Visit Baltimore to Offer Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Trainings for Hospitality Leaders

(Baltimore, MD – Oct. 15, 2020) – Visit Baltimore, the official destination sales and marketing organization for Baltimore, announced today that it will offer Diversity, Equity and Inclusion trainings for Baltimore tourism and hospitality leaders. The organization will offer six trainings starting in late October through the end of the year.

“Over the past several months, eradicating racism has been at the forefront of our minds globally. Not one person can solve this problem alone, but Visit Baltimore wants to do our part in fostering a more inclusive, equitable industry,” said Al Hutchinson, President & CEO at Visit Baltimore. “By offering these trainings to local industry leaders, our goal is to create a warm, welcoming environment for all visitors, but especially those of color. This is critical in a city like Baltimore, where nearly a quarter of the city’s annual visitors are African American. We want travelers to leave Baltimore telling their friends and family that they visited one of the most inclusive and diverse destinations in America. We thank Atlas Restaurant Group for sponsoring this initiative and engaging in the trainings as well.”

“With our nation more divided than ever before, these trainings are urgently needed and critical to the future success of Baltimore tourism and hospitality,” said John Frisch, Chairman of the Baltimore Convention & Tourism Board of Directors. “We simply cannot sit back and wait for change to happen; we must act swiftly to create powerful and lasting change at every level within the industry. I applaud Visit Baltimore for its leadership and look forward to seeing local tourism and hospitality leaders engage in these trainings and create meaningful change within their own businesses.”

All trainings will be led by Janese Murray, founder and president of Inclusion Impact Consulting. Murray boasts over 30 years of human resources experiences with more than 15 years of experience in diversity and inclusion consulting. Before her consulting career, Murray served as the Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion for the Exelon Corporation, a Fortune 100 energy company located in Chicago, IL. Through her consulting work, Murray offers interactive education and training sessions; during these programs, she facilitates dialogue focused on growth, and helps individuals develop and implement strategies to improve their lives personally and professionally.

“I’m honored to be chosen as the facilitator for these important trainings with Baltimore’s tourism and hospitality leaders,” said Janese Murray, founder and president of Inclusion Impact Consulting. “Participants will take part in a series of interactive workshops consisting of a mix of large group and small group learning designed to increase awareness of systemic racism, unconscious bias and inclusive behaviors. The trainings will also provide an action-planning framework to help participants define commitments and actions needed to ensure equity and inclusion within their respective organizations.”

The diversity, equity and inclusion trainings are made possible through a corporate sponsorship from the Atlas Restaurant Group.

“Diversity, equity and inclusion training is critical for Baltimore’s hospitality community and we are honored to partner and lend our support. The Atlas Restaurant Group is not only underwriting this program, but actively engaging in the training. We are eager to continue educating everyone within our organization, from executives to restaurant managers to servers,” said Alex Smith, Founder and CEO of the Atlas Restaurant Group. “Diversity, equity and inclusion education will be a cornerstone as we continue to build and strengthen our core value system.”

Hospitality leaders interested in learning about our training session should contact Visit Baltimore senior government & community affairs manager Mia Blom via email.

About Visit Baltimore

Visit Baltimore is the official sales and marketing arm for the City of Baltimore. The 501(c)(6) organization generates economic benefits for stakeholders through the attraction of convention, group and leisure visitors. In 2019, spending by travelers totaled $6 billion in direct spending throughout the city, supporting 86,827 total jobs and generating $750 million in state and city tax revenues. For more information, please visit Baltimore.org.

Inclusion Impact Consulting

Inclusion Impact Consulting, LLC is an independent consulting practice located in Baltimore, MD.  The firm focuses on partnering with organizations to develop and implement strategies designed to improve workforce diversity, create an inclusive and equitable culture, assess intercultural competence and facilitate authentic and courageous dialogue.

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