Traverse Connect has opened registration and announced details for its “2021 Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging Summit.” The event, scheduled for March 11, will feature keynote addresses and panel discussions involving both local voices and experts in the creation of more diverse and inclusive workplaces. Registration for the daylong virtual summit is $55 for Traverse Connect investors and $90 for the general public.

The summit is the work of Traverse Connect’s new Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Committee, established over the course of the past several years as a means of helping “lead the community in becoming a region that is attractive and enabling to people of all diversities – racial, cultural, social economic and ability.” The committee includes several Traverse Connect staff members, as well as representatives from more than a dozen local businesses and organizations. Together, the committee programmed the summit to “offer an approach towards implementing a strong welcoming and affirming culture in the five-county region,” per the event description. “Through this day's discussions and presentations, we will explain what this means and why it is important to area businesses and the community's economic growth.”

The keynote speakers at the virtual summit will be Lisa McGill and Paul Gaudiano, co-founders of a New York-based company called Aleria Research. Aleria offers a “unique solution” that “makes inclusion measurable” and “leverages behavioral sciences and computer simulation” to show how diversity and inclusion in the workplace can affect an organization’s employee satisfaction and overall business performance. During their keynote address, McGill and Gaudiano “will demonstrate an engaging, interactive way of measuring inclusion” and share “sample results” from several organizations with which Aleria has worked with in the past.

The summit will also include a panel discussion, led by Anne Partington of the southeast Michigan economic development organization Ann Arbor SPARK, and featuring local panelists. Those panelists include Matthew McClellan (director of human resources at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa), Tina Schuett (owner of Rare Bird Brewpub), and Allison Cavanaugh (director of HR and workforce development for Goodwill Northern Michigan).

The summit will conclude with an address from Tedi R. Parsons, president and CEO of the Michigan Diversity Education Center, followed by a two-hour networking period.

More details and registration info can be found here.