A Message From Our DEI Director
Hello to my Fellow Wedding Professionals,
As a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion professional both in Corporate America and in the Wedding Industry, I continually find myself in awe of the leaps and bounds that WIPA has made towards becoming an association where all are truly welcome. Even further, the ease of access not only to WIPA leadership, but to opportunities to serve, collaborate and become a leader for its members, rivals that of many top corporate organizations and “best places to work.”
As a person of color, it is important for me not only to see representation in the spaces in which I interact; it is equally important for me to understand whether that representation is coming, going or staying. I always seek to find out whether the organizations I am interested in being a part of are also interested in having me, and people similar to me, around. I want to know whether they are assessing their own systems to see how they might be contributing to erasure or minimization of other’s voices.
I truly believe that WIPA not only has a desire to keep underrepresented voices in the room; they are dedicated to making real change both within the association and across our industry. I would like to strongly encourage you to become a WIPA member this year as we move full speed ahead towards creating real change.
We’d love to have you along for the ride!
Deliece Knights–Barnett,
2023 WIPA DEI DIRECTOR
