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DEI Chats: Let’s Talk about DEI in the Workplace (Virtual Event)

Building on the success of our first DEI Chat, we’re back with the second in the series.

This time, we’ll be focusing on DEI in the workplace. Join us to share your thoughts and hear from others in the profession in our second DEI Chats event!

This vibrant, discussion-based format is designed to help us learn from one another in virtual, small group chats with support from our facilitator, Joel Swanson, APR, MACT.

We will engage in conversations that are crucial for building cultural understanding and breaking down barriers to diversity, equity and inclusion in our industry.

During this session, we will:

Reflect on how diversity in the workplace discussions have evolved in recent years
Share perspectives on DEI-related workplace efforts that have been beneficial based on our own experiences
Explore opportunities to share learnings and best practices with each other

The DEI Chats series is free for Minnesota PRSA members and students and $10 for non-members. Register now!

Facilitator:

Joel Swanson, APR, MACT, Marketing and Corporate Communications, Affinity Plus

Joel Swanson, APR, MACT, leads marketing and corporate communications for Affinity Plus, including overseeing the Affinity Plus Foundation. A proud member of PRSA since 1991, Joel was talked into joining as a student by Kelly Groehler among others, and helped Kelly put together the student chapter newsletter, under the leadership of Dr. R. John DeSanto who passed away in February and for whom the St. Cloud State University chapter is named. Joel credits PRSA with helping him grab his first internship, earn his first job and step up his career ladder into strategic and leadership roles. “The great practitioners, strategists and leaders in the Minnesota Chapter have made all the difference for my career,” he says.

Entering his sixth year at Affinity Plus, Joel has built an integrated function of a dozen mighty practitioners who continue to drive record new member and financial growth through fresh branding, data-driven automated marketing, market-dominating digital marketing execution and a modern community engagement strategy. Previously, Joel held strategic leadership roles at UnitedHealth Group, Risdall Marketing Group and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota. He’s a member of PRSA’s Banking and Finance Section, the Minnesota Credit Union Network and Callahan & Associates Marketing Roundtable. Joel’s career spans more than 30 years of guiding communications and marketing strategy in highly regulated, fast-changing industries. In his personal time, Joel fights for space in the back yard to play catch with his four sons while fending off affection from the family’s 260 pounds of dog (a Saint Bernard and a Newfoundland).