I recently had the pleasure to meet Patricia Ann Neely (Pat Neely) in person, when I interviewed her about her career as a musician for this podcast series. Pat has had a long and varied career as a musician, educator, and administrator. She is also a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion, especially in the early music community, and serves as Chair of Early Music America's IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access) Taskforce. Ms. Neely recalls with personal experience her own introduction to the field as a young musician, and she is actively engaged in the quest to reach out and draw in people from underserved communities, so they can feel welcome and valued, and experience the joy and personal transformation that music offers. This is the first in what we hope will be an ongoing conversation with Pat about what diversity and inclusion mean, why these are important goals, and what steps are being taken by various organizations achieve them.