Olivier also learned to seek feedback that went beyond reassurance. In one leadership role, she pressed a colleague for specifics and learned that her facial expressions could discourage others from contributing. She asked a peer to signal when it happened in meetings, helping her pause, ask questions and listen more carefully. 

She distinguishes that useful guidance from the double standards she has also encountered: men described as passionate while her own intensity was treated as emotional. As a Black woman, she spoke candidly about the continuing pressure to demonstrate that she had earned her position. 

“I have to prove that I deserve to be in the seat every single day,” she said. 

Her candor makes room for an honest understanding of achievement. Reaching senior leadership has not erased those pressures. It has given her opportunities to intervene for others. 

Olivier describes inviting quieter colleagues into discussions and stopping the room from passing over their ideas. She recalled one woman telling her that, after 17 years in an organization, Olivier was the first person to validate a contribution she had made in a meeting. 

“My responsibility is to make sure everybody has a voice,” Olivier said. 

That responsibility gives her story particular meaning for women building their own careers. She offers practical encouragement grounded in disappointment, reflection and experience: communicate aspirations, ask for candid feedback and recognize the value of a different perspective—including one’s own. 

Her advice to her younger self carries that same directness: “Ask for what you want to get what you need sooner than later.” 

For Olivier, taking a seat also means noticing who is still waiting for permission. Her leadership offers an invitation to claim that place—and a responsibility to help others recognize theirs. 

Impact Honors: Advocacy

Patricia McHugh Lambert: Turning Advocacy into Opportunity

Advancing women’s leadership requires people willing to challenge barriers, build relationships, and bring women’s perspectives into the places where decisions are made. Patricia McHugh Lambert’s record of professional and public service exemplifies advocacy for women.

Within Executive Alliance, Lambert’s legacy includes helping strengthen relationships with Maryland’s Governor’s Appointments Office to diversify appointments and increase women’s representation on state boards and commissions. This work connected the mission of advancing women with opportunities to serve and influence public decisions.

The significance extends beyond individual appointments. Maryland’s boards and commissions regulate industries, oversee public institutions, administer state funds, and help shape policy. The Appointments Office assists the Governor in selecting people to serve on more than 600 such bodies. Helping more women access these roles brings their experience and expertise into decisions affecting communities throughout the state. 

Lambert served as Executive Alliance’s president in 2018–2019 supporting the Gender Diversity in the Boardroom legislation sponsored by then-Delegate Shelly Hettleman. Signed into law in May 2019, it established reporting requirements concerning women’s representation on corporate and large institutional nonprofit boards—turning concern about slow progress into public policy action. 

Her commitment extended into years of service on the Maryland Commission for Women. Appointed in May 2019, she subsequently held leadership positions, becoming First Vice Chair in 2024. The Commission studies women’s status, recommends ways to overcome discrimination, and advises state leaders on issues affecting women. 

An attorney with Pessin Katz Law, Lambert has paired her legal career with community leadership, including service as chair of United Way of Central Maryland’s Women’s Leadership Council and on its board and executive committee. Her contributions reflect a sustained investment in institutions that support women and families. 

Together, these efforts embody Executive Alliance’s mission of expanding women’s influence in business, government, and the community. Lambert’s advocacy connects capable women with opportunities while encouraging institutions to broaden their understanding of who can lead.

The inaugural Advocacy honor recognizes that lasting contribution: relationships developed with purpose, barriers challenged through collective action, and doors opened so more women can bring their voices to the table.

Impact Honors: Education 

Dr. Valerie Sheares Ashby: Preparing Women to Lead

For Dr. Valerie Sheares Ashby, education’s greatest promise is its power to change what people believe is possible for themselves. As president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, she brings that promise to a leadership approach grounded in service, inclusion, and helping others recognize their potential.

“I believe that education can change individual lives and families for generations to come,” she says. That conviction makes her a compelling choice for Executive Alliance’s inaugural Impact Honors Award in Education, recognizing the work of sharing knowledge and preparing women to lead. 

Sheares Ashby became UMBC’s sixth president in August 2022 and the first woman to hold the position. A chemist, educator, and academic leader, she previously served as dean of Duke University’s Trinity College of Arts and Sciences and chaired the chemistry department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her career demonstrates the breadth of influence women can bring to science and institutional leadership. 

Her commitment to women’s advancement also includes direct work supporting their development. At Iowa State University, she mentored participants in the Program for Women in Science & Engineering. At UNC, she directed the National Science Foundation Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate and helped launch the Chancellor’s Science Scholars Program, extending pathways into scientific study and careers. 

She also speaks candidly about the internal obstacles that can accompany achievement. In a 2022 profile, she discussed leading workshops on imposter syndrome and acknowledged, “I had it until I was 40.” Her vulnerability underscores how accomplished leaders can open themselves to uncertainty and help others move through it. That openness resonates for women imagining themselves in roles where they remain underrepresented. 

“Leadership is a privilege. Leadership is in service to others,” she told I95 BUSINESS. In the same interview, she described mentors’ responsibility to recognize possibilities students cannot yet see in themselves and support them until those possibilities become attainable. 

For Executive Alliance, that philosophy connects education with lasting impact. Sheares Ashby’s example reflects Executive Alliance’s belief that women advance through knowledge, relationships, visibility, and support. Her distinction as an educator lies in helping others see a future for themselves—and preparing them to step into it.

Impact Honors: Mentoring

Lynne Durbin: Building Relationships That Advance Women’s Leadership

For Lynne Durbin, President of Inline LLC, mentoring is a sustained commitment to helping women recognize opportunities, navigate decisions, and build relationships that support their careers. As one of Executive Alliance’s inaugural Impact Honorees, recognized for Mentoring, she has helped shape both the organization’s program and the experiences of its participants.

Throughout her career, Lynne was often one of few women in senior positions and frequently the only woman in the room in her corporate legal work. Without a mentor to offer guidance, she learned through experience and observation. Mentoring became a way to share that hard-earned knowledge.

Lynne was drawn to Executive Alliance because of its work to increase women’s representation on corporate boards. Later, with others, she helped revamp the mentoring program, establishing the Effective Impact model which combines individual mentoring relationships with structured professional development. 

The focus on women in middle management was intentional. These women had demonstrated competence but often faced barriers to greater responsibility. Connecting them with experienced senior women offered support for advancement into executive leadership and, ultimately, board service.

Lynne’s approach to mentoring begins with listening. Effective mentoring, she explained, means working to “encourage your mentee to think about what they really want.” She checks in on progress, revisits goals, and helps mentees consider next steps while respecting their responsibility to choose their direction.

An external mentor also offers space for candid conversations about workplace dynamics, advancement, and career changes. Lynne values the learning that flows both ways, as mentees introduce her to different industries and perspectives.

Relationships among mentees are equally important. Feedback from the first Effective Impact cohort helped strengthen the program’s emphasis on building those connections early. Lynne continues bringing former mentees together across cohorts and programs to exchange advice, celebrate achievements, and support one another.

Their presence reflects the lasting impact of her contribution and Executive Alliance’s mission: women sharing knowledge, opening doors, and strengthening one another’s leadership. Through her continued investment in these relationships, Lynne demonstrates how mentoring can support women well beyond a single program year.