The International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO) announces Metro Nashville and Davidson County Assessor of Property Vivian Wilhoite has been named to the organization’s Diversity and Inclusion Task Force. The global organization of property assessing professionals has charged the task force with providing policy initiatives that affect change on the race, gender, and ethnicity of professionals working in the field and supply IAAO’s Board of Directors with recommendations on attracting a more diverse pool of candidates into careers in property valuation.

The IAAO is a professional membership organization of government assessment officials and others interested in the administration of the property tax. IAAO was founded in 1934, and now has a membership of more than 8,000 members worldwide from governmental, business, and academic communities.

“This is important work for our profession,” said Assessor Wilhoite. “I’m honored and excited to be a channel for change in such an impactful organization and to be a part of this significant effort on the part of my peers around the world.”

Wilhoite will be joined by colleagues from Tampa, Florida; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Los Angeles, California: Albuquerque, New Mexico; New Orleans, Louisiana; and St. George, Utah.

Wilhoite was first elected to the Assessor’s Office in 2016 and was the first African American elected to the office in Davidson County history. Last year, she was re-elected with the largest level of support of any candidate in the county.

In addition to her work on the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force, Assessor Wilhoite was also appointed to serve on the IAAO’s Standards on Public Relations Task Force charged with the establishment and maintenance of “standards designed to make assessing officers aware of the benefit of good public relations and to promote effective communications between the assessment office and the public.”