The products of a creative eye and artful stitching, family and community histories can be found in quilts—whether based on a grandmother's favorite dress or a neighbor's colorful shirt. While retaining the individual qualities of each prized contribution, the sum of the parts becomes much more than each scrap of material, causing some quilts and the stories they tell to last for generations.

Not unlike a quilt, the fabric of a corporation is built on the contributions of each of its employees. Always looking for the best and the brightest, the business community has come to recognize that diversity in the workplace plays to that goal.

For PBS&J, the road that will help take us there includes the firm’s new Corporate Diversity Advisory Council (CDAC). Established in late 2003, PBS&J is using the CDAC as a jumping-off point for reiterating and strengthening its corporate commitment to developing best practices for recruiting, retaining, and advancing people of diverse backgrounds.

The Council, comprising 16 members including African, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific, Middle Eastern, and Caucasian Americans, both men and women, is organized into seven task forces to carry out a long-term strategic plan. In the early stages, emphasis will be placed on fostering a corporate environment that embraces all types of people and values differences, building greater diversity into business and procurement practices, and expanding PBS&J’s participation within diverse communities and professional organizations.

Midway through a tour of offices to roll out PBS&J’s diversity initiative, President and CEO John Zumwalt, III, P.E. and CDAC chair, Cecilia Green, have addressed employees firsthand about the firm’s plan for program implementation. “Fundamental change to PBS&J culture is under way and will continue until we’re living it and it’s part of who we are,” comments Zumwalt.

Aware that PBS&J needs to build more multicultural project teams that reflect client and partner work forces in various regions of the U.S., Zumwalt reinforces the importance of the job ahead, noting that “We will not leave any deserving employee behind, and certainly not because of diversity issues. PBS&J is putting a new face on its future.”

Questions about PBS&J's Corporate Diversity Advisory Council and Diversity Initiative can be directed to Diversity@pbsj.com.