Trinity Alumnae, Trustees, and Honorary Degree Recipients Among Washingtonian Magazine’s “100 Most Powerful Women”
Three Trinity alumnae, three Trinity honorary degree recipients, and three Trinity trustees were named to Washingtonian magazine’s list of the “100 Most Powerful Women” in the October 2011 issue of the magazine. In a preface to the list, the Washingtonian noted that “It’s been a very good year for women in Washington…. So many women are in powerful positions in Washington today that selecting the top 100 is more challenging than ever.” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor and First Lady Michelle Obama are on the list.
Trinity alumnae who are among the “Washingtonian‘s 100 Most Powerful Women” are:
, who is also a member of Trinity’s Board of Trustees, who was recognized for her leadership in growing Trinity from a small college into “an innovative higher-education system for students of all ages and backgrounds. McGuire has considerable clout in the business community, too.” Read her blog post about the Washingtonian luncheon honoring the 100 most powerful women.
Democratic Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi ’62: “The California Democrat’s backbone helped prevent the president from caving on provisions of health-care reform and she was the only woman in the room during the debt-crisis talks.”
Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius ’70: The former governor of Kansas “has had a visible and powerful portfolio with health care front and center on President Obama’s agenda.”
Three Trinity honorary degree recipients and Commencement speakers were also named to the list:
Dr. Johnnetta Cole, director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Trinity’s most recent Commencement speaker in 2011: “Sometimes it seems the sheer force of her personality keeps this underground treasure of a museum from being overshadowed by the Smithsonian’s larger and more visible components.”
President and CEO of the DC Chamber of Commerce Barbara Lang, who was Trinity’s Commencement speaker in 2007 and is a member of Trinity’s Board of Trustees: “An outspoken advocate of improving the District’s business climate, Lang has given the once-sleepy local chamber renewed visibility.”
U.S. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), who was Trinity’s Commencement speaker in 1995: She “may not have a vote, but she has plenty of smarts. She shepherded the Department of Homeland Security’s move to the campus of St. Elizabeths Hospital.”
In addition to President McGuire and Barbara Lang, a third Trinity Trustee was named to the list:
Terri Lee Freeman, president of the Community Foundation for the National Capital Area: She “inspires local philanthropists to put their money where the needs are.”
Other Trinity women also made the list:
Former Trinity Trustee Carol Thompson Cole, president of Venture Philanthropy Partners: “Her community and government experience and her interpersonal skills make Cole the ideal go-between for the hard-charging entrepreneurial funders of VPP and the nonprofits that receive VPP investment funds.”
Trinity’s “Washington Woman of Genius” awardee Linda Rabbitt, founder and CEO of Rand Construction and chairman of the Federal City Council: She is “former chair of the Greater Washington Board of Trade and one of the most powerful women in the business community.”
U.S. Congresswoman Donna Edwards (D-MD), who spoke on Trinity’s campus in September 2011: “The Maryland Democrat, an emerging voice of the liberal left in Congress, became a You-Tube sensation by quoting White Stripes lyrics on the House floor to protest a possible government shutdown.”
“The fact that so many Trinity women are among the most powerful women in Washington is a testament to Trinity’s commitment to the empowerment of women, and our tradition of engaging successful women leaders as trustees and honorary degree recipients to serve as role models for our students,” said Ann Pauley, vice president for institutional advancement. “I am confident that among our recent Trinity graduates and our current students, there are several future powerful women whom we will see on this list,” she added.