Twentieth International Conference on Diversity in Organizations, Communities & Nations

Abstract

The International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM) exists “[t]o educate, advocate for, and inspire public assembly venue professionals, worldwide.” Nearly one hundred years old, this professional membership association for the events and entertainment industry works continuously to improve its own diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices. IAVM provides a number of educational programs that address these issues explicitly, including Venue Management School (VMS), a two-year professional development program that serves as a pipeline to association leadership. In response to recent feedback from VMS participants, IAVM hired a scholar-practitioner to consult on its efforts toward making future years of VMS more inclusive. The consultancy involves revisions to program materials and pedagogies, including the application of universal design of learning principles to help ensure the accessibility and inclusivity of instructional materials and learning spaces. By examining this ongoing consultancy, this study reflects on the use of an emerging consultant-ethnographer methodology. It discusses the context and methods for the VMS inclusivity project, illustrates the origins of the consultant-ethnographer approach, and shares the available deliverables to date (e.g. resource guide and checklist for inclusive teaching). Yet uncodified, this methodology has the potential to achieve better results when inclusion is a central focus of a consultancy and beyond.