Fellow DGC Members,

Today, I’m happy to announce the representatives for the DGC’s inaugural BIPOC Members Committee and lay out some important next steps in our efforts towards inclusion and justice in our industry.

Join the DGC’s BIPOC Members & Allies Email List

Over the past two months, I’ve spoken to dozens of members who put their names forward to serve on this committee. The talent, wisdom, insight and passion in our ranks is truly stunning. Honestly, with so many deeply engaged candidates, the most challenging part of making our final selections was ensuring we had a good balance of backgrounds, regions, job categories and experience. I’m proud to say I think we’ve put together an amazing group of members who are ready to get to work.

I also want to thank every member who put their name forward for consideration and let those who were not selected know that this committee will be calling on each of you, and our extended membership, for your help and support before long.

I’m pleased to announce that the following representatives have agreed to serve on the first official DGC BIPOC Members Committee:

Cory Bowles
Ariane Collman
Tracey Deer
Teresa Ho
Tiffany Hsiung
Roslyn Kalloo
Mostafa Keshvari
Anisa Lalani
Kelly Fyffe Marshall
Nimisha Mukerji
Justina Neepin
Charles Officer
Khanh Quach
Moe Rai

Now that our committee is assembled, we want to hit the ground running. We have already scheduled our inaugural meeting of the full committee for early December. We intend to put forward an initial action plan for approval by the National Executive Board at its first meeting of the new year in early 2021.

After the compelling success of our first BIPOC members town hall in August, that connected so many racialized members from across the country, we’re thrilled to announce the aim to make these gatherings a semi-regular event. The next town hall will be scheduled for early to mid-January.

While these specific meetings will be open to BIPOC members only, we also know there are many allies in our ranks who wish to support these efforts. That’s why we’re instituting a new “BIPOC Members & Allies Mailing List.” This will let us stay in touch with all members who have an interest in the Guild’s efforts on inclusion and racial justice – regardless of their own background – and allow us to keep you up to date on future events that will be open to the membership as a whole.

This committee, and our Guild, have a great deal of work ahead. We intend to move forward with all possible speed and assemble a robust and thoughtful plan – as you’d expect from the Guild.

As our new President, Warren P. Sonoda, said after his election a few weeks ago, in its own way, the Guild is bending the arc of history towards inclusion. That work continues. As always, we thank you for your support.

R.T. Thorne
DGC BIPOC Members Committee Chair