A diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) culture change journey begins as an ethical imperative. What is sometimes less apparent is a competitive advantage and financial upside of prioritizing DEI. Diana Candelaria Reyes founded Candelaria Reyes Consulting (CRC) to help companies reap the full potential of their organizational strategy.

CRC helps leaders identify DEI gaps and execute strategies that drive their organization’s ability to reach business and culture objectives.

“Collaborative partnership is at the heart of all our work, and we help our clients create stronger, robust, and more inclusive cultures by providing them with a trusted team of advisors and a process that works, allowing them to make greater strides in their DEI journey,” states Reyes.

The key to CRC’s success is its comprehensive process and a team of experts dedicated to cutting edge research and solutions that accelerates the client’s journey. It begins with data collection and assessment, where it conducts a DEI survey and reviews an organization’s data, like wages, hiring practices, promotions, and demographic information. Data scientists’ study quantitative and qualitative data to understand where a company stands in their DEI journey and make specific recommendations.

CRC then crafts a path forward for organizations, helping them sustain progress in successful areas and identifying opportunities for continued growth and learning. CRC stays with them throughout the process: formation, implementation, and evaluation.

The client’s voice is at the core of every DEI endeavor CRC undertakes. This is because diversity means different things throughout the world, and it is crucial for organizations to identify what DEI means to them. CRC asks intentional questions that help clients determine and develop the right culture within their organization. This includes elevating their discussion from theory to having open dialogues around organizational change.


CRC boasts a diverse clientele, including leading corporate, government, and non-profit organizations. This value-driven approach helped a healthcare organization with 5,000 employees who were challenged with initiating seamless conversations around DEI with employees. CRC’s listening skills helped them notice that the word ‘diversity’ triggered negative responses and blocked deeper conversations among employees. CRC replaced the word with ‘differences,’ changing the mindset from defensiveness to curiosity in conversations. CRC also found that the client tended to strive for first-time perfection and, often lost time and effort trying to maneuver the perfect solution. This was the leading cause of employees’ demotivation in adopting new ways of interacting. CRC overcame this challenge by coaching them to act with more agility. The final turning point was when CRC guided the executive team in modeling the way through courage, humility, and discipline.
Reyes’ personal experience profoundly impacts her work. As a Latina, DEI advisor, executive coach, and strategy consultant, featured in Forbes and Fortune as one of Houston's top businesswomen, she demonstrates the empathy and proven experience to work with all levels of the organization, recognizing nothing can be done alone. The company’s tagline, ‘enabling people to execute organizational strategy,’ describes its mission of doing the right thing while making the world a better place.