Laysha Ward deserves a pat on the back. In 2010, the poised and compassionate leader has adhered closely to her personal leadership philosophy: “your words and your actions must be aligned.” As the president of Target Corporation’s community relations and Target Foundation, she launched the Target Read With Me initiative, which is aimed at helping more U.S. children read proficiently by the end of third grade.
For a woman who oversees Target Corporation’s domestic and international grant making, community sponsorships, cause marketing initiatives, and other civic activities and also leads its volunteerism efforts, encouraging and providing opportunities for more than 350,000 team members to give thousands of volunteer hours every year, she isn’t distracted from her passion to ensure that our children are equipped with “a chance to graduate from high school ready for college, a career and life.”
“Our focus on this issue [education crisis] comes at a critical time because K-12 education in America is in crisis. The stakes are high. According to recent data, we know that 1 in 4 American kids did not graduate from high school and nearly 40 percent of African American and Hispanic students didn’t earn a diploma. Over the next eight years, 75 percent of all job openings will require some form of post-secondary education,” says Ward.
“Target’s ties to education run deep. That’s why we are connecting our work in the arts, social services and voluntarism to education for greater impact,” continues Ward.
No matter which hat she’s wearing, a hard hat or something a little more fashionable to complement one of her dresses from Liberty of London for Target; or serving on the board of directors for the Corporation for National and Community Service, the nation’s largest grant maker for volunteering and service; on the Executive Leadership Council, a national membership organization for African American executives; as commissioner of the Aspen Institute’s Commission on No Child Left Behind; volunteering in the community as a member of The Links, an international woman’s service organization; or devoting time to activities with Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Ward’s spirit is always warm and filled with benevolence.
Earlier this year, Ward was tapped by the Denny’s Corporation board of directors to serve as the director; and this fall she was invited to impart words of wisdom at the Women’s Conference, a global women’s empowerment organization led by California’s first lady Maria Shriver.
Ward credits her mom and dad as her current heroes but her great-great-grandmother, Hattie, is the one who left these wise words etched in her heart: “There are a few things in life worth fighting for: family, friends, faith, freedom and an education.” –yvette caslin
