Tracey Walker
Area of Focus
Diversity, equity, inclusion ESG

Tracey Walker

National Leader of Culture, Diversity and Inclusion, Principal

About Tracey

Tracey Walker is the Chief Culture, Diversity and Inclusion (CDI) Officer for RSM US LLP. Tracey leads RSM's enterprise inclusion strategy, policy and programming for the workforce spanning 90+ offices in the US, Canada, El Salvador and India and supports the cultural effectiveness efforts of RSM International. She leads the firms C-suite Inclusion Council, defining inclusion goals and principles of action with focus on data, metrics, organizational behavior, inclusive learning and professional development, suppler diversity and inclusion within the talent experiences across the business.


Experience

Tracey is an experienced thought leader and has implemented transformative solutions to accelerate RSM’s leadership in the CDI space. She is a certified diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) specialist with more than 20 years of experience in the growth and development of public accounting initiatives. Her work has helped raise awareness and effectiveness of DEI across the accounting profession and her insights on equity and culture are frequently sought by business schools, industry trade organizations and others seeking innovative methods of implementing DEI and the exponential benefits of inclusion.

Tracey leads the firm’s Employee Network Group (ENG) Council and the 12 ENGs that champion underrepresented minorities, women, veterans and the differently abled. She designs inclusive learning and professional development experiences on topics that include unconscious bias and cultural dexterity, in addition to CDI leadership summits. Tracey is responsible for the firm’s supplier diversity and disadvantaged business partner programs, as well as inclusive client advisory and talent experience efforts across the firm. She also serves on the RSM Global Task Force and Middle Market Collaborative for Understanding, a client group of middle market organizations working together to actively advance inclusion and racial understanding.

Educated in organizational behavior and change management, Tracey has experience building functional, effective frameworks for diversity and inclusion which bridge across differences enriching organization culture and innovation. This background and education has been instrumental in helping her build firmwide methodologies and practices to create a more inclusive work environment and advance RSM enterprise strategy. Under her leadership, more than 50% of the firm and 85% of RSM partners have joined at least one ENG.

Previously, Tracey held several leadership roles with RSM, including federal government affairs and financial services for the public sector. She is a former federal lobbyist and is registered to represent RSM before federal lawmakers and policy officials. She leveraged her background in federal affairs to help RSM start its federal practice. Tracey began her career as a corporate representative appearing before the Illinois and New York state legislatures on intellectual property, franchise law and education matters.

Tracey is passionate about access to educational opportunities for underserved populations. She oversees the firm’s CDI Impact Fund for charitable partnerships—which provides scholarships through industry trade associations for minority accounting professionals—and co-leads the CEO Action for Racial Equity fellowship program. Outside of RSM, she helps youth navigate the college application process by funding and executing college tours, and by promoting financial literacy, aid and access for students across the United States. Similarly, she is dedicated to working within the firm to support first-generation professionals at RSM to ensure their success in the profession. 


Professional affiliations and designations

  • AICPA Most Powerful Women in Accounting
  • Association of Government Accountants Council for the Advancement of Women, founder
  • Center for Audit Quality Bold Ambition Board
  • Consulting Magazine Women Leaders in Consulting Award
  • Diversity MBA Media Top 100 Women of Influence
  • Greater Washington Board of Trade, inclusion task force
  • Council of Historically Black Colleges and Universities
  • Howard University Center for Accounting Education, Board of Directors
  • National Urban League Northern Virginia Board of Directors, Chair
  • RSM Global, Culturally Effective Business Task Force

Education

  • Master of Science, management, organizational behavior, honors, Harvard University
  • Certified diversity professional/advanced practitioner, intercultural/multicultural and diversity, School of Industrial Labor Relations, Cornell University