P2P

41 I L T A N E T . O R G I t was January 2019. Before the pandemic, masks, and social distancing. We were at the Gaylord National Resort near Washington, DC, attending Ascend, ILTA's annual gathering of volunteers to brainstorm ideas, plan programming, and build out the strategy for the year ahead. That year we had decided to try something new – a Hackathon built around four discrete topics that those attending could pre-register and prepare for; at the event, time would be set aside for the groups to work on their Hackathon challenge and later present to the full complement of Ascend attendees. Each of the Hackathon topics addressed concerns confronting both ILTA itself and the individual member entities and business partners that comprise ILTA's community; one of those issues focussed on diversity, equity and inclusion. When the group that tackled this issue presented their ideas to everyone on the last day of Ascend, they spoke passionately about the need to celebrate, support and foster our diverse community by ensuring a truly inclusive and equitable environment for all. In particular, they recommended starting with our adding a core value that expressly affirms our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. The enthusiasm, support, and shared passion in the large conference room were palpable. The rest, as they say, is history – a few months later, ILTA adopted a new core value to "foster diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout the ILTA community." Getting started Understanding that simply adopting a core value would not ensure results, ILTA also convened a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force (DEITF) to support the core value with a solid foundation for action. Composed of ILTA members, business partners, and employees, the twelve- member DEITF's mandate includes: • Recommending those aspects of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) ILTA needs to foster, • Conducting research, surveys, and other investigations to determine a baseline for the ILTA community to assess our current levels of diversity, equity, and inclusion, • Developing metrics and benchmarks to evaluate our success, • Drafting a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Policy for the Board's consideration, and • Proposing and scoping programs to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion. Checking out the climate One of the DEITF's first – and surprisingly more challenging initiatives – was constructing, delivering, Welcome to the first in a series of articles on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion from the ILTA DEI Taskforce! Over the next year, our Taskforce will be bringing ILTAns new, fresh, and innovative articles on DEI. We hope that you will take the time to learn, grow, and continue the forward- march of Progress! Enjoy the Read!

• Cover