The Advisory Counsel, LLC

Patricia Gatling is a leading human rights and civil rights attorney, who served as Chair of the New York City Human Rights Commission and Deputy Secretary for Human Rights in the State of New York.  Gatling is the former First Assistant District Attorney, Kings County District Attorneys office and Special Assistant Attorney General at The Office to Investigate the New York City Criminal Justice System.  She  provides corporate crisis and diversity counsel and internal investigations. More

A national expert on business diversity and corporate governance, Rev. Jacques A. DeGraff is a noted  advocate for economic and social justice and equity for minority and women owned businesses.  One of New York’s Black Power 100, DeGraff served as Co-Chair of the Nielsen Advisory Council, Chair of the News Corp Community Awards and Vice President of NY 100 Black Men. He is a regular contributor on FOX NEWS and has been featured in the New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.   Read more

Bernadette B. Paolo is an attorney  and internationally-recognized expert on human rights and foreign policy. She served in the U.S. Congress as Staff Director of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, as Scholar-in-Residence at Duquesne University, and as an Advanced Leadership Fellow at Harvard.  Ms. Paolo was President of The Africa Society  and was appointed to the Presidential Trade Advisory Committee for Africa under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. More

Glenn Harvey is an investment banker with over 30 years of merchant banking,  private equity, CFO and corporate finance experience.  He is the Founder of the Pro Players Network and several social impact initiatives. Mr. Harvey's distinguished career in finance includes key positions at Comerica Bank, Credit Lyonnnais, Sumitomo Bank, Citicorp and as COO of Broadway Federal, a legacy African American financial institution. Harvey is active in philanthropic and humanitarian initiatives. 

Educated at Harvard Law School and Cornell University, Deborah Lathen is among the nation's leading corporate and regulatory lawyers. She is a Founding Board Member of the DC Office of Government Ethics and Accountability; a former Director at British Telecom (BT) and Board Member of the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council. Lathen was appointed Chief of  the Cable (now Media) Bureau at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). She provides counsel on corporate governance. Read more

Charles R. Jones, Jr. brings over 30 years of corporate, litigation, transactional, administrative, regulatory and legislative experience to his legal work for corporations, financial institutions, healthcare technology firms, trade associations and business leaders in the U.S.  Mr. Jones is known nationally for his expertise in building strategic alliances and joint ventures between minority business enterprises (MBEs) and Fortune corporations across sectors.