The Choir Certification™ is the financial industry’s first-ever benchmarking platform and conference diversity certification created to amplify the voices of underrepresented experts on conference stages.
DENVER (July 5, 2023) – The Financial Planning Association® (FPA®), the leading membership organization and trade association for CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals, is pleased to announce FPA Retreat 2023 earned the Choir Certification™ for its diverse and inclusive lineup of speakers on stage.
Choir’s proprietary algorithm uses hundreds of data points to measure the prominence and visibility of people of color, women, and non-binary people on conference stages. Using seven key visibility factors, Choir quantifies how representative a conference’s speaker lineup is compared to the U.S. population, ultimately quantified as the Choir Score™. Conferences with a score of 60 or higher, which also meet the Choir Pledge criteria, qualify for certification.
FPA Retreat of 2023 achieved a Choir Score leading to the attainment of the Choir Certification. FPA took diligent measures to ensure that the stages showcased an extensive array of individuals of diverse races, genders, and backgrounds. Choir then thoroughly evaluated speaker visibility, representation, and diversity to complete this assessment.
“Once again, FPA is honored to be awarded the prestigious Choir Certification in recognition of our efforts to provide a valuable platform where diverse voices are seen and heard. The fact that our Association’s two most prominent national events have now earned certification is a testament to FPA’s commitment to create a welcoming, inclusive, and affirming experience,” said Patrick D. Mahoney, FPA chief executive officer.
FPA’s application for Choir Certification was sponsored by Finance of America Reverse, which shares FPA’s commitment to building a more diverse, welcoming profession. Upon FPA Retreat 2023 being awarded Choir Certification, Kellan Brown, senior vice president of growth and strategic partnerships at Finance of America Reverse, said, “As a sponsor of the FPA Retreat 2023, Finance of America Reverse, LLC, is pleased to support an organization that was awarded Choir Certification for lifting the voices of those who have been historically underrepresented in financial services. When everyone shines, we all win. Congratulations, FPA!”
“It has been a pleasure working with FPA conferences and seeing the organizational commitment to including and amplifying the expert voices of people of color and women in financial planning,” said Sonya Dreizler, co-founder of Choir. “Seeing that both the FPA Annual Conference 2022 and FPA Retreat 2023 achieved Choir Certification is heartening and brings me great hope about an increasingly diverse and inclusive future of the financial planning profession.”
For more information on FPA’s diversity and inclusion efforts, visit financialplanningassociation.org. For more information or to apply to become a Choir Certified Conference, visit www.hellochoir.com.
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About the Financial Planning Association
The Financial Planning Association® (FPA®) is the leading membership organization and trade association for CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals and those engaged in the financial planning process. FPA is the CFP® professional’s partner in planning by helping them realize their vision of professional fulfillment through practice support, learning, advocacy, and networking. Learn more about FPA at financialplanningassociation.org and on Twitter at twitter.com/fpassociation.
About Choir
Choir, LLC (“Choir”) is a diversity-tech platform focused on amplifying the voices of people of color, women, and non-binary professionals on conference stages and in the media. Creator of the Choir Certification™ and Choir Score™, the company aims to make conferences more representative of the U.S. population by helping organizations identify and reach clear and actionable speaker diversity benchmarks, and match with expert speakers from historically underrepresented backgrounds. A full list of Choir Certified Conferences is available at hellochoir.com. The company is based in San Francisco and Los Angeles.