Business Women's Forum 2022: 10/22 How to Build a Passion and Purpose Driven Career

Karra Porter has been President or Managing Director of Christensen & Jensen for 19 years. She is co-chair of the firm's Commercial Litigation and Crisis Management practice groups, and is one of the most experienced and successful commercial and appellate lawyers in Utah. She has consistently been recognized by Super Lawyers/Thomsen Reuters as one of the Top 100 Lawyers in the intermountain west (Utah, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and Wyoming), and as one of the nation's best attorneys for corporate and commercial matters. Karra has also been consistently named one of Utah's "Legal Elite" by Utah Business Magazine. 

After working as a journalist in her home state of Kansas, Karra went to law school at the University of Texas at Austin, graduating near the top of her class in 1987. Karra's specialty is complex federal litigation. She has recently handled large cases involving the Federal Trade Commission Act, Lanham Act, Internal Revenue Code, Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, False Claims Act, Small Business Act, National Labor Relations Act, Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and other federal and state statutes.

Karra is regularly hired by other lawyers and law firms to handle complex matters and appeals, and regularly advises or represents clients in media relations and crisis management matters.

Leslie Titus Bryant, Director of Marketing & Brand, Spectrum Solutions
2021 Utah Marketing Professional of the Year Winner, Leslie, is a successful medical science and laboratory medicine marketing executive holding undergraduate degrees in journalism and business management with a Master of Science in marketing and a Master of Professional Studies focused on the field of laboratory medicine concentrated in molecular diagnostics and clinical pathology. In addition to her full-time employment with Spectrum Solutions, Leslie sits on the Board of Directors for Intermountain Forensics DNA Laboratory, is a private scientific advisory board member, and is a Salt Lake Chamber Women's Business Forum Committee Member.

The birth of her middle child in 2000, who lives with Down syndrome, precipitated the interest, and cemented her passion for the life science industry and DNA. Leslie successfully created and sold two boutique marketing agencies, across two states, after 20 years of business facilitating a permanent shift from a 'marketing from the outside' approach to a 'marketing from the inside' corporate mission to accelerate the scientific journey and help bring science to life.

Industry marketing experience and leadership include extensive brand development, corporate design, digital marketing, web development, public relations, corporate communications, technical writing, market research, business management, and more. Leslie's industry experience includes laboratory medicine, molecular diagnostics, in vitro diagnostic (IVD) medical devices, specimen collection, saliva diagnostics, direct-to-patient (direct-to-consumer) specialized testing, development-to-delivery diagnostics-as-a-service (DaaS) test commercialization, companion diagnostics (CDx), Dx to Rx Solutions, liquid biopsy, oncology, genomics, proteomics, immunology, clinical research, clinical manufacturing, and forensic DNA science.

Daniel Hellwig, Laboratory Director, Intermountain Forensics
Daniel holds an M.S. in Forensic Science and is a 19+ year veteran of both Public and Private Crime Forensic DNA Laboratories. He has served as a DNA analyst, technical leader and in executive management of Forensic DNA laboratories over that time. He has provided training to hundreds of Forensic DNA labs and conferences on a variety of different topics. Armed with a black belt certification in Lean/Six Sigma process improvement and extensive experience in both quality and operational leadership, he provides executive oversight, develops, and maintains laboratory partnerships, case consultation and directs the future development of the laboratory.










NON-PROFIT SPOTLIGHT:  

Intermountain Forensics is a nonprofit Forensic DNA Testing Laboratory employing cutting edge molecular biology to cold cases. Their vision: the power of forensic DNA should never allow a victim's justice to go cold. Their mission: strive to ensure the full power of Forensic DNA will always be attainable, affordable, prompt, transparent and the highest possible quality by finding the best and most passionate people, embracing cutting edge science, constantly improving their processes and searching out like minded partners to help them achieve their vision.