NEW YORK, NY/diversitybusiness.com/ Deloitte & Touche LLP, one of the nation's leading professional services firms, today announced the formation of an external Diversity Advisory Board that will assist the firm in enhancing its diversity efforts. Deloitte & Touche believes that the objectives of diversity and inclusion lead to better ideas and excellence in performance. The firm is seeking to enhance a collegial culture that relies on input from all its people.

"At Deloitte & Touche, we have a strong commitment to diversity, and this is evident in the resources that we have dedicated to this effort. In order to facilitate the execution of our diversity strategy, we are drawing on the expertise and advice of leaders who can bring an informed perspective," said William Parrett, U.S. managing partner and the firm's Diversity and Inclusion champion. "We are delighted to be able to tap into the experience of these seven leaders, and they were chosen because they understand our diversity goals and what we are trying to achieve."

"The Diversity Advisory Board is charged with advising us on the implementation of the firm's diversity strategy. Ultimately, the board will examine and evaluate recommendations for diversity practices that enhance Deloitte's position as an 'employer of choice,'" said Redia Anderson, national principal, Diversity and Inclusion Initiative. "Our diversity strategy includes creating, executing, and evaluating practices that yield quantifiable results in recruitment, retention, advancement, development, and deployment. Diversity is purposefully linked to the firm's business goals."

With the full support of the firm's leadership, including William Parrett, Redia Anderson, and Jim Wall (principal, Human Resources Management), the prominent and national leaders selected include Weldon H. Latham, Esq., senior partner, Holland & Knight LLP, who will chair the board; The Honorable Aida Alvarez, former administrator, U.S. Small Business Administration; Dr. Alfred Gottschalk, chancellor emeritus, Hebrew Union College; Jewell Jackson McCabe, chair, National Coalition of 100 Black Women; The Honorable Lynn Martin, former U.S. secretary of Labor; Omar Wasow, NBC internet analyst and executive director of Blackplanet.com; and, Bonnie Wong, president, Asian Women in Business.

Weldon H. Latham, chairperson of the board, said, "I was honored to be asked to chair the Deloitte & Touche Diversity Advisory Board. Clearly, Deloitte & Touche has distinguished itself with its Women's Initiative, and the creation of this outside board further demonstrates its leadership in diversity, both in the professional services industry and in corporate America."

About the advisory board members

Weldon H. Latham, senior partner of Holland & Knight LLP and practice area leader of its Corporate Diversity Counseling Group, will serve as chair of the Diversity Advisory Board. Latham represents a wide range of clients -- Fortune 200 CEOs, other major corporations, minority businesses, and local governments -- in such legal matters as crisis management and diversity representation, discrimination litigation, corporate transactions, and federal legislative and regulatory matters. Latham also has a distinguished record of public service, including serving as assistant general counsel, White House Office of Management and Budget during the Ford administration and diversity advisor to President Clinton. He is a columnist for the Diversity Journal and MBE magazines, and has received numerous awards for minority business and corporate diversity advocacy.

Aida Alvarez, as head of the U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA), was the first Hispanic woman to serve in a president's cabinet. During her tenure, the number of SBA guaranteed loans to minority-owned businesses tripled and to women-owned businesses, doubled. Alvarez created the Office of Federal Housing Agency Oversight (OFHEO), the federal agency responsible for financial supervision and oversight of the trillion-dollar secondary mortgage market (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac). Prior to that she was an investment banker with First Boston and Bear Stearns. Alvarez was an award-winning journalist for The New York Post and Metromedia Television (now Fox TV). Currently, she serves on the Harvard Board of Overseers, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the Coalition for Supportive Housing.

Dr. Alfred Gottschalk, chancellor emeritus of Hebrew Union College and former president of the Museum of Jewish Heritage, served as a distinguished professor of Bible and Jewish Religious Thought, and is the John and Marianne Slade Professor of Jewish Intellectual History. Gottschalk has been an active member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council. He is currently chairman of its Academic Committee, and serves on the Executive Committee, Committee on Conscience, and Collections and Acquisitions Committee.

Jewell Jackson McCabe, a visionary businesswoman and founder and chair of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, is a presidential, gubernatorial, and mayoral appointee. A consultant to major corporations, cultural, and civic institutions, President Clinton appointed her to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, where she was a member of the congressionally-mandated Committee on Conscience. Her overriding objective as noted in an article in Fortune magazine, " ... is to establish common ground for women-of-color between the public and private sectors."

Lynn Martin, an unparalleled authority on modern workplace issues and former U.S. secretary of Labor under the first President Bush, championed the issues of all workers, particularly females and minorities, by providing comprehensive solutions that strengthened the labor market. For her strong leadership and sound economic guidance, and in recognition of her ten-year career as a congresswoman, the Chicago Sun-Times named Martin one of the fifteen "Women of the Century".

Omar Wasow, cyberspace pioneer and a technology analyst for WNBC-TV's Today in New York and NPR's Tavis Smiley Show, is the executive director of BlackPlanet.com, a leading site for African Americans and one of the 25 most popular sites on the net. He was named a "pioneer in Silicon Alley" by The New York Times; one of the "fifty most influential people to watch in cyberspace" by Newsweek; and, one of Silicon Alley's "Top 10" by the Village Voice. Wasow tutored Oprah Winfrey in her first exploration of the net in the 12-part series Oprah Goes Online. As a result of his active participation in a number of social issues, particularly the charter school movement, Wasow was selected to be a fellow in the Rockefeller Foundation's Next Generation Leadership program.

Bonnie Wong, entrepreneur, is the founder and president of the only non-profit organization in the U.S. dedicated to assisting Asian women business owners. Asian Women in Business (AWIB) provides technical assistance, training, and support to Asian women who want to start or expand their own businesses. She is also founder and co-chair of the 21st Century Women's Leadership Center, a member of the Fleet Bank Women of Color Advisory Board, and the National Council for the Asian Pacific American Business Associations.

About Deloitte & Touche

Deloitte & Touche, one of the nation's leading professional services firms, provides assurance and advisory, tax, and management consulting services through nearly 30,000 people in more than 100 U.S. cities. The firm is dedicated to helping its clients and its people excel. Known as an employer of choice for innovative human resources programs, Deloitte & Touche has been recognized as one of the "100 Best Companies to Work For in America" by Fortune magazine for five consecutive years. Deloitte & Touche refers to Deloitte & Touche LLP and related entities. Deloitte & Touche is the U.S. national practice of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu is a Swiss Verein, and each of its national practices is a separate and independent legal entity.

Source: Deloitte & Touche