Lynne Sherwood Women's Leadership Award

Honoring women who have made an impact.

The Alma College Lynne Sherwood Women’s Leadership Award was created in 2024 to honor women in the state of Michigan from a variety of fields who have made an impact in leadership roles. The award is named after Lynne Sherwood, who served on the Alma College Board of Trustees from 2002-12.

Sherwood was one of only eight of the first women admitted to the Master of Business Administration program at Harvard Business School in 1963. She graduated from Harvard the following year and moved on to what was then known as Goldman, Sachs & Co., where she was the first female MBA to be hired by the firm.

Sherwood had a distinguished career with Goldman Sachs, serving for 35 years as securities analyst, vice president and associate director of special projects, before returning to Grand Haven.

She passed away in 2016, far too soon. Lynne Sherwood is remembered as a trailblazer for women who never forgot her roots in Michigan.

Award criteria and nomination process

The Alma College Lynne Sherwood Women’s Leadership Award is given on annual basis, during Women’s History Month in March, with its winner being decided by a committee of leaders on the campus of Alma College. To recommend someone, or to nominate yourself, for the 2025 award, please send a nomination letter by Nov. 30, 2024, to committee chair Sarah Dehring at dehringsm@alma.edu.

The letter should describe how the leader has made an impact in her field(s), as well as share evidence of her dedication to the advancement of women in Michigan.

Winners Gallery

Dorothy “Dottie” Johnson was announced as the first winner of the Alma College Lynne Sherwood Women’s Leadership Award in March 2024. Johnson served as the founding president and CEO of the Council of Michigan Foundations, the largest regional association of grant-makers in the country. Before taking the role within the Council of Michigan Foundation, Johnson was the first female planning commissioner in Grand Haven. She has served in many nonprofit and philanthropic roles, including as trustee of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation for 32 years, founding commissioner of the Michigan Community Service Commission and the board of the Kellogg Company.