photo by steed media service

Principle, Deloitte Consulting LLP

The League of Black Women (LBW) recently conducted a survey which concluded that black professional women are vastly underrepresented in leadership roles. Therefore, cheers were not out of line when Tonie Leatherberry shared with ro that she would be promoted to principle at Deloitte Consulting LLP at the end of August. And that's cause for celebration for every working woman, from blue-collar workers to corporate executives. Leatherberry is a 16-year veteran at Deloitte, a company that has been named eight times on Fortune magazine's annual list of "100 Best Companies to Work For." In her role as a management consultant, she specializes in governance, risk and compliance. "I serve Fortune 100 clients . [I] help [them] understand the regulatory environment and translate that into day-to-day practices and operations," she says.

Leatherberry pointed out that there aren't a lot of people of color in her area of special services because blacks have typically chosen fields that serve the community (e.g., doctors, teachers, social workers, clergy). Leatherberry retained the services of a labor economist, and based on the findings, determined that it's necessary for companies to realize blacks' potential and nurture their talents throughout their academic careers, from high school to post-graduate school.

Leatherberry, who earned her MBA from Boston University, offers this advice to women: "Resiliency is really about helping women proactively manage their careers at the end of the day. We can fall into so many traps related to our own paradigm and not think about how others perceive us. That's how we derail ourselves. We look to others to anoint us as opposed to claiming what should be ours." -yvette caslin

Share this article with a friend