Thank you to all the participants, employers, and volunteers who made the 2026 Mary T. Washington Wylie Internship Preparation Program a success! Our next program will be held in January 2027.
This award-winning program equips college students for success in accounting internships by providing access to training, resources, and mentors. At the end of the program, employers interview participants for a variety of paid internships.
A native of Chicago, Mrs. Washington Wylie (1906-2005) earned her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University. In 1939, when virtually no firms would hire African Americans or females, let alone an African American female, she began her own accounting practice in a basement on the South Side of Chicago. She became the first African American female CPA in the U.S. in 1943 and was a trailblazer who opened doors for future generations of African American accountants to follow in her historic footsteps.
Her accounting practice, known today as the Chicago firm of Washington, Pittman & McKeever LLC, was one of the largest black CPA firms in the country, and has since combined forces with Mitchell Titus, carrying on her legacy.
As a tribute to her legacy, on what would have been her 100th birthday in 2006, Lester H. McKeever Jr., along with the Illinois CPA Society and the CPA Endowment Fund of Illinois, established the Mary T. Washington Wylie Opportunity Fund. With more than $1 million in support from individual and corporate donors, the Fund makes programs like this possible, promoting diversity and strengthening the accounting profession.
Thank you to the following major donors for their generosity:
