DE&I Initiatives and Efforts within Outfront Media
From Members Eric Davis, SVP, Associate General Counsel, Chief Real Estate Counsel, Co-Chief Diversity Officer and Tim Wasicki, East Region Creative Director, Outfront Media
How is your organization/agency celebrating Black History Month?
ED: OUTFRONT kicked off Black History Month with our “Making Black History with…” campaign. This year, instead of looking back at Black History, OUTFRONT decided to celebrate Black History Month by honoring the Black women and men who are making Black history in real time. We are employing our digital assets in markets across the United States to promote the “Making Black History with” campaign, which displays the pictures of Black Americans who are current leaders in business, medicine, science, education, and politics. Through the campaign, OUTFRONT is recognizing the ongoing contributions of Black Americans to our collective history and supporting the platforms of individuals who serve as role models for people of all races.
In addition to the “Making Black History with” campaign, OUTFRONT began the month by inviting one of the campaign’s honorees, NYT best-selling author Professor Michael Eric Dyson, to speak to our employees and clients about the importance of Black History Month as part of OUTFRONT’s new ‘OUTFRONTX A-List’ speaker series.
TW: OUTFRONT is celebrating Black History Month this year by celebrating the Black men and women who are making Black history today. This is not to disregard our past trailblazers, but instead gently pivot in highlighting those individuals who are making a difference in our everyday lives, in the present day. We hope the campaign can serve as a reminder for young children that these leadership positions we’re displaying are worth reaching for and are indeed obtainable.
What advice would you give young diverse talent just starting out in the industry?
ED: Recognize early on that your authentic self is the best, most effective and most attractive version of you. When you bring anything less than your authentic self to work you are engaged in a performance that becomes exhausting over time and your energy is wasted maintaining character instead of performing to your full potential.
TW: Always remain true to yourself, take risks, and welcome mistakes along the way. Staying true to yourself means less time pretending to be happy and more time focusing on your full potential and truth. Also, taking risks is why innovation exists. If no one took risks, this world would be a very dull place. Lastly, welcome the mistakes along the road to your success. Without this, you will never learn to become the better version of you.
As we know, DE&I initiatives need to be a priority all year round, not just during Black History Month. That said, how do you plan to continue to incorporate your DE&I initiatives at your organization/agency throughout the year?
ED: Diversity and inclusion are core values at OUTFRONT and promoting DE&I is not limited to Black History Month or any other specific occasion. I am proud to be OUTFRONT’s Co-Chief Diversity Officer. Along with Co-Chief Diversity Officer, DJ Duronslet, and a D&I Advisory Council comprised of 13 passionate employees from offices around the country, we are committed all year round to administering a D&I Program that educates our employees on the benefits of a diverse and inclusive shared corporate culture. This further empowers our employees to embrace authenticity at all times and challenges our company to incorporate inclusive values into every aspect of our business.
TW: Diversity and inclusion is not something we take lightly at OUTFRONT. It’s within our core values. We celebrate every individual and their potential here in the company. I’m proud to be a D&I Advisory Council member and contribute to the ongoing going success of shared corporate responsibility by educating, empowering, and embracing our employees from all different walks of life and in all facets of our business. It’s something we strive to always achieve by simply helping our people grow stronger.