Code of Conduct

AAF Austin is committed to providing a safe, and welcoming environment for everyone, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, ability, physical appearance, age, race, or religion.

We are a not-for-profit organization and almost everyone involved is volunteering their personal time. We are grateful for and respectful of everyone who contributes to the AAF Austin community. 

We believe our community should:

  • Celebrate and be respectful of each other’s work and ideas.
  • Be committed to learning about and supporting other practices to further the conversation on advertising in Austin.
  • Participate in respectful conversation. While we support and encourage friendly discourse, remember to do so with respect, and to work toward the growth of everyone involved.
  • Help us welcome everyone.

Unacceptable Behavior

We have a zero tolerance harassment policy that applies to all attendees, volunteers, sponsors, hosts, presenters, organizers and board members.

Harassment, generally defined as any behavior that alarms or threatens another person or group, or any behavior that causes excessive discomfort to other people, or breaks any applicable law, is not tolerated.

Harassment may include but is not limited, to the following:

  • Aggressive language, threats or any language directed against another person.
  • Discriminatory jokes and language.
  • Posting sexually explicit or violent material.
  • Posting (or threatening to post) other people’s personally identifying information (“doxing”).
  • Personal insults, especially those using racist or sexist terms.
  • Violence of any kind.
  • Unwelcome sexual attention.
  • Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behavior.
  • Repeated harassment of others. In general, if someone asks you to stop, then stop.

Other misconduct that is not tolerated:

  • Disrupting panelists or speakers
  • Disrespecting our hosts’ and event spaces
  • Discarding of refreshment items or other items outside of the designations spaces for recycling or trash

Anyone violating this policy may be removed from AAF Austin events and not allowed back to any of this year’s events at the discretion of the AAF Austin Board of Directors.

Get Support

You can report any behavior directly to AAF Austin leadership team by doing the following:

If you are participating in a virtual event when an incident occurs, please contact the AAF Austin team (via Zoom, email info@aafaustin.org) You do not need to reveal any information about the incident if you don’t feel comfortable.

Anonymous Reporting

You can make an anonymous report here. It will go directly to the conference organizers.

We can’t follow up an anonymous report with you directly, but we will fully investigate it and take whatever action is necessary to prevent a recurrence.

If the person who is harassing you is a member of staff, they will recuse themselves from handling your incident.

All reports will be handled in the strictest confidence. We will respond as promptly as we can.

We appreciate your help in making this a safe environment for everyone.

This policy is a “living” document, and subject to refinement and expansion in the future. Last updated <November 1, 2022>.