"I am thrilled that so many members were able to attend our meeting
in Bethesda!
Virtual
meetings serve their purpose, but I am so grateful that we were able
to gather in person
again, reconnect with old friends, and welcome new members to the
section. The Diversity
Section truly is a family, and our annual “family reunion” always
reinvigorates me. A
huge
thank you to KPMG LLP, the KPMG Foundation, and the IMA for
sponsoring our meeting and
fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion in the accounting
academy!" – Kirsten Cook, 2021-2022 Diversity
Section
President
"Returning to an in person Diversity Section meeting was wonderful.
We were able to
mourn our recent loss of Sandra Shelton together, sharing tears and
stories. The old
camaraderie of excellent suggestions for our colleagues’ research
and appreciation for
the
organizers snapped right back into place; if it hadn’t been for the
masks it could have
been
2019 again, which itself felt miraculous. Matt Anderson’s session on
the direction the
AAA
Board is taking on DEI, an amazing presentation by Dorothy Brown on
disparate tax
effects,
and a whole slew of new papers on DEI issues energized me and
assuaged the isolation of
the
past many moons." – Theresa Hammond, San Francisco
State
University
"The meeting was what I needed to remind me that, even after a long
year of being
apart,
we are still a big family. I finally had the chance to meet Elaine
Mauldin in person for
the
first time after working via email and Zoom sometimes weekly for
almost a year. I drove
nine
hours to attend the Diversity Section Meeting because I didn’t want
to miss this
opportunity
to reconnect with my peers and didn’t feel save flying to DC. The
AAA pandemic safety
protocols at the conference and the fact that attendees wore face
masks made me feel
safe.
People didn’t miss a chance to connect during the breaks, including
myself." – Melvin Lamboy-Ruiz, Georgia Southern
University
"I heard a new attendee say that the Diversity Section might be the
best kept secret
in
the AAA. It’s no secret to us that our meetings provide a welcoming
and nurturing
environment to hone our skills as accounting academics. The secret
might be that we talk
about far more than diversity at the Diversity Section, so maybe we
shouldn’t keep it a
secret!" – Craig Sisneros, Oklahoma State
University
"Technology has been a great blessing to keep the good work of
accounting education
and
research moving forward, but we are an Association.
It was absolutely
wonderful to come back to my first AAA in-person event after nearly
two years. My
reunion
with AAA colleagues happened with my first attendance the Midyear
Meeting for the
Diversity
Section. What a great way to be welcomed back to the Association.
Hello to all my new
friends in the Diversity Section!" – Monte Swain,
Brigham
Young
University