How to Design a Truly Diverse Meeting

Our panel of experts, featuring guests from VisitDallas, share real-world strategies and experiences designing diverse events, as reflected in the program, promotion, communication and even site selection.

Featured Speakers:

Leslie Zeck, CMP, CMM, HMCC is a globally certified meeting professional responsible for managing international conventions and meetings for up to 6,500 delegates worldwide. She has planned meetings in over 30 countries in almost every continent with a strong focus on the healthcare association and non-profit sector. For the past ten years, she has served as the Director of Meetings for the International Association for Dental Research with over 10,000 members worldwide. Leslie is actively involved in several meeting industry associations including ICCA, MPI, PCMA and the LGBTQ Meeting Professionals Association, and is an avid learning of new languages.

Sherri K. Lindenberg sits on the executive team and is the senior vice president of marketing for Crump Life Insurance Services, a leading life insurance brokerage general agency in the US. She leads a team of marketing, communications, and event management professionals to strategically design and deliver creative internal and external marketing programs and events. Working closely with the business units, the team provides high-quality, compliant programs, tools, and processes to position the company and its brands, grow sales, and retain clients.

Sherri has been with Crump since 2003 and plays a pivotal role in championing the company’s brands and its user experience vision for interactions with clients in all venues – from in-person and virtual meetings and events to print and electronic media, working closely with the company’s sales and leadership team, along with collaborating with the parent company to implement operational efficiencies and drive revenue. She recently was appointed to serve as the executive sponsor for Crump’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Group.

Hattie Hill is a senior executive and transformational leader with more than 30 years of experience in diversity and inclusion strategy, board governance, profit and loss management and risk mitigation for multinational industries. Ms. Hill is a celebrated author and highly sought-after speaker who is often quoted in top-tier media outlets such as Oprah, USA Today and The Wall Street Journal.

Cheryl Richards serves as the Senior Vice President and Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer at VisitDallas, the official destination marketing organization for the City of Dallas. In this position, Richards’ duties include creating and implementing a strategic plan to elevate VisitDallas as a leader in diversity, equity, and inclusion at the local, national, and international levels. Richards serves as the liaison to VisitDallas’ Diversity Equity & Inclusion Board Standing Committee.