Amber Roman

The annual gathering will be held online this year

DAVID TAFFET | Senior Staff Writer
taffet@dallasvoice.com

This year’s Texas Diversity Equity & Inclusion Conference will be held virtually from June 16-18 and is being staged by the North Texas LGBT Chamber of Commerce and the three other LGBT chambers in Texas, as well as the North Texas Commission.

A wide variety of topics will be discussed over the three days of sessions by members of the LGBTQ community and allies from corporations who belong to the chamber.

Ethan Avanzino

Among national leaders who will speak are Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights; Alicia Green, supplier diversity manager for the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce, and Kuma Roberts, vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion for the Tulsa Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Minter will discuss how a current U.S. Supreme Court case will determine whether sex in Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act protects transgender people.

Participants in Roberts’ session will hear about ways to be an active ally to marginalized communities of color.

Dallas Police Department’s LGBTQ liaison Amber Roman and Community Affairs Manager Joli Robinson will discuss implicit bias training at a plenary session kicking off the conference. Since becoming liaison to the LGBTQ community, Roman has participated in training sessions working with recruits on how to deal with the community. At their session, she and Robinson will discuss preconceptions people have and how to manage your biases.

Executives from Dell and Dell Technologies have testified in state legislatures in Texas, Oklahoma and Tennessee to help prevent passage of anti-LGBTQ laws. In the last session of the Texas Legislature, more than 20 bills died in committee with the help of Texas-based executives who testified against them.

Gary Sanchez, director of public affairs for VisitDallas, and Chris Wallace, president and CEO of the North Texas Commission, will discuss efforts to pass an LGBTQ nondiscrimination law. A bill with bipartisan support was proposed by Dallas state Rep. Jessica Gonzalez several weeks ago.

Shannon Minter

John Howard from Dell Technologies will discuss how his company encourages members of its LGBTQ employee resource group to build trust and to partner with its legislative affairs staff and engage members of the legislature.

When the coronavirus hit, not only did the annual conference move online but the chamber included sessions relevant to current business conditions. Andy Church, CEO and founder of Insight Quality Services, will moderate a panel and will discuss practical skills that equipped him to create a plan for growth and gave him the insights he needed to pivot during the pandemic to not only survive but to increase his revenue.
Southwest Airlines Creative Producer Ethan Avanzino discusses transitioning in the workplace. While transitioning is very personal, Avanzino will talk about how he did it successfully with the full support on his company.

Employee Resource Groups have been effective in ensuring LGBTQ employees receive equal benefits and are protected from discrimination as well as helped companies by attracting new business. Usually ERGs start at company headquarters. Stephen Lewis of Toyota and Vijay Patel of EY discuss expanding ERGs beyond headquarters to satellite offices and manufacturing plants.

To register for the conference, visit bit.ly/TXDEI2020.