Advocacy to Activism: 5-Point Plan for Advancing Diversity to Be Announced at CES

Advancing Diversity From Advocacy to Activism, a major, long-term talent recruitment and retention initiative, will be introduced at the third Advancing Diversity Hall of Honors Induction Experience at CES 2020. MediaVillage and AdvancingDiversity.org will convene more than 500 brand, agency, and media leaders on January 8 at the Las Vegas Park MGM to induct eight of the industry's most influential innovators in diversity, equality, and inclusion initiatives, and set the stage for increased investments in positive cultural change.

At this year's event, the Advancing Diversity Council will discuss a Five-Point Plan for Advancing Diversity From Advocacy to Activism, focused on research, education, communications, mentoring, and financial solutions. The Advancing Diversity Council will meet prior to the Advancing Diversity Hall of Honors Experiencepresented by the Sundance Institute Theatre Program.The initiative is being advanced by AdvancingDiversity.org and MediaVillage with the support of more than 50 leading companies and trade associations.

"There's still more talk than action when it comes to diversity, inclusion, and equality, and it's important to highlight the successful and scalable diversity initiatives. The Advancing Diversity Council brings together our community's most successful diversity activists to move the industry forward," said Jack Myers, founder of MediaVillage and AdvancingDiversity.org. "This is not your typical industry honors event. No speeches, no rubber chicken, but there will be inspiring moments and a focus on action vs. words. The Hall of Honors Induction Experience is presented, again, in collaboration with Sundance Institute Theatre Program and will guide attendees through an immersive exploration of their individual potential."

2020 Advancing Diversity Hall of Honors inductees include:

  • ADCOLOR, Tiffany R. Warren, Founder & President; Senior Vice President, Chief Diversity Officer, Omnicom Group
  • The Hershey Company, Jill Baskin, Chief Marketing Officer
  • Institute for Veteran and Military Families, J. Michael Haynie, Ph.D., Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives and Innovation
  • The Female Quotient, Shelley Zalis, CEO
  • Muslim Public Affairs Council, Sue Obeidi, Director, The Hollywood Bureau
  • Publicis Media Americas, Tim Jones, CEO
  • Sam's Club, Tony Rogers, Senior Vice President and Chief Member Officer
  • Walt Disney Television, Tim McNeal, Vice President, Talent Development and Inclusion

Details of the Advancing Diversity From Advocacy to Activism Five-Point Plan will be discussed by industry leaders at the January 8 CES Advancing Diversity Council meeting and incorporates:

  1. Advancing Diversity Research & Success Tracking
  2. Online Education
  3. Communications & Marketing
  4. Advancing Diversity Mentoring Events & Initiatives
  5. Advancing Diversity Financial Solutions Program

Advancing Diversity Hall of Honors program underwriters, to date, include Active International, AMC Networks, Ampersand, Ascential, Crown Media Family Networks, Empower, Facebook, Fox, GOOD⌡Upworthy, Google, Havas Media, Intel, Lifetime, MediaMath, MediaVillage, NBCU, Nielsen, Publicis Media, Spectrum Reach, Sundance Institute Theatre Program, Twitter, Univision, Viacom, WarnerMedia, The Walt Disney Company, and Xandr.*

Register to attend the Advancing Diversity Hall of Honors Induction Experience by visiting www.CES20.com. To hear the 2020 Advancing Diversity Hall of Honors inductees discuss industry diversity issues, listen to the Advancing Diversitypodcast series. Following the Induction Experience, more than 25 companies will participate in the Advancing a Diverse Workforce Meet-Up, which invites potential job candidates to learn about career opportunities in media, advertising, marketing, and entertainment. Interested candidates can register and submit their resumes here.

Advancing Diversity Hall of Honors Council past inductees include Ad Council (Lisa Sherman), Association of National Advertisers (Bob Liodice), Badger & Winters (Madonna Badger), The Interpublic Group (Michael Roth), IAB Education Foundation (Randall Rothenberg), Nielsen (David Kenny), Unilever (Aline Santos),  Budweiser (Ricardo Marques), Springboard Enterprises (Kay Koplovitz), #FreeTheBid (Alma Har'el), P&G (Marc Pritchard), 3 Percent Movement (Kat Gordon), NBA (Liliahn Majeed), and Verizon (Diego Scotti).

About AdvancingDiversity.org: Founded in 2016 by MediaVillage founder Jack Myers, AdvancingDiversity.org is the umbrella organization for Advancing Diversity Hall of Honors and supports WomenAdvancing.org, 1stFive.org, LegendsLeaders.org, and FutureofMen.org. Advancing Diversity underwrites college loan relief programs for young people working in media, advertising, marketing, and entertainment through its support for Jacaronda Foundation, a 501-C3 non-profit organization.

*Updated lists available

To follow on social media, go to @AdvDiversity, @MediaVillageCom, @JackMyersBiz, and follow #AdvDiversity, #AdvancingDiversity, #AdvancingDiversityHonors, #ADH20, and #CES20