A Deloitte engineer builds support for women

Her role at Deloitte: Senior Manager, Government and Public Services, Deloitte & Touche LLP, Philadelphia.

Path to Deloitte: Chrystina first learned about Deloitte after participating in an internship while she was in college. “The team immediately felt like home to me,” she remembers. She returned to Deloitte after graduation and began working on capital and infrastructure projects, such as disaster recovery efforts after Hurricane Katrina. “I wasn’t really familiar with disaster recovery, and that project opened up a whole new world to me,” she says. That was 13 years ago. Chrystina now works in Deloitte’s Crisis and Grants Management practice, working to help clients leverage federal funds on efforts related to energy resources and climate change in state and local entities across the country.

Purpose in action: Soon after Chrystina came to Deloitte, she was asked to help lead what was formerly known as Women’s Initiative Network (now Women & Allies Community) in the Philadelphia office. “I’ve always been drawn to communities of women, and I had a great network in the Philadelphia area,” Chrystina says. After she became a manager, she worked to help start an informal group focused on women in infrastructure and capital projects. “I emailed the women in the group and asked, ‘Does anyone want to chat?’” she says. They did: “We built this cool community that you could rely on,” she says. “It was amazing to hear what people had to offer each other, and how we could support others within the practice.” When she moved to Crisis and Grants Management, she realized she would miss the community that had helped support her professionally and personally, so after a sabbatical in 2022, she decided to help build a new Women & Allies Community chapter within her new area. It now has 150 members, a quarterly newsletter, and virtual and in-person events that may focus on topics from parenthood to promotions. “It’s become a great space for women and allies to connect and talk about their career paths, as well as what may be happening outside work,” she says. Outside of work, Chrystina helps build podcasts and writes a blog about different topics with one common thread: building community.

Her impact: For her leadership efforts, Chrystina is a recipient of the 2024 Michelle Go Inclusive Leadership Award, given to professionals who work to help create environments of inclusion and belonging where professionals can bring their authentic self and leadership to Deloitte. “It has been truly awesome to connect with other colleagues over the past 13 years here, and I just want to keep building spaces where people can feel like they belong – that they have a place where they can be themselves,” Chrystina says. “One thing that has kept me here is the people and our inclusive nature, and when you can see that inclusiveness reflected in your day-to-day work, that feels like success to me.”