Yolanda Friend is the Inclusion and Diversity lead for Accenture North America and a managing director. She is responsible for setting the strategic direction of Accenture’s inclusion and diversity agenda in the United States and Canada. She leads actions to increase representation of diversity, build inclusive leaders at all levels, and promote awareness around why inclusion is a critical success factor for organizational performance. She is a member of Accenture’s North America Leadership Team.

Yolanda started her career at Accenture in 2006 through Talent & Organization within Accenture Strategy, where she led numerous clients through talent and workforce transformations. Since 2016, she has applied her expertise in embedding inclusion and diversity into Accenture’s business strategy and the talent life cycle. She partners with business leaders across the organization to maintain accountability for progress.

An advocate for change, Yolanda strongly believes that Accenture’s rich diversity of background, skills and lived experiences makes the company stronger and more innovative.

As a thought-leader, Yolanda’s previous speaking engagements, include Black Enterprise, Fair360 (DiversityInc), Great Place to Work, FairyGodboss, HRO Today, Seramount, and a multitude of culture moments and celebrations at Accenture, including International Women’s Day, Mental Health Awareness, Pride, National Disability Employment Awareness, heritage month celebrations, ERG leadership summits, and various professional development programs.

Yolanda holds a bachelor’s degree and MBA from Florida A&M University, a historically Black university. She also has an Executive Certificate in Strategic Diversity and Inclusion Management from Georgetown University. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Washington Ballet.
Yolanda is married with a blended family of four children and remains consciously grateful for the opportunity to drive meaningful change..