Gerry Fernandez has been a leader of diversity and inclusion in the restaurant industry for more than 25 years. Even with his track record of bringing change to the industry, he never thought he’d see the day where restaurant owners, employees, and customers are openly discussing issues of race and privilege.

Gerry is our guest this week on Order Up and explains why his organization, Multicultural Foodservice and Hospitality Association, is focused on advancing racial, ethnic and gender diversity to improve the bottom line. Listen for Gerry’s thoughts on how restaurant stakeholders can improve diversity and become even more profitable.

• (01:03) - Multicultural Foodservice and Hospitality Alliance
• (01:49) - Gerry's background
• (04:06) - How BLM intersects with the restaurant community
• (07:44) - If you listen you will learn
• (11:39) - The ownership factor
• (15:36) - Moving forward
• (19:43) - Empathy training
• (22:07) - SmartBrief
• (25:28) - Purposeful & intentional outreach
  
   

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Podcast episode production by Dante32.