The IRTS Foundation is among the most historically relevant media community organizations that have advanced diversity as a primary goal, forming in 1939, establishing as a charity in 1964, and hosting multicultural outreach programs for most of its existence. The commitment of the IRTS and its long-time president, Joyce Tudryn, is being acknowledged through their induction into the Advancing Diversity Hall of Honors, the collective media and advertising community's most meaningful recognition.
In our Legends & Leaders Conversation, Joyce explains why she believes that "graduates of the IRTS Fellowship program are probably at least three to five years ahead of what the average person starting off in our business has in terms of industry knowledge, and," she adds, "knowledge is power. Our alumni," she points out, "have played a very significant role in attracting some of the very best diverse talent into our business, and just being able to share information about what it is that they do has been a very eye-opening experience for students.
"[They] receive obviously a certain amount of great training on college campuses," she continues. "But it's impossible for professors to really talk about the full wealth of opportunities that are out there. And so, we like to think that we've got this unique opportunity to take students across that finish line and also give them a network that will help them for the rest of their careers."
For Joyce's insights and career guidance, and more details on the IRTS Foundation's fully funded summer Fellowship immersion program, view our full conversation above.
The media and advertising community are hosting Black Talent Outreach Week October 17-20, live streamed at MediaVillage.com and AdvancingDiversity.org. Promote it to your teams and support the long-term campaign with your recruitment initiative. Visitweek.advancingdiversity.org.
Originally published October 17, 2022.