Booz Allen’s Eli Hinson Named an Employee of the Year by Careers & the disABLED Magazine

Booz Allen Hamilton Associate Eli Hinson was honored as an Employee of the Year by Careers & the disABLED magazine at an event held in Boston, Mass. on April 1. The award recognizes “the professional and personal achievements of outstanding individuals with disabilities.”

Eli was diagnosed with dyslexia as she entered her sophomore year at Old Dominion University. After graduating from ODU, Eli joined the United States Marine Corp, becoming a field wireman – Communications Specialist. As a field wireman, she had to encode, decode, set up complex cabling systems, identify sources of communications issues, and fix multiple cables either hundreds of feet over head on telephone poles or in muddy, bug-infested tunnels. Eli was assigned to Okinawa, Japan, and the intense overseas assignment led to severe hearing loss in her left ear. She now had two hidden disabilities – dyslexia and hearing loss.

In 2000, Eli joined Booz Allen, where she manages, designs, and deploys solutions to firm employees in the SharePoint 2013 environment.  Eli is member of the leadership team for Booz Allen’s disability employee resource group, the diverseABILITY Forum, and in turn encourages others to get involved – to build a supportive network of colleagues, mentors and managers; to confidently share stories of strength and success; and to identify their strengths and use them to make a difference.

Booz Allen Executive Vice President Joe Mahaffee said of the award, “Eli Hinson is a valued employee at Booz Allen, and so deserving of this honor. Eli’s contributions to the firm illustrate the value of our commitment to diversity, and to fostering an inclusive and supportive work environment for all of our employees. Booz Allen is a place where we value and seek out different ideas, opinions, experiences and abilities.”

For more on Eli’s journey from Marine to a successful career at Booz Allen, watch her video.