Making Connections and Celebrating Black Leaders

With a resume that includes Goldman Sachs, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, and Fannie Mae, Senior Associate Ebony Thomas has built her career at impressive organizations. And for the past 12 years at Booz Allen, she has worked on critical initiatives for federal clients.

But impactful work is just one of the reasons Thomas joined Booz Allen—and why she’s stayed. Here Thomas shares more about life at Booz Allen, along with reflections on Black History Month, thoughts about business resource groups (BRG), and advice for future leaders.

Throughout her time at Booz Allen, Thomas has been involved in the firm’s African American Network (AAN)—one of five global networks under Booz Allen’s Multicultural BRG. She was involved first as a volunteer, then as a committee member on the leadership team, and most recently as chair.

“It’s nice to have something to ground you at the firm,” Thomas explained. “It’s entirely too easy to be totally heads down and get lost in your project and client work. Business Resource Groups allow you to complement your work with something fun and impactful. They allow you to meet people from across the firm that you may not have otherwise met and build meaningful relationships and bonds.”

Every February for Black History Month, AAN celebrates with activities from panel discussions to museum tours. Year-round, AAN and Booz Allen’s other global networks provide opportunities for employees to connect with peers and leaders across the firm while building their careers. Thomas, for example, honed her presentation skills as part of the AAN leadership team and later was able to apply those skills to her client work.

She strongly recommends BRG participation to others. “Just do it; make the time. The benefits outweigh not getting involved.”

Thomas has been honored with numerous awards and recognitions during her time at Booz Allen. This year, for example, she was one of three Booz Allen employees honored with the Black Engineer of the Year Award (BEYA) Spectrum Science Trailblazer Award, which recognizes “bright men and women shaping the future of engineering, science, and technology.” Since 1986, BEYA has been a globally recognized event celebrating the achievements of people underrepresented in STEM fields. 

“I was very excited because Booz Allen has worked with BEYA for years,” Thomas said. “It’s an organization very near and dear to my heart because of their mission and what they do.”

Also this year, Consulting Magazine included Thomas among its Global Leaders for Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Programming. When she learned she’d been chosen, “I nearly jumped out of my seat,” she said.

One initiative that led to this recognition was a program Thomas co-founded for Black women leaders at the firm. For participants, it provides a venue for talking about issues and giving them a listening ear with senior partners. For Booz Allen, it generates a pipeline of Black women leaders.

“It was pivotal to me to create a platform where we connect Black women to executive leadership and make sure they have mentorship and sponsorship,” Thomas said. 

Consulting Magazine honored Thomas for her role in expanding Booz Allen’s Black History Month programming and its activities for Juneteenth, which AAN celebrated before it became a federal holiday. The enhanced programming included bringing in marquee speakers like Dr. Patricia Reid-Merritt, author and professor of social work and Africana studies at Stockton College; Nikki Giovanni, a world-renowned African-American poet; and Johnnetta B. Cole, former director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art and past president of Thomas’ alma mater, Spelman College, a prestigious, liberal arts college and one of the nation’s 107 historically Black colleges and universities.

Black history has had a presence in Thomas’ life since childhood. “My parents always made sure I knew our history to include well-recognized Black leaders as well as those that may have been less well-known.” Today, her uncle shares a news article or story every morning on underrecognized Black leaders such as inventors Alice H. Parker, whose central heating system in the early 20th century shaped how we heat our homes today, and Garrett Morgan, whose patented gas mask and three-light traffic signal have saved countless lives.

Connections to the present and future are just as important to Thomas. “Early on, one of my mentors told me to build and maintain my own personal Board of Directors,” she said. “It should include people who will be brutally honest about your growth areas, people you can confide in about anything, and people with a wide range of skills and backgrounds who have reached the professional aims you seek and can give you real advice in real time.”

In this spirit, Thomas lets junior colleagues “know they can call me or text me anytime,” she said. “I didn’t get here by myself. To whom much is given, much is required.”