Better Together Webinar Series presents Pathways to Inclusive Marketing: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Strategic Communication

Recent studies suggest that organizations prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are more likely to attract top talent, foster employee engagement, improve strategic decision-making, and increase market share. Despite the competitive advantage that prioritizing DEI can have, many organizations continue to grapple with uncertainty about how to effectively create and implement DEI initiatives, either in their own organizations or through their strategic campaigns.

Join this engaging discussion as a panel of marketing leaders share their approaches to developing and integrating DEI initiatives, highlighting how investing in DEI can create value for internal and external stakeholders.

Moderated by SOJC's Daniel Pimentel, Assistant Professor, and Olyvia Chac, Strategic Communication Master's Student, featuring Carlos Sanchez of Starcom and Dayana Falcon of the Walt Disney Company. Learn more about this panel below.

About the Speakers:
Carlos Sanchez, Associate Director, Diversity and Inclusion at Starcom

Carlos is Diversity and Inclusion lead at Starcom and brings heavy multicultural expertise across a multitude of clients and is an agency leadership in the BRG (Business Resource Group) area serving as a board member on BASE (Black Association of Starcom Employees), the national chair of MOCA (Men of Color Alliance), and the co-leading the MAC (Multicultural Affinity Collective). Additionally, Carlos has in-depth media experience with over 8 years within the industry. He brings strong cross-channel strategic and analytics management with a heavy focus on digital and specifically programmatic, search, OLV/OTT, and E-commerce.

Dayana Falcon, ESPN Human Resources Learning & Development at Disney

Dayana Falcon is a wife, #dogmom, Daughter, Sister, Cuban Latina, 1st Generation College Grad from the University of Florida, BERG Leader in Women@Disney and Multicultural Women's Network and a champion with a capital "C" for Talent Mobility and Inclusion at The Walt Disney Company.

Olyvia Chac, Strategic Communication Master's Student and Equity & Inclusion Engagement Coordinator at University of Oregon

Olyvia is a former clinical healthcare worker turned copywriter and creative. She is currently a graduate student at the University of Oregon studying strategic communications. Her other passions include blogging, producing podcasts, and all things that revolve around diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Daniel Pimentel, Assistant Professor of Immersive Media Psychology, School of Journalism and Communication at University of Oregon

Daniel Pimentel is an Assistant Professor of Immersive Media Psychology at the School of Journalism and Communication in Portland. Daniel’s research primarily focuses on cross-reality (XR) media platforms: virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR). Specifically, he conducts experimental research examining how XR storytelling experiences can contribute to prosocial attitude and behavior change across various contexts, including climate action, wildlife conservation, and mental/physical well-being. His XR projects and prototypes have been funded by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), Thompson Earth Systems Institute (TESI), and the Sea Turtle Conservancy (STC). His work has also been featured in peer-reviewed journals such as New Media and Society and reputed technology conferences such as Computer-Human Interaction in Play (CHIPLAY), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ Games, Entertainment and Media (IEEE GEM), and IEEE VR. Daniel also carries several years of XR industry serving as a researcher at various technology companies, including Magic Leap, XR Americas (New York), and Yellow Wood Immersive Media (Miami). Daniel is a proud McKnight Doctoral fellow and member of the Edward A. Bouchet Graduate Honor Society.