Industry leaders from across the marketing ecosystem will respond to questions from Gen Z employees at a special event during AdvancingDiversity Week. All marketing, media, advertising and entertainment business employees in the early years of their careers are invited to register now to secure your place via Zoom on Thursday, September 23 virtually from noon to 2:00pm ET.
The Town Hall will focus on empowering Gen Z team members to speak truth to leaders and to share their questions and counsel on how the industry can improve its success in Advancing Diversity from Inclusion to Belonging, the theme of inaugural Advancing Diversity Week September 20-23rd. The two-hour Advertising & Media Gen-Z Town Hall Assembly is the vision of MediaVillage and Advancing Diversity.org founder Jack Myers, who has been leading the industry's collective focus on diversity for more than a decade.
"The powerful goal for the two-hour diversity-focused event is to promote open communication among senior management, DEI leaders and the next generation of employees representing those in the first five years of their careers," Myers explains.
The collective industry event will feature the2021 Advancing Diversity Hall of Honors inductees and Advancing Diversity Council members. The Town Hall will open with a "State of Affairs" presented by Marc S. Pritchard, Chief Brand Officer at P&G and Chairman of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), and Marla Kaplowitz, President of the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4As).
In addition to media company leaders, the 10 Advancing Diversity Hall of Honors inductees who will be sharing their stories and responding to audience questions are:
- 4A's / American Association of Advertising Agencies' President and Chief Executive Officer Marla Kaplowitz
- 4A's Foundation's Executive Vice President of Talent and Engagement Simon Fenwick
- AAF / American Advertising Federation's President and Chief Executive Officer Steve Pacheco
- American Family Insurance's Vice President and Head of Marketing Sherina Smith
- Citi's Interim Chief Marketing Officer Tina Davis
- dentsu Americas' Chief Diversity Officer Christena Pyle
- Entertainment Studios' Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Byron Allen
- Howard University's Cathy Hughes School of Communications' Dean and Professor Gracie Lawson-Borders
- MOBE / Marketing Opportunities in Business & Entertainment's Founder Yvette Moyo
- The CW's Executive Vice President of Development Gaye Hirsch
Moderating duties will be shared by Myers, The FQ's Chief Innovation Officer Ronda Carnegie, and AdvancingDiversity.org Executive Director Philip McKenzie. Carnegie, who co-founded the Advancing Diversity Council, said: "Our hope is to harness the next generation to advance diversity perspectives and industry growth based on proven programs and initiatives with a path forward."
McKenzie, who hosts The Pool podcast, added: "Our intent is to minimize the gap between management and employees, improving industry and company culture, growing team spirit, and reversing the trend toward young people leaving the industry to pursue new career goals."
The inaugural Advancing Diversity Week, the advertising and media industry's first-ever virtual multi-day diversity-focused gathering, is themed D-E-I + Belonging! on Monday, September 20; Belonging + Retention on Tuesday, September 21; and Multicultural + Meaning on Wednesday, September 22.To learn more about the over 70 Advancing Diversity Week speakers and thought-provoking topics, visit https://week.advancingdiversity.org/
The Advancing Diversity Week programs are underwritten by:
CATALYST PARTNERS: The CW, Disney Ad Sales, Twitter, ViacomCBS, WarnerMedia
LEADERSHIP PARTNERS: A+E Networks, Crown Media, Moody's, NPR, Verizon, Vevo
SUPPORTING PARTNERS: Comcast Advertising, DPAA, GroupM, Havas, IPG Mediabrands, John A. Reisenbach Foundation (JAR), NBA, New York Interconnect, Publicis Media, Univision
MEDIA PARTNERS: Bold Culture, Forbes, The FQ, MediaVillage, USA TODAY Network
Advancing Diversity Week sponsor revenues support the Advancing Diversity Education Fund. Beneficiaries include Howard University Cathy Hughes School of Communications, the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University, The FQ, American Advertising Federation, 4A's Foundation, American Educational Foundation, Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing, John A. Reisenbach Foundation, TD Foundation, and Jacaronda Foundation College Loan Relief Fund.
For press inquiries, contact Diane Stefani at Diane@MediaVillage.com.
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ABOUT MEDIAVILLAGE AND ADVANCINGDIVERSITY.ORG:
MediaVillage and AdvancingDiversity.org have built the most sophisticated platform for B2B marketing, focused on advancing revenue growth through online learning and diversity. Our proven platform is enabling more than 100 leading companies, organizations, and non-profits to reinvent their B2B investments, generating measurably increased effectiveness and improved cost efficiencies. In a turn-key tech-enabled managed services and fully integrated model dedicated to activating results, we optimize our members' investments in earned media, paid media, digital advertising, social media, perceptions research, market intelligence, programming/content promotion and diverse talent advancement. Our membership model empowers activation at levels appropriate to each members' B2B goals. Become a MediaVillage subscriber here and learn more about us at www.AboutMediaVillage.com. Follow @mediavillagecom @advdiversity @jackmyersbiz.