Diversified Communications’ Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Mission Statement
As a leader in the global expositions and conference industry, Diversified Communications recognizes its responsibility to drive discussions and actively advance the principles of racial equality, social justice, and inclusion. We believe that our communities — the DC organization, Maine, and the global events industry — are richer, stronger, and more dynamic when they are diverse, equitable, and welcoming.
Our mission is to:
- Acknowledge that change begins from within. We will educate ourselves to champion diversity, equity, and inclusion. We will be staunchly anti-racist, pro-LGBTQIA+, and accommodating to all abilities and circumstances. We stand against bias, intolerance, and discrimination of any kind.
- Foster work environments that are welcoming to and inclusive of everyone. Employees will feel comfortable and represented at offices and events. Equitable opportunities for success will exist for everyone. We will actively recruit candidates of diverse backgrounds to broaden and strengthen our employee population.
- Ensure our external work reflects our beliefs and our mission. We will position our marketing to represent our diverse industries and customer base. We will foster diversity, equity, and inclusion discussions at our events and within industry associations.
- Create community partnerships. We will actively partner with community organizations who lead the way in social justice work to affect necessary changes where we work and live.
Through these efforts, we aim to influence and encourage an ecosystem for the open exchange of ideas and the ongoing pursuit of best practices.
Overview
At Diversified, we believe that we all have the responsibility to speak out against injustices, spark conscious conversations, and foster inclusion. When we take these actions, we not only impact our communities at home but also in the industries we serve globally. We encourage all employees, vendors, and customers to bring their whole, authentic selves to all aspects of our business. Our goal is that all who walk through our doors feel welcome and comfortable knowing that they will be treated equitably regardless of their background and identity.
Although this has always been our priority, we have committed ourselves to having these conversations and making necessary change happen where we live and work. Our dedicated committee and four active subcommittees work on a variety of important and meaningful Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives.
We recognize that this work will continue to evolve and will be ongoing as an important part of our culture. We are ever-evolving and continuously learning how to better serve all individuals who walk through our doors.
Our Current Areas of Focus
Committee Head: Janice Rogers
Purpose: The purpose of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee is to lead discussions and actively advance the principles of racial equality, social justice, and inclusion. We believe that our communities — the DC organization, Maine, and the global events industry — are richer, stronger, and more dynamic when they are diverse, equitable, and welcoming.
Current Areas of Focus:
- Employee education and discussion
- Fostering inclusive work environments
- Ensuring our external work reflects our beliefs and our mission
- Creating community partnerships
Progress: In addition to the work our Four Subcommittees (Attraction and Retention, Inclusion, Events and Industries, and Community Partnerships) are doing, we are focusing on employee training in the areas of Unconscious Bias and Conscious Conversations, creating meet-up groups for employee discussions, learning with and from each other, and applying what we’ve learned.
Committee Heads: Lisa McCann
Purpose: A more diverse team creates an environment that enriches new ideas and promotes meaningful collaboration. Our purpose in this committee is to ensure our hiring processes are equitable and without bias. To do so, we intend to embrace continuous training, expand our recruiting network, and evaluate every step of our hiring process to make sure it supports our DEI mission and purpose.
Current Areas of Focus: We are currently focused on developing a comprehensive training program for hiring managers and updating our website to be more inclusive.
Progress: We are in the process of conducting an accessibility audit on our website and developing the core curriculum themes for our training.
Committee Heads: Dana Maletzke, Maddie Kearns
Purpose: We are reimaging our workplace and are mutually invested in ensuring our environment is inclusive. When employees have a sense of belonging and connection in the workplace, it changes everything: It fuels deeper connections, it drives innovation, it spurs collective understanding and propels personal and business growth. We want you to come to work each day as your authentic self, knowing you are seen, safe and heard for the unique perspective you bring to the table. Our subcommittee is dedicated to do our part to continuously build and expand on inclusive spaces at work.
Current Areas of Focus: We are currently focused on surveying and collecting feedback from the Diversified community regarding inclusion to turn insights into future action items for our DEI mission.
Progress: Our survey template, which our colleagues will interact with anonymously, has been crafted and reviewed, and we are preparing to deploy it in the coming weeks.
Committee Heads: Liz Plizga & Jackie Buck
Purpose: Diversified produces events, digital products, and publications for numerous industries. In this capacity, we have the platform to promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion not only in our own work, but in the wider industries we serve. Our purpose is to provide resources, metrics, and a central hub of ideas for our product teams to use as they work towards making our products more inclusive and influencing the industries we serve.
Current Areas of Focus: We are in the process of determining metrics and/or goals for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion that may be attributed to our products and are producing what will become a living DEI best practices and suggested initiatives document for product teams.
Progress: We are finalizing an internal review of current DEI initiatives in our product teams and an initial list of suggested best practices for product teams.
Committee Head: Melinda Sheehee
Purpose: Research opportunities for the company and its employees to support local community organizations doing compelling work aligned with our greater DEI mission.
Current Areas of Focus: Create an internal facing website where employees can access resources on how they can support some vetted organizations doing compelling work supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion in our community
