How to Promote District Council Diversity

1. Start the Internal Conversation
   1. Admit lack of diversity (People of Color, LGBTQ, etc.)
   2. Get past any discomfort with the discussion, terminology, etc.
2. Create an Internal Working Group (not committee)
3. Evaluate Existing Resources
   1. Leadership, Sponsors, Business Partners, etc.
4. Consider the Value Proposition
   1. “Make ULI look more like YLG”
   2. Strengthen ULI impact and importance within the community
   3. Improvement to organization at senior levels, and to lesser extent entry level
5. Define an Explicit Vision
   1. Affirmed by District Council Chair and Advisory Board
   2. Supported by all Committee Chairs when considering panelists for programs, etc
   3. Add to Strategic Plan
6. Evaluate Challenges
   1. “Who looks like me?”
   2. Cost of ULI participation
   3. YLG transition
7. Take Time to Plan and Design Efforts:
   1. Consider multiple formats and approaches
   2. Seek outside reaction to draft/tentative proposals
   3. Goal is to engage “heads and hearts”
8. Measure Impact
   1. Member survey, Develop Statistics, Internal and External impacts
9. Promote Efforts
   1. Partnerships with other organizations? (Shared marketing, cross promotion, etc.)
   2. Content Capture? (Written, video, social media, etc.)
10. Evaluate/Critique/Stay Flexible
    1. Self-reflect on what worked and what didn’t
    2. Modify format if needed
    3. Ask for and listen to feedback
    4. Be ready to course correct
    5. “Post-mortem without blame”

Next Steps: What Can You Do?

1. Build Awareness of this Diversity Initiative within ULI-LA:
   1. Review/Discuss this Top Ten List with your committee members
   2. Solicit feedback on how this list can be modified
   3. Ask what your committee can do to promote Diversity
2. Participate in the Ambassador’s Program:
   1. Invite someone from outside ULI-LA to attend a program as our guest
   2. Contact the ULI-LA office to register that person
   3. Attend with the person
   4. Build potential links between that person and ULI-LA
3. Other Steps?
   1. ULI-LA Strategic Plan
   2. Attend Mixers
   3. Participate in this discussion

For more information, please contact:
Seth Merewitz, ULI LA Diversity Initiative, Chair | Best, Best & Krieger LLP
Cyrice Griffith, Senior Director, ULI LA