Business

FIRST OF A TWO-PART SERIES

Leaders in Media and Advertising Focus on Advancing Diverse Talent Retention

Inaugural Series of Events, including Gen Z Town Hall, Slated for Sept. 20-23

D. Kevin McNeir WI Senior Editor

Those who hail from the Baby Boomer generation may count as the last segment of Americans who believed that securing a career meant staying in one job or with one company until their retirement.

But the terrain has changed in many ways, particularly due to advancements in technology including the internet, social media and the expansion of the economy which now represents participants and entities from nations worldwide.

Recognizing these and other fundamental changes and their impact on the kinds of strategies and best practices that must be employed for businesses to succeed, more than 80 changemakers from the media, advertising and entertainment community will soon participate in a four-day event, Advancing Diversity Week, Sept. 20-23.

The inaugural series of events will allow for provocative conversations about advocacy, activism, equity and belonging, culminating with a Gen Z Town Hall.

Advancing Diversity Week’s series of keynote addresses and provocative panel discussions will be hosted by MediaVillage.com, AdvancingDiveristy. org and The Female Quotient [The FQ] featuring themes which include: D-E-I + Belonging!; Belonging + Retention; and Multicultural + Meaning.

Other highlights from the week include a tribute to some of today’s most creative and advanced-thinking leaders from within the media industry. They will be joining previous inductees as new members of the Advancing Diversity Hall of Honors – a recognition event that marks its fourth year.

The roots of the Advancing Diversity series can be traced to Jack Myers, recognized as the nation’s best-known practicing media ecologist and the founder of MediaVillage and AdvancingDiversity. org.

Myers remains committed to a philosophy of industry innovation focused on growth and has built a leading consulting firm whose innovative approaches to strategic innovation have been adopted by more than 200 media, advertising and marketing clients.

The 10 Advancing Diversity Hall of Honors inductees, who will be sharing their stories, and responding to audience questions, include: [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; 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; Entertainment

The Academy of Hope Adult Public Charter School

located in Washington, DC, requests proposals for student and staff technology purchasing. You can find the full request for proposal and submission instructions at https://aohdc.org/jobs/

The Academy of Hope Adult Public Charter School

located in Washington, DC, requests proposals for school furniture purchasing. You can find the full Request for proposal and submission instructions at https://aohdc.org/jobs/

ADVANCING DIVERSITY DIVERSITY

FROM ADVOCACY TO ACTIVISM ADVANCING DIVERSITY WEEK

SEPTEMBER 20TH — 23RD 2021

2021 Advancing Diversity Hall of Honors Inductees

honors accepted by:

Marla Kaplowitz

Steve Pacheco

Byron Allen Sherina Smith Tina Davis

Dean Gracie Lawson-Borders Yvette Moyo Simon Fenwick

Jacki Kelley

Mark Pedowitz

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; and The CW’s Executive Vice President of Development Gaye Hirsch

For a complete agenda of speakers and events visit www.advancingdiveristy.org.

WI

Bowser, Hogan and Northam Talk to Business Leaders about COVID-19

James Wright WI Staff Writer

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam addressed a gathering of business owners and executives on Sept. 9 about the Washington, D.C. region’s economy and how it has been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

The trio of jurisdictional leaders served as the featured guests of the 2021 Capital Region Business Forum held at the Hilton Washington, DC National Mall The Wharf in Southwest. The Prince George’s County Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Washington Board of Trade and the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce co-sponsored the event.

“This is probably one of the most important conversations we have ever had in this region,” said Rose Allen Herring, president and CEO of the United Way National Capital Area and the 2021 chair of the Greater Washington Board of Trade. “Where else can you get the mayor and the governors at the same time?”

The three leaders shared their insights as the region slowly recovers from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Roughly defined, the Washington, D.C. region consists of the District; Prince George’s and Montgomery counties in Maryland; and in Virginia, Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax and the counties of Prince Williams and Loudoun.

POLICOM, an independent economic research firm based in Palm City, Fla., identified the Washington, D.C. metro area as having the strongest economy in the U.S. in 2015. Fifteen Fortune 500 companies have headquarters in the Washington region along with 400 international associations and 1,000 internationally-owned companies, according to data from the office of the D.C. deputy mayor for planning and economic development.

BOWSER OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE FUTURE

Bowser told the business leaders that the District is “open for business.”

“It’s time for us to get back to work,” the mayor said. “We’ve stuck together and made tremendous sacrifices during the COVID period. We will be stronger coming out of the pandemic.”

Bowser highlighted several initiatives developed to assist struggling businesses including the $100 million Bridge Fund established last year. When the new city budget takes effect on Oct. 1, it will provide money for rent relief and other financial offerings. The mayor said infrastructure jobs will be key for Washingtonians and noted the completion of the new $440 million Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge as an example of the city’s willingness to repair its roadways and bridges.

Bowser said the Washington re-

5 D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan at the 2021 Capital Region Business Forum. (James Wright/The Washington Informer)

gion’s Metro system will need more federal money, reiterating how this and similar requests would have a better chance of being approved with D.C. finally being granted statehood.

“We will be able to get the funding we need for Metro if the Washington, D.C. area had six senators on Capitol Hill instead of four,” she said.

HOGAN LIKES HIS STATE’S COVID METRICS

The governor said business leaders should be pleased with Maryland’s coronavirus metrics.

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