KENT, OH & CHARLOTTE, NC – The Retail Solutions Providers Association (RSPA) and the Women’s Network in Electronic Transactions (Wnet) will team up at RetailNOW 2021 for a special education and networking event titled “Conscious Inclusion for Increased Company Success.”
The event will bring together two RSPA Community groups, the W2W (Women in Retail) Community and the NextGEN Community, along with Wnet board members. The session will kick off with a 45-minute presentation by Wendy Holliday, Wnet CEO, and Dr. Gail Burgos, former Diversity and Inclusion Officer at Global Payments who now leads the diversity and inclusion firm Burgos Consulting as CEO. The structured program in a workshop setting will be followed by guided networking and a happy hour featuring an open bar and appetizers. All RetailNOW attendees are welcome to participate in this special session.
Unconscious bias, also known as implicit bias, refers to unconscious forms of discrimination and stereotyping based on race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, ability, age, hair color, height, size, and more. This session will engage all in understanding unconscious bias, how it can undermine and hold back your company success, and what can be done to break patterns and move to conscious inclusion.
The session is scheduled for the first full day of RetailNOW, Monday, July 26, from 5:00-7:30 PM CT. RetailNOW 2021 will take place July 25-27 at the Gaylord Opryland in Nashville, TN.
“We are very eager to introduce our community to Wendy and Gail and to introduce Wnet members and the Wnet team to the RSPA,” said RSPA President and CEO John Kirk. “Our RetailNOW alliance with the team at Wnet is a great example of the opportunity that exists for associations to collaborate and deliver more to attendees and members. There is power in working together.”
“I am honored to present with Gail at RetailNOW – our first in-person event in a long time,” said Wnet CEO Wendy Holliday. “We are excited to share strategies that demonstrate how diversity, equity, and inclusion is essential to individual professional growth and critical to the success of organizations everywhere. Our interactive format will provide you actionable tactics for you to implement into your plans for professional growth and share with your leadership for your organization’s success. Join us for this special kickoff session!”
RetailNOW 2021 is expected to be a coming out party for the retail IT channel – the first industry-wide event in 18+ months. VARs, ISVs, and vendors are ready (and excited) to travel in Q3 which could make this the biggest RetailNOW ever with an expected 2,000+ attendees and 160+ show floor exhibitors.
COVID-19 prevented RetailNOW 2020 from occurring, but RetailNOW 2021 in Nashville will offer everything attendees have come to expect from the RSPA – plus several new features including:
- Expanded education tracks touching more functional areas of your business with a focus on the restaurant, retail, grocery, and cannabis verticals
- New voices in our industry: Markets adjacent to point of sale will inject cutting-edge VARs and software developers who will talk contactless payments, cybersecurity, IoT, AI, 5G, mobility, virtual kitchens, online ordering, edge computing, robotics, and cloud technologies, creating a vibrant show floor environment
- Exclusive, in-depth conversations about channel challenges for 2021 and beyond
- Incentives for vendors to co-host their unique partner gatherings as an extension of RetailNOW, reducing costs and expanding the benefits for their attendees and community
If you’re serious about the retail IT channel, you have to attend RetailNOW 2021. It’s Where the Industry Meets! Follow this link to register before early bird rates expire:
For more information about RetailNOW 2021, exhibit space, and sponsorship options, email Membership@GoRSPA.org.
About Wnet
The Women’s Network in Electronic Transactions (Wnet) – celebrating 15 years of empowering and investing in women – is the premier professional organization for women in payments, providing personal enrichment no matter what stage members are in their careers. The organization provides world-class national and regional programming, fosters networking, and promotes mentoring to help members achieve greater personal success, influence, and professional parity. Incorporated in late 2005 and launched in 2006, Wnet is a 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit organization serving thousands of women across the global payments industry annually. For more information about national and regional events and programming, or to become a member, please visit www.wnetonline.org.
About Burgos Consulting LLC
After 25 years with TSYS (now Global Payments), including distinction as the first Diversity and Inclusion Officer in service to 24,000 employees, Dr. Gail Burgos has launched her own firm, Burgos Consulting. Gail’s focus is on helping organizations assess their starting point while she serves as a champion for aligning strategy with desired outcomes related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Gail assists companies large and small with strategic objectives related to team culture and refinement. She can be reached at gburgos99@gmail.com or (706) 566-5991.
About RSPA (Retail Solutions Providers Association)
The RSPA is North America’s largest community of VARs, software developers, vendors, and distributors in the retail, restaurant, grocery, and cannabis verticals. The mission of the RSPA is to accelerate the success of its members in the point-of-sale ecosystem by providing knowledge and connections. The organization offers education, certification, hotlines for legal, security, sales, and business advice, industry advocacy, and discounts on other services to assist members with becoming and remaining successful. RSPA is most well-known for its signature events, RetailNOW® and Inspire® which provide face-to-face learning and networking opportunities. Learn more by visiting www.GoRSPA.org.
