Community Partnerships & Social Consciousness in the Event Space—ECEO047

Dr. Erinn Tucker, Faculty Director of Global Hospitality Leadership at Georgetown University

What obligation do organizers have to the communities where their events take place? How might event marketing and planning professionals build partnerships with local restaurants and small businesses, demonstrating social responsibility and promoting the host city to event attendees? What can we do as Event CEOs to provide a voice for social consciousness and infuse diversity and inclusion in our events?  

Dr. Erinn Tucker serves as the Faculty Director and Associate Professor of the Practice in Global Hospitality Leadership at Georgetown University’s School of Continuing Studies, where she provides strategic vision for its master’s program. She is also the cofounder of DMV Black Restaurant Week, a platform designed to highlight black restaurant owners, managers, chefs, caterers and thought leaders in the DC, Maryland and Virginia area. Erinn has 20-plus years of academic and professional experience, and she is an expert in the areas of hospitality, event sponsorship and employee training. 

Today, Erinn joins Rebecca Linder to discuss her diverse background consulting for sports teams and working in the restaurant space before finding her way to academia. She speaks to current trends in hospitality, covering the asset-light strategy being adopted in the hotel industry, new opportunities in the technology space, and the discussions around the upcoming Uber and Airbnb IPOs. Erinn also addresses issues of diversity and inclusion in the event space, explaining how organizers might highlight local restaurants and culture or include community partners in a conference lineup. Listen in for insight around cultivating social consciousness in the industry and learn the value of a voice that advocates for inclusion. 

Topics include: 

• Georgetown’s Global Hospitality Leadership master’s program 


• New opportunities for event professionals in the tech space 

• The trend toward hotels pursuing community-based partners 

• Who is initiating the discussions around social consciousness 

• How event organizers can highlight local restaurants/culture 

• Issues of diversity and inclusion in the hospitality/event space 


• How Erinn adapted the Restaurant Week model for inclusiveness 


• The value of a voice on your team that pushes for consciousness

• The growing respect for the economic impact of events 

• The impact of the new Amazon headquarters on the DC area 

Mentioned in this podcast: 

Organizations 

Global Hospitality Leadership Program at Georgetown University 

Destination DC 

Johnson & Wales College of Hospitality Management 

Temple School of Sport, Tourism & Hospitality Management 

Oracle Hospitality 

Airbnb 

Uber 

Lyft 

American Hotel & Lodging Association 

World Tourism Organization 

The LINE DC 

Professional Convention Management Association 

Meeting Professionals International 

Organization of World Heritage Cities 

DMV Black Restaurant Week 

National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation 

 –

People 

Erinn Tucker 

 –

Resources 

Global Code of Ethics for Tourism 

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Dr. Erinn Tucker

Erinn D. Tucker, PhD of Georgetown University is the director of the newly formed Global Hospitality Leadership master’s program at Georgetown University. She has worked for over 20 years in hospitality and event management for restaurant and Fortune 500 companies.

She has been quoted in the Washington Post, Food & Wine Magazine, Washingtonian, DCist, Wall Street Journal, amongst other regional publications.  She has been widely sought after for regional metropolitan media such as WTOP,  Foodie and the Beast, WPRW, WEACT Radio, Fox5, WUSA Channel 9 and others. Dr. Tucker has consulted for companies such Amtrak, Social Tables, APPLOI, the Charlotte Hornets and Charlotte Knights and has contributed event management experience to the 2016 Democratic National Convention.

Dr. Tucker has contributed articles for Lodging, the official publication of the American Hotel and Lodging Association and Social Tables She co-chaired the HR and Diversity Summit for Lodging magazine for three successful years, served on the inaugural local organizing committee for the CIAA, advisor to the National Society for Minorities in Hospitality, served as chair and committee member for several hospitality associations including the International Council of Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Educators (ICHRIE) and Professional Conventions Management Association (PCMA) and National Coalition of Black Meeting Planners.

As a scholar, writer, and trainer in the hospitality profession, Dr. Tucker has maintained her certification as a diversity meeting professional.  Before Georgetown, she has held faculty appointments at Boston University, Temple University, and Johnson and Wales University, the latter being one of the top culinary arts program in the US. Her published work has appeared in tourism journals, textbooks, publications and trade periodicals. She won the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Education Best Paper Award in 2016.

Erinn on twitter: @erinntucker 

Global Hospitality Leadership Program on twitter: @GUHospitality

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/erinntucker

Facebook: Dr. Erinn Tucker

Hashtag: #Georgetown #DMVbrw