Dream Big, Act Bold: Fireside Chat with Lillian Lincoln Lambert, MBA

HBS Women's Association - Fireside with Lillian Lincoln Lambert, MBA, the first black woman Harvard MBA and her remarkable journey of how she achieved the American dream moderated by Karen Stanley, MBA.

The story of power of persistence, resilience, courage, morality, and faith. Lillian knows how to transform challenging circumstances into an accomplished personal and professional life.

Lillian rose from humble beginnings as a poor farm girl in the segregated South to become the first black woman to earn an MBA from Harvard Business School and, later, the founder of a $20 million maintenance company with 1,200 employees. From dead-end jobs in NYC and D.C., to the ivory tower and the world of entrepreneurship.

Just imagine… When Lillian arrived at the Harvard Business School in September ‘67 (actually she arrived at Radcliffe College graduate dormitory because women were not allowed to live in the accommodations at the Business School), her first thought was “Why am I here!” Harvard was the top business school in the world for training managers and she was encouraged to go there. The first class of women was admitted to HBS in 1963. African American women had never attended. Even upon her arrival, the school was not totally ready to embrace the presence of women. Dormitories were still designed to house men only. Hence, the need for female students to live at Radcliffe, requiring them to walk a half mile to classes.