Two and half months after its executive director was fired for cause and its founder and CEO resigned, Tourism Diversity Matters, a nonprofit organization that aims to be “an industry resource for diversity expertise in order to achieve inclusive excellence,” has hired an interim CEO with strong relevance to that mission: Hattie Hill.
A longtime consultant in developing comprehensive diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies for corporations, nonprofits, and foundations, Hill has also led several organizations as an interim CEO, including Women’s Foodservice Forum, T.D. Jakes Foundation, and most recently the Texas Women’s Foundation.
TDM’s goal is to create a more equitable meetings, travel, and tourism industry through apprenticeships, workforce development, DEI training, and research. Hill will oversee operations, programming, marketing, stakeholder relations, and business development for TDM, which was roiled earlier this year by multiple employee allegations of “humiliating” and “demeaning” behavior by then-Executive Director Greg DeShields. He was fired on February 19, while the organization’s founder and CEO, Mike Gamble, resigned as well.
Adam Burke, TDM’s board chair, said that “Hattie has established herself as one of the most respected, trusted voices in DEI; exemplifies mission-driven leadership; and has consistently demonstrated the ability to help organizations achieve strategic clarity and operational excellence.”
As for Hill, “not only do I believe in the organization’s mission, but I have also seen the direct impact Tourism Diversity Matters can have in helping organizations meet the business demands of the moment by creating a more equitable and inclusive culture to achieve even greater success. I see my time in this role as an important step toward re-imagining the organization’s future so that it can effectively serve the travel and tourism community for decades to come.”
