Leadership and Executive Development for women of all races, cultures and backgrounds
Issue link: https://diversitywoman.epubxp.com/i/343997
32 D I V E R S I T Y W O M A N S u m m e r 2 0 1 4 d i v e r s i t y w o m a n . c o m M E N A S A L L I E S "Tere are many programs you can set up, but nothing sup- plants a senior person mentoring and advocating for a junior person," says Van Lee. "Here at BAH, we want to make sure that our high-potential women get to take advantage of those connections." Jorge Quezada emphasizes that these relationships are mul- tifaceted. "Ideally, I as a man would mentor a woman, and a woman would mentor a junior male in the organization. Per- haps a Latina woman would be mentored by both another La- tina woman and a white male. "I recently got some great advice that I now pass along," Quezada says. "Find someone that you feel comfortable with who is like you. Ten fnd someone who is totally diferent from Reginald Van Lee is an executive vice president at Booz Allen Hamilton's Washington, DC location, where he leads the frm's Global Commercial business, with em- phasis on the energy, fnancial services, and health-care industries. Van Lee joined Booz Allen in 1984. Prior, he worked as a research engineer. He holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School as well as MS and BS degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Van Lee has coauthored a number of articles on the topic of strategy implementation and the book Megacom- munities: How Leaders of Government, Business and Non- Profts Can Tackle Today's Global Challenges Together. He has appeared on ABC-TV's World News This Morning and on CNBC, and co-led the Urban Enterprise Initiative with the William Jefferson Clinton Foundation, which focused on driving enhanced competitiveness of small businesses in Harlem. He is a founding member of the Clinton Global Initiative. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2008 Black Engineer of the Year Award and the Joseph Papp Racial Harmony Award from the Foundation for Ethnic Un- derstanding. In addition, Consulting magazine named Mr. Van Lee one of the top 25 consultants in the world. Deeply embedded in the community, Van Lee serves as chairman of the board of Washington Performing Arts, chairman of the board of the National CARES Mentoring Movement, and chairman emeritus of the board of Evi- dence, A Dance Company. He was appointed by President Obama to the board of trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He is a trustee of the Stu- dio Museum in Harlem board and of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology board. REGINALD VAN LEE: Executive Vice President, Booz Allen Hamilton you, and also fnd someone who will just shoot from the hip and give it to you straight. I am Latino, so it's important for me to have someone who is also Latino—as well as someone who isn't. Since I'm a male, I also want to fnd a woman as a mentor. I don't have problems with confrontations or being outspoken, so I also want to fnd someone who is an introvert and processes things diferently to work with me. Good mentorship and spon- sorship encompass every dimension of diversity, not just race and gender." Pemberton agrees that mentorship and sponsorship need to be a two-way street. Accordingly, a woman who wants to advance and grow has the responsibility to seek out those relationships and not just wait to be invited. "Don't wait to be discovered," he