PHL Diversity Podcast

PHL Diversity is excited to speak with Brennan Tomasetti, Co-Owner of Civetta Property Group which recently opened The Guild House Hotel. The Guild House Hotel, a national historic landmark, is an elegant, lovingly refurbished rowhome in the heart of Philadelphia, and was once the headquarters for one of the oldest and most remarkable women’s organizations in the country, the New Century Guild. Each room in the hotel pays special homage to the ladies of the Guild.

Brennan has been investing in real estate with her husband mike Mike since 1999. They have acquired over 70 properties, developing both single family and multi-unit buildings.

Brennan is a board member of the New Century Trust.

PHL Diversity is excited to speak with Dr. Jen O'Ryan, Founder of Double Tall Consulting. Dr. O’Ryan is an Inclusion and Diversity strategist focused on helping people build authentically inclusive and welcoming companies.

Leveraging two decades of experience in organizational change and a PHD in human behavior, she understands the challenges leaders can face in developing a culture of inclusiveness for employees, clients, and consumers. A data geek at heart, Jen has an extensive understanding of how people interact with technology, with each other, and with change.

Dr. O’Ryan is also the author of “Inclusive AF: A Field Guide for Accidental Diversity Experts” -- a three-part roadmap for anyone implementing inclusion and diversity initiatives in the workplace.

This is a MUST LISTEN podcast addressing organizational culture changes, why inclusion and diversity is so important.

PHL Diversity is excited to speak with Hilina D. Ajakaiye, Executive Vice President of the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau and Founder & Executive Director of R.I.S.E. Women’s Leadership Conference. R.I.S.E (Realizing Inspiration & Sustaining Excellence) envisions a world free of adverse social norms that impact all women and girls in the workforce.

PHL Diversity is excited to present a conversation with Andrea Custis, President & CEO of the Urban League of Philadelphia. Dedicated to creating a self-reliant African American community, the Urban League of Philadelphia advocates for policy changes and provides direct service programs to promote economic independence. Since 1917, Urban League of Philadelphia has been a leader in empowering African Americans offering career services, assisting home buyers, and supporting entrepreneurs.

Andrea Custis was named President and Chief Executive Officer in July 2017. A seasoned corporate executive, Andrea has 30 years of sales, marketing, human capital, and operations experience with fortune 50 companies. She has been recognized as “One to Watch”- Ebony Magazine, “One of 25 Influential Black Women In Business”- Network Journal, and “Executive of The Year” – Consortium of Information and Telecommunications Executives and Hispanic Support Organization.

During the interview she discussed the importance of the return to meetings and shares her recommendation for two conventions to return to Philadelphia; The National Urban League Conference and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated National Convention.

PHL Diversity is excited to present a conversation with Tony Coles, President of the Black Information Network and Division President for Metro Markets at iHeartMedia. Black Information Network is the first and only 24/7 comprehensive national audio black news service dedicated to providing an objective, accurate and trusted source of continual news coverage with a black voice and perspective.

Tony has been recognized as an industry leader in leadership and management. He is a two-time recipient of the World Wide Radio Summit Senior Programmer of the Year award. He volunteers with and works with several industry organizations, including the National Association of Broadcasters and the Alliance for Women in Media. An advocate for educating the next generation of media leaders and personalities,

PHL Diversity is excited to present a conversation with Gregg Caren, President and CEO of the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau (PHLCVB) and Mike Gamble, President and CEO of SearchWide Global and Founder and President of Tourism Diversity Matters.

Mike co-founded SearchWide Global, one of the hospitality industry’s leading executive search firms. He is also the founder of Tourism Diversity Matters (TDM), an exciting and important initiative launched in February 2021. Prior to SearchWide Global, Mike was SVP of Sales and Marketing for PHLCVB and held various leadership roles with Marriott International. Gregg is approaching one year as President and CEO of PHLCVB. He joined the destination marketing organization with more than three decades in the tourism industry, most recently as EVP, Sales and Strategic Business Development with ASM Global (formerly SMG). PHLCVB is a founding partner for this collective impact model dedicated to eliminating disparities in the tourism and meetings industries through advocacy and education. TDM’s mission is to be a resource to foster diversity, equity and inclusion practices in collaboration and cooperation with all industry initiatives.

Mike and Gregg join Greg DeShields (TDM’s Executive Director) for an inspirational and thought-provoking conversation highlighting the importance of diversity and inclusion within the tourism and events industry operations.

PHL Diversity is excited to speak with David L. Cohen, Senior Advisor for Comcast and Chair of The Philadelphia Award. Created in 1921, The Philadelphia Award is among the most meaningful, and prestigious awards conferred by, and for the Philadelphia community. The award is given each year to a Philadelphia citizen who has acted and served on behalf of the best interest of the community.

David shares his thoughts on the 2019 Philadelphia award recipients include Reverend Luis Cortes Jr., Dr. Amy J. Goldberg, M.D., and Nicole Klingerman. They were presented the award for their dedication and service to improving the lives of underserved people and communities in Philadelphia through community development, anti-gun violence, and domestic workers protections. Additionally, David discusses the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion to the Philadelphia Award.

PHL Diversity is excited to speak with Pranam Lipinski, Co-Founder of Work With GEN Z. Work with GEN Z is an organization devoted to educating employers on practices for creating effective work environments for the next generation of workers. Based on real-world experience, Work With GEN Z built a Gen Z-focused college recruiting online platform that connects employers to diverse college student organizations.

Pranam is passionate about bridging the understanding gap between GEN Z and other generations to create more empathy and effectiveness in the workplace. Join us for an in-depth discussion about the core characteristics of Gen Z (1995 – 2012), what they want and how Inclusion, Stability and Authenticity (ISA) is key to the chain collaboration. Pranam further discusses their role in the hospitality industry and common mistakes employees make when recruiting them.

In this episode, join us for an in depth conversation with Marlinda Henry, CEP, Chairwoman of the Board for the National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals and Richard Lee Snow, Regional Development Director of the United Negro College Fund.

Marlinda Henry is the current Chairwoman and Richard Lee Snow is Chair Emeritus of The National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals (NCBMP), founded in 1983, is a. non-profit organization dedicated primarily to the training needs of African American meeting planners. NCBMP is the preeminent organization educating African American association executives and meeting planners in all aspects of the meeting planning profession.

Richard Lee Snow is the Chair of PHL Diversity leading the charge in diversity and inclusion efforts and connects meeting and convention planners with the region’s diverse business community to ensure successful events.

They join Greg DeShields to discuss the impact of the pandemic on black meeting professionals, the current state of black meetings and conventions, and the future of those meetings after COVID-19.

PHL Diversity is excited to speak with Melissa Cherry, Chief Operating Officer of Destinations International. As the world's largest resource for official destination organizations, Destinations International represents over 6,000 professionals from nearly 600 destination organizations globally.

Melissa has 20 plus years of experience in the industry and is responsible for the development and execution of strategies to promote and elevate the association's mission and brand to drive awareness of its impact to advance the success of the destination marketing and management industry worldwide. Before joining Destinations International, Melissa was the Senior Vice President of Marketing and Cultural Tourism for Choose Chicago.

Join us as we discuss the future of tourism, Destination International’s recently released 2020 Equity, Diversity and Inclusion study, and much more.