Progress: A website has been launched and plans have been made to update it periodically.
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DEI Committee Overall
Committee Head: Janice Rogers
Purpose: The purpose of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee is to lead discussions and actively advance the principles of racial equality, social justice, and inclusion. We believe that our communities — the DC organization, Maine, and the global
Current Areas of Focus:
- Employee education and discussion
- Fostering inclusive work environments
- Ensuring our external work reflects our beliefs and our mission
- Creating community partnerships
Progress: In addition to the work our Four Subcommittees (Attraction and Retention, Inclusion, Events and Industries, and Community Partnerships) are doing, we are focusing on employee training in the areas of Unconscious Bias and Conscious Conversations, creating meet-up groups for employee discussions, learning with and from each other, and applying what we’ve learned.
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Attraction & Recruitment
Committee Heads: Jessica Laverriere & Lisa McCann
Purpose: A more diverse team creates an environment that enriches new ideas and promotes meaningful collaboration. Our purpose in this committee is to ensure our hiring processes are equitable and without bias. To do so, we intend to embrace continuous training, expand our recruiting network, and evaluate every step of our hiring process to make sure it supports our DEI mission and purpose.
Current Areas of Focus: We are currently focused on developing a comprehensive training program for hiring managers and updating our website to be more inclusive.
Progress: We are in the process of conducting an accessibility audit on our website and developing the core curriculum themes for our training.
-
Inclusion & Retention
Committee Heads: Dana Maletzke, Shanitra Fulgham, Maddie Kearns
Purpose: We are reimaging our workplace and are mutually invested in ensuring our environment is inclusive. When employees have a sense of belonging and connection in the workplace, it changes everything: It fuels deeper connections, it drives innovation, it spurs collective understanding and propels personal and business growth. We want you to come to work each day as your authentic self, knowing you are seen, safe and heard for the unique perspective you bring to the table. Our subcommittee is dedicated to do our part to continuously build and expand on inclusive spaces at work.
Current Areas of Focus: We are currently focused on surveying and collecting feedback from the Diversified community regarding inclusion to turn insights into future action items for our DEI mission.
Progress: Our survey template, which our colleagues will interact with anonymously, has been crafted and reviewed, and we are preparing to deploy it in the coming weeks.
-
Events & Industries
Committee Heads: Liz Plizga & Jackie Buck
Purpose: Diversified produces events, digital products, and publications for numerous industries. In this capacity, we have the platform to promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion not only in our own work, but in the wider industries we serve. Our purpose is to provide resources, metrics, and a central hub of ideas for our product teams to use as they work towards making our products more inclusive and influencing the industries we serve.
Current Areas of Focus: We are in the process of determining metrics and/or goals for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion that may be attributed to our products and are producing what will become a living DEI best practices and suggested initiatives document for product teams.
Progress: We are finalizing an internal review of current DEI initiatives in our product teams and an initial list of suggested best practices for product teams.
-
Community Partnerships
Committee Head: Melinda Sheehee
Purpose: Research opportunities for the company and its employees to support local community organizations doing compelling work aligned with our greater DEI mission.
Current Areas of Focus: Create an internal facing website where employees can access resources on how they can support some vetted organizations doing compelling work supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion in our community
Progress: A website has been launched and plans have been made to update it periodically.
DEI Committee Member Spotlight
Nearly 20% of our employees are active members in one or more of these committees, while 100% are committed to backing these initiatives. Click on our featured DEI members below to see the “why” behind their active membership!
Maddie Kearns
(she/her/hers/they/them/theirs)
Editorial Project Manager
Inclusion and Retention, Events and Industries
Learn More
What is your WHY for joining our DEI committee?
An expansion occurs when people with diverse identities and experiences finally gain access to collaborative spaces and are given the platform to speak and be heard. Empathy grows. Fuller ideas bloom. Stronger communities, subsisting on many roots, form, and flourish. It’s important to continually appraise my privilege and apply it to nurturing this expansion – to elevate marginalized voices and actively listen to them; to be accountable and ready for repair. Participating in this committee is one of many ways I intend to show up to this lifetime of work.

Maddie Kearns
she/her/hers
they/them/theirs
What is your WHY for joining our DEI committee?
I joined the DEI committee because I knew I needed to grow. I knew the best way to do that was to immerse myself in a team that was committed to making the positive changes our company wanted to enact. Working with a group of people that passionately cared about diversity, equity and inclusion meant I could not only contribute to the conversation, but I could learn so much in the areas that I had blind spots. I’m excited to be a part of a group that is moving our company forward in ways that truly matter.

Christopher Campbell
He/Him/his
What is your WHY for joining our DEI committee?
I am very proud of my company for starting this committee. I joined to try to help to make a more inclusive environment within our organization and our state of Maine. Our committee discussions have been rich and open. I am excited to work on projects to create partnerships that will help foster our mission statement promoting racial equality, social justice, and inclusion.

Beth Schultz
She/her/hers
What is your WHY for joining our DEI committee?
Diversity and inclusion are important for our employees, customers, and business to thrive. We have an incredible opportunity to influence change through our action and thought leadership in a wide variety of very different industries and I personally see it as a responsibility, too. I understand my privilege and want to provide support as an ally and advocate.

Heidi Souerwine
She/her/hers