Vice President of Business Transformation

Van Uden joined Relay Resources in 2024, where she built and scaled the organization’s Enterprise Project Management Office (EPMO), helping to shape a culture of structured delivery and change adoption. This led her to becoming Relay’s Enterprise EPMO Director until taking on the Vice President of Business Transformation role this month.

Before joining Relay, van Uden served as a consultant, supporting organizations in turning complex strategies into actionable programs with measurable outcomes. She started her career at Nike, where she spent over 18 years working on large-scale business transformation efforts and initiatives spanning innovation, manufacturing, sourcing, supply chain, and sustainability.

Throughout her career, van Uden has made intentional transitions to align her work more closely with purpose, reflecting a long-standing desire to apply her expertise in service of mission-driven organizations like Relay.

Originally from the Netherlands, van Uden moved to the United States for her career 10 years ago and now lives in the Portland area. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Facility Management from Hogeschool Wageningen and is certified in change management through Prosci and in program management via Cadence.

Dr. Camota Luebke adds that Rico-Cazares and van Uden’s people-driven skills made them particularly exciting hires. “Their dedication to uplifting people in their prior workplaces shows their character,” she says. “Oscar’s ability to work with our talented team of employees to support their success, coupled with Paulien’s ability to move our organizational goals forward, will help us tremendously in our mission.”

About Relay Resources

Relay Resources is the leading disability social enterprise nonprofit in the Pacific Northwest, with a mission to transform workplaces and communities by championing disability inclusion. The organization employs over 950 team members in four lines of business: Building Solutions, which includes janitorial, landscaping, and floor care services; Document Solutions; Supply Chain Solutions; and Disability Inclusion and Accessibility Consulting Services. Additionally, Relay operates three programs: Competitive Integrated Employment, which places and supports disabled people in competitive jobs in the community; abilIT, a cybersecurity and technology training and job placement program; and Affordable Housing, which manages 760 units for 1,500 residents, 27% of whom have a household member with a disability. Learn more at relayresources.org.

Contacts

Media contact:
Alfonso Carmona
SVP Marketing & Innovation
marcomm@relayresources.org