For the second year, the 'City of Brotherly Love' will host the 2019 Diversity & Inclusion Conference . The summit is an open forum to explore and exchange insights about diversity and inclusion (D&I) best practices for CEOs, diversity officers, educators, corporate leaders and government officials. The conference will take place on March 25- 26^th, 2019at the Ritz-Carlton, Philadelphia.

Originally, the conference was created for sharing insights about tourism and hospitality trends, but today has evolved into a national dialogue on D&I throughout multiple industries - tech, non-profit, government, education, and healthcare. This year's theme is "Where Diversity and Inclusion Intersects with Academic and Corporate Strategies."

Richard Lee Snow

"Since its inception, our goal of the conference was to cultivate a space to innovate the practices of diversity and inclusion," said Richard Lee Snow, 2019 Chair of Diversity & Inclusion Conference and PHLDiversity.  "With our team of inter-disciplinary community partners, dynamic speakers and participants, we are exchanging strategic ideas to elevate diversity and inclusion in the workplace and community. Additionally, we are exceedingly expanding the conversation to engage thought leaders on a national level, and we feel the City of Sisterly Affection, is a great place to do it."

Key Highlights of the conference:

• AcademicThink Tank focusing on best practices for incorporating diversity and inclusion content into academic programs and curricula, program strategies that provide comprehensive quality student experiences for students of color, and the impact of diversity and inclusion on faculty recruitment and retention.
• Award Dinner, sponsored by Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau Foundation features Mayor James Kenney; Jonathan Lovitz, Senior Vice President, National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC); Julie Coker Graham, President and CEO, Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau; and David Cohen, Senior Executive Vice President and the Chief Diversity Officer, Comcast Corporation. Norman K. Jenkins, Founder and President of Capstone Development will also be presented with the first-ever Diversity and Inclusion Award from Lodging Media.
• Thought-Provoking Discussions by today's leaders such as Justin Nelson, Co-Founder and President, NGLCC; and Wade Davis, Former NFL Player and Public Speaker to name a few.
• Exclusive invite-only City Mayor's Roundtable "Diverse and Welcoming Cities" featuring Former Mayor Douglas Palmer, Trenton, NJ; and Mayor Victoria Woodards, Tacoma, WA; discussing strategic approaches to diversity and inclusion on the city and municipal level.

• Findings from research conducted by Temple University School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management on D&I in the tourism and hospitality industry and meeting planners' sensitivity to D&I policies, programs, and practices in the meeting planning process. 

The Annual 2019 Diversity and Inclusion Conference is sponsored by Temple University School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management in collaboration with The Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau (PHLCVB), PHL Diversity (a business development division of PHLCVB) and Lodging Media. Additional sponsors include : Temple University Fox School of Business, Philadelphia Phillies, Jackson Lewis P.C., Global Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Convention Center and VisitPhiladelphia.com. Proceeds from the conference and dinner will benefit students at Temple University School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management. 

For more information about the2019 Diversity and Inclusion Conference visit diphilly.com.