AIM Smarter, a Philadelphia-headquartered network of more than 2,200 promotional products distributors, is launching a diversity council and related educational series on diversity.

Announced Monday, Dec. 14, the AIM Diversity Council aims to embrace and drive programs that promote diversity within the organization, AIM network and the promo industry as a whole.

Katie Taylor, co-chair of the AIM Diversity Council (left); Nichole Stella, CEO, AIM Smarter (right)

“Embracing diversity and inclusion has always been a core principle at AIM and essential to the organization's future goals and vision,” said AIM Smarter CEO Nichole Stella. “It is our mission to foster an inclusive environment that advocates for and is inspirational and reflective of our entire community. The formation of the council is just the first step for AIM to be a driving force in the industry for these efforts.”

The new diversity council consists of industry companies that include AIM distributors AB Unlimited Worldwide (asi/101880), Brand Pride, Firesign Inc. (asi/522741), Jolin Promo, The Savvy Gift Giver LLC (asi/204930), Savvy Custom Gifts and Striking Promotions. Suppliers include Koozie Group (asi/40480), Gemline (asi/56070), Goldstar (asi/73295), and Gold Bond (asi/57653).

The council’s co-chairs will be Amy Williams, CEO of AB Unlimited Worldwide, and Katie Taylor, president of The Savvy Gift Giver.

“As a minority business owner for over 25 years, I am committed to diversity and inclusion in my company and the business community at large,” said Taylor. “I believe these principles should be reflected in the foundation, administration and customer base of any business.”  Added Williams: “I am committed to promoting diversity within the promotional products industry, particularly in creating a pathway to diversity in leadership positions.”

AIM’s Diversity Council plans to host an educational series on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in 2021. These sessions will be available for all distributors and suppliers within the promotional product industry. Topics are scheduled to include: “How to implement DEI in the Workplace,” “DEI as seen by an Employee,” “Why is DEI important to you, me, us?” and much more. AIM is excited to partner with professional speaker and CEO of Cohesion Collective, Roy Gluckman, who will lead the event series and kick off with an introductory keynote on Tuesday, Feb. 9.

In announcing its diversity council and new education series, AIM Smarter also released the council’s mission statement. It reads:

At AIM, we believe in embracing a culture of diversity and inclusion. This is a guiding principle that is instrumental in how we build our teams, cultivate leaders, and create a collaborative and inclusive environment throughout our AIM community, our industry, and our communities. Our inclusive culture supports diverse perspectives, drives courageous conversations, and empowers the AIM community to be their authentic selves, to be bold, to innovate, to connect and ultimately to grow stronger together. We are #AIMStrong.