Her diversity leadership experiences at Fortune500 and non-profit organizations inspired formation of Global Diversity Collaborative, a non-profit focused on creating a global practitioners network and the DANDI (aka diversity & inclusion) Awards. She previously led global diversity and human resources teams at Arrow Electronics, Inc., MSC Direct and John Kaldor Fabricmaker. She is a Hampton University graduate, speaker, blogger and social networker who was awarded TNJ’s Top 25 Most Influential Black Women in Business and the NAAAHRGNY’s Leadership Award. Personal quote: “Inspire & Aspire Greatness.”
Yvette Morris, Manager Diversity & Inclusion Programs & Initiatives Yvette is a graduate of the University of Albany. She joined AIA shortly after graduation and has been key member of the AIA Diversity continuum since 2004. Yvette manages content for www.aia.org/diversity, works closely with the Diversity Pathways Committee and provides operational guidance for the Diversity and Inclusion Center of Excellence.
Lessons Learned / Post-Event Follow-Up
Make sure the local component is committed and fully participates in the event. The component needs a champion, and not fully depend on the National Committee and Staff. If there is no champion it will look like National is insinuating ourselves in the local component. Multiculturalism is a grassroots effort. It must be intentional from grassroots up, and not be demanded from the top down. It is not just about diversity, but also more importantly about inclusion in every sense of the word. Have more community involvement – having it at a school or some other public location; inviting people in the community to the keynote lectures; having local sponsors; engage a university or tack this onto some other public event. . . Use the summit as a time for outreach to the public and to connect to other components or multicultural organizations. The summit does not have to be an entire day – it could be broken into bite-size pieces such as a halfa-day or an evening. Advertise a minimum of three months in advance. Extend invitations to local community colleges or universities with architecture programs.
If the event is organized from a national committee, introduce members and have some differentiating tag on their name badges.
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