The Temple Advertising Club (TAC) and Klein College of Media and Communication’s chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) hosted a diversity and inclusion panel on Wednesday, April 15. Organized by senior advertising major Celeste Rosato and senior public relations major Haniya Shariff, the event featured Diversity Advisor to the Office of the Dean and Assistant Professor of Instruction David Brown as the moderator, and panelists Bill Cook, assistant professor of instruction in the Advertising/PR Department at Klein; Sugeily Peña, director, talent & operations at Allen & Gerritsen; Adriênne Bolden, inaugural vice president of diversity and inclusion for PRSSA National; Laura Emanuel, vice president and director of public relations at Brownstein Group and Melinda Ramos, vice president and director of talent & diversity at Brownstein. 

Rosato began planning for the panel when she noticed an issue with diversity within TAC, and so she went to Advertising Department Chair Dana Saewitz, who suggested the panel. After linking up with Shariff of PRSSA, bringing Assistant Professor and Klein’s Diversity Advisor David Brown on board as a moderator and securing the panelists, Rosato and Shariff watched the event come together on Zoom.

“I couldn't believe we had close to 50 people tune in,” says Rosato. “Initially, I was a little nervous about what the turn out could be because it's almost the end of the school year and it was going to be over Zoom but it just shows how important this is and how much people care and want to learn more.”

One of the panel’s major themes was starting a conversation around diversity in professional settings. Not only did panelists emphasize the importance of inclusion, but also outlined ways to talk with mentors and potential employers about what they are already doing to embrace diversity, and how they can get involved.

Panelists also emphasized the urgency of making sure that these conversations and efforts don’t stop with diversity, but extend to equity and inclusion as well. 

 “Diversity is a reality. It’s not something that we need to try to make happen,” said panelist Adriênne Bolden of PRSSA National in her closing remarks. “I think the focus needs to be on equity and inclusion, and if we don’t do something about those two things history is doomed to repeat itself.”

These conversations extended into the following days for many attendees. Visiting Assistant Professor of Public Relations Rachel Ezekiel-Fishbein required her Law and Ethics in PR class to attend the panel, which they then discussed as a group. In this follow-up discussion, she said that she was struck by some of her students’ responses.

“[One student] was disheartened by how little progress we’ve made in terms of diversity in our field,” Ezekiel-Fishbein says. “Specifically, she is tired of having to ‘represent’ the black woman in the room."

During such uncertain times, a conversation about supporting and including one another academically and professionally seemed to be just the motivation that many students needed. Shariff said that not only did she feel the event’s attendance was successful, but that it inspired her to plan more events like it.

“I think the panel was an excellent way to help students of diverse backgrounds feel more comfortable heading into the fields of advertising and PR,” she says. “Having an open dialogue within a safe space will create ‘lightbulb moments’ for both students and panelists, and will spark supportive connections amongst those who are engaged in the conversation. In these communication fields, there’s nothing better than finding a friend, a connection, to help uplift and support you while you prepare for your career.”