NSCA Announces DEI Action Council and Chief Diversity Officer ResourceNSCA announces a rebranding of Ignite 2.0, a committee focused on improving diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the integration industry: It's now called the NSCA DEI Action Council. The Ignite 2.0 committee launched in Summer 2020 and was born out of NSCA's Ignite program, which reaches educators, students, and jobseekers to inform, educate, and foster recruitment possibilities for careers in the commercial electronics systems industry. Ignite 2.0 has been focused on inspiring and enabling NSCA members -- individuals and organizations -- to embrace the concepts and practices of diversity, equity, and inclusion. While maintaining the recruiting elements of Ignite, Ignite 2.0 expanded to focus on societal injustices and inequities as well. Ignite 2.0 -- now called the NSCA DEI Action Council -- takes on an additional objective of providing members with the foresight and knowledge needed to instill inclusivity and diversity (and realize the business benefits of doing so). "The name 'NSCA DEI Action Council' speaks directly to our objectives," says NSCA executive director Tom LeBlanc, who is also NSCA's DEI Action Council liaison. "There should be no ambiguity. The 10 councilmembers decided to rebrand to help us build awareness of DEI and maximize the impact of the resources we're creating for integrators." The NSCA DEI Action Council aims to make a substantive impact on the integration market. Improving the industry's diversity across age, gender, race, religion, identity, and experience is important -- but it doesn't stop there. Inclusivity and equity are issues of humanity. For an industry to be relevant, it must progress by embracing and espousing the core values of humanity, which are the bedrock of a successful organization. "As companies scramble to remain relevant and viable, we need resources and advice on how to make sure all the doors to success are open," says Bruce Kaufmann, president and CEO at Human Circuit and an NSCA DEI Action councilmember. "The DEI Action Council provides NSCA members with valuable information and resources to overcome potential obstacles to success." As an example, NSCA is also announcing a new Member Advisory Council partnership with livingHR, an agency that works with companies to make work more human for everyone by building inclusive cultures, optimizing talent, and humanizing experiences. NSCA members can participate in tiered livingHR + NSCA Exclusive Partnership Solutions to take quantitative steps toward transforming diversity, equity, and inclusion as a critical part of their company cultures. "Many large companies employ chief diversity officers to provide DEI checks and balances within their organizations, but most NSCA members aren't likely to budget for that," says Mike Abernathy, NSCA's director of business resources. "Including livingHR as a new Business Accelerator is a substantive alternative that NSCA members can more reasonably afford." NSCA chose livingHR due to its track record of working with companies to balance DEI and business objectives. "Organizations that invest in DEI are doing the right thing for humans while outperforming others, grabbing market share and loyalty from both talent and customers while adding gains to humanity," says livingHR CEO Keri Higgins-Bigelow. The NSCA DEI Action Council presented a keynote at NSCA's 2021 virtual Business & Leadership Conference: "Business Benefits of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion," led by Dr. Ivan Joseph. The conversation challenged NSCA members to recognize business-stifling inequities within their organizations. A subsequent DEI workshop for integrators helped companies lay out next steps to improve DEI cultures. Additional DEI content will be featured at the 2022 Business & Leadership Conference, February 23-25 in Irving, TX. In addition, NSCA's Essentials Online Library includes a DEI section with articles and tools to help integrators make an impact. The NSCA DEI Action Council meets biweekly to collaborate on steps and resources it can bring to the integration industry to improve DEI. Councilmembers include: * Mike Boettcher, New Era Technology, U.S. (NSCA board president)
* Kelly Perkins, Hall Technology
* Chris Turner, New Era Technology, US
* Bruce Kaufmann, Human Circuit
* Amy Blackburn, Mood Media
* Joe Perez, ClearTech
* Akin Adewole, Verrex
* Mildred Ramos, Shen Milsom & Wilke LLC
* Luis Schilling, WeInstall.IT
* Khalil Williams, Design Electronics Those interested in staying in the loop regarding NSCA DEI Action Council resources and discussion opportunities can sign up to join the DEI Action Council Community here. To learn more about the NSCA DEI Action Council, contact Tom LeBlanc or call 617-216-8794. 
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