Social justice is not achieved alone. Taking on systemic challenges require collaboration and partnership. Hear from those who have had tremendous success making an impact through strategic partnerships. They will share their stories of how they have created beneficial change for themselves, their communities, and why these initiatives have become a business imperative for those looking for long-term sustainable growth.
Travel Oregon has hired an expert to identify areas of opportunity to advance social justice and equity in the workplace, and pivot our current diversity, equity and inclusion strategies. We have also revised our strategic plan to prioritize and integrate DEI into all operations and programming so that we can, alongside our partners, work to make Oregon a more welcoming destination.
Some of this work includes:
- Committing to educate ourselves, ask questions and seek different perspectives in our workplace and programs.
- Engaging the tourism industry community in awareness-building and best practices.
- Working with regional partners on growing diverse voices at the table in our strategic and creative planning to reach more diverse audiences.
- Expanding our network of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) content contributors to enhance robust story telling via marketing platforms.
- Prioritizing opportunities to utilize BIPOC-owned businesses, from internal contracting and procurement, to consumer-facing channels.
To support industry-facing DEI work, Travel Oregon and ORLA hosted a diversity, equity and inclusion webinar presented at the Oregon Tourism Leadership Academy.
Speakers:
Teresa O’Neill: Vice President of Global Strategic Partnerships at Travel Oregon. Teresa is currently the Vice President of Global Strategic Partnerships for Travel Oregon after beginning her tenure as the Director of International Sales and Marketing in 2005. Before that time, she honed her hospitality and tourism skills at Travel Portland as the European Sales Manager and as Director of Sales at Kimpton Group Hotels. Teresa is passionate about growing tourism for Oregon and enjoys traveling the state to communicate the best ways to accomplish this task. She oversees the Regional Cooperative Tourism Program, Matching Grants, Industry Services and Partnership Development Program at Travel Oregon.
Michele Leedom: Principal at Clinton Street Consulting. Since leading a social justice initiative at the age of seventeen, Michele has remained committed to making an impact through her career. Population health was an important driver in her work when she started Clinton Street Consulting where she partners with organizations that are willing to challenge systems and structures that do not work for everyone and actively work to create an environment where diverse populations can succeed. In this capacity she has partnered with organizations to create multi-year equity and inclusion strategic plans that are tied to measurable outcomes.
Anyssa Bohanan: Weekend Anchor for Central Oregon Daily News. In 2017, Anyssa gave a talk at TedX Bend: “Black in Bend: Being an Extreme Minority in Suburbia.” Her presentation grew her sphere of influence exponentially. Since then, Anyssa has been invited to speak at schools and camps throughout the state about her experience working in a city not typically known for its diversity. Anyssa is also an active member of the Bend Theater and arts community, staring in musicals and hosting many community events.
Moe Carrick: Principal and founder of Moementum, Inc., a certified B Corp and consulting firm dedicated to the vision of creating a world that works for everyone. Moe has a rich background of Fortune 100 consulting, academic and institutional learning and believes businesses can be a force for good. Moe’s contributions to people and organizations have consistently stimulated positive ripple effects with direct and favorable impact to the bottom line. She has given several Ted Talks, the most recent being: “Rethinking Women’s Role in Defining Masculinity.”