After 30 years in the travel and meetings industry, Elliott Ferguson, president and CEO of Destination DC and a PCMA Groundbreaker, is carving a path for a new generation of leaders to follow.

Mike Gamble, founder of Tourism Diversity Matters, discusses the impetus for starting the initiative, and its goals for the future.

Organizations and companies are making social justice part of their event platform — and their identity.

Join the award-winning author, radio host and three-time New York Emmy-nominated documentary filmmaker, Dr. Kaye Wise Whitehead, as she connects the history of systemic racism to what is happening across the country in our cities, homes and businesses. To make real change in our organizations and industry, Dr. Whitehead will discuss how we can all play a role in becoming more culturally responsive. A conversation with Dr. Whitehead, Visit Baltimore President/CEO Al Hutchinson and event strategist Kirsten Olean will follow with a live Q&A session about how we can take steps to improve diversity, equity and inclusion in the business events industry.

LEARNER OUTCOMES:

Gain a deeper understanding and awareness of race, equity, inclusion, and diversity.
Leverage metacognitive strategies for you to engage in challenging but productive conversations about race, social justice, and peace.
Examine how your individual lived experiences influences your racial consciousness and awareness, how you see and respond to systemic racism, whiteness and privilege, and what actions you can take to leverage business events as a platform to champion access and opportunity for all.

PCMA staff members and the business events community share the women who inspire them most in honor of Women’s History Month.

This July, Cleo Battle will take over as president and CEO of Louisville Tourism after eight years as the bureau’s executive vice president and COO. Battle shared highlights of his 34-plus-year career working at DMOs and hotels around the country — and how he’s trying to do his part to make the industry better and more diverse.

In a recent Quartz webinar, an inclusivity activist and technology evangelist for accessibility discussed how to make workplaces more inclusive for employees with disabilities.

Returnships may open some doors for women returning to the workforce during the pandemic. Plus, here are three tips to keep in mind while job searching as the health and economic crisis persists.

A candid and soul-searching conversation on racism and white supremacy at Convening Leaders points out the role business events can play in creating positive change on a global scale.

Here’s how one city with a history in the slave trade in North America has made the Black experience in America central to its identity.

Yoshiro Mori, president of the Tokyo Olympics organizing committee, recently resigned amid controversy over comments he made that women talk too much during meetings. Research proves that he couldn’t have been more wrong about who speaks the most.

Long Beach’s director of creative initiatives, Tra Jones, said the brand-new role is designed to bring live events into the convention center while elevating the experience for those watching online.