February 2025 PRSA Dallas Letter from the President
Posted by admin on Feb. 11, 2025 / Subscribe 0
Diversity, equity, and inclusion… While Black History Month seems like an appropriate time to discuss the role of DEI in our chapter, I also want to reinforce our commitment to a diverse, equitable, and inclusive public relations community throughout the year and not only during awareness days and months.
The governance of our board is driven by the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion. They are also essential to how our chapter practices public relations and delivers our programming and services to you.
In my first update of the year, I outlined our chapter’s four-year strategic plan. When outlining our four priorities, I called attention to the fact that DEI was not one of those priorities. And now, I want to dig further into why we made that decision.
Texas Senate Bill 17 had nothing to do with our decision. The bill signed into law in 2023 applies only to public institutions of higher education. It prohibits DEI offices, programs, activities, and training within those institutions. The law does not apply to our PRSA chapter, which is a professional development nonprofit funded through membership dues, event revenue, and sponsorships.
PRSA Dallas has a diverse membership base that includes five generations of ages, all races, and a full spectrum of cultural practices and political beliefs. As a professional association, our board’s job is to be inclusive by creating value and opportunity for all of our members.
I am not writing this update to dig into the politics surrounding DEI or engage in a moral discussion. I am also not trying to persuade you. Instead, I want to point out that no matter how you feel about the politicized acronym, the meaning behind diversity, equity, and inclusion is foundational to our chapter values and our mission to serve you throughout your career stages while advocating for industry excellence and ethical conduct.
So, back to why we decided not to list diversity, equity, and inclusion as a chapter priority like it was in the 2020-2023 strategic plan.
Strategies are the concepts we use to reach our target publics and achieve our measurable objectives. Our only way to truly provide value for each of you is by being strategically mindful of your uniqueness, fair in the opportunities we provide, and supportive of our entire community of members.
Our vice president of diversity and inclusion this year is Nikki Lopez, who also held the position in 2024. On top of leading her own committees, I’ve asked Nikki to think of her role as an advisor for our programming, marketing, and membership teams. As such, Nikki meets regularly with John Ponzio and Kim Charles, and they work together on strategies to connect with you better throughout the year.
This is an important conversation to have throughout the year, as our rapidly changing federal and state policies regarding DEI impact our relationships with stakeholders and their trust in us. If you would like to hear how some of your PR peers are navigating these changes, I hope you’ll join our March event. Details are forthcoming.
A day after I wrote the first draft of this update, Ray Day, APR, the 2025 PRSA chair, emailed all PRSA members with the official position of PRSA on DEI. I encourage you to read his letter because he definitely says it better than me.
If you want to support the next generation of multicultural PR practitioners, please consider donating to the PRSA Foundation, our national foundation increasing diversity and inclusion in the PR industry.
Thank you for being a member of our chapter. I hope this update demonstrates our continued commitment to each of you.
Christopher Ruth, APR
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