4 minute read
Lynnette Jackson Crenshaw ’ 93
2024 Distinguished Alumna
Senior Vice President, Key Private Bank and Community Leader
If one were to identify the through line of Lynnette Jackson Crenshaw’s '93 life, both at Laurel and in the community, it would be leadership. As anyone who has known her since she entered Laurel in the Sixth Grade can attest, Lynnette has always embodied what it means to be a leader. A fierce field hockey player, she was the goalie of the 1990 state semi-finals team. In her Senior year, she served as President of Student Government, co-captained the field hockey and basketball teams, and was awarded the Humanitas Award by the Laurel School Parents Association.
A proud HBCU alum, Lynnette graduated from Hampton University with a bachelor’s of science degree in marine and environmental science and began what she assumed would be a long career as an environmental chemist. Life, however, would have other plans. Looking to broaden her opportunities beyond analyzing material at toxic land sites, she parlayed a volunteer experience on the mayoral campaign for Cleveland’s first, and to date only, female mayor into a fulltime job at Cleveland City Hall. She built on her experiences as special assistant to the Mayor and then Schools Planning Chief, serving as the chief liaison between Cleveland City Hall and the Cleveland Municipal School District, and earned her MBA from Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management, where she served as President of the Graduate Business School Association and as a member of Weatherhead’s advisory board. She was selected as an American Marshall Memorial Fellow and traveled to Amsterdam, Brussels, Prague, Lisbon and Bratislava with other young leaders from across the US for an immersive sixweek experience. For nearly two decades she has worked in wealth management, initially at National City/PNC and then for the last 14 years at Key Private Bank where she received KeyBank’s Chairman’s Award for Neighbor of the Year in 2018.
It is precisely that sense of being a good neighbor and role model that defines her personal ethos. A member of the inaugural class of Cleveland Bridge Builders for midcareer professionals, Lynnette is passionate about giving back to her hometown and that commitment is evident in her longstanding involvement with two other all-women organizations—The Links Incorporated, Western Reserve (OH) Chapter and the Rainbow Babies and Children’s (RBC) Foundation. Exemplifying the core values of The Links— friendship, service, commitment, integrity, respect for self and others, legacy, and accountability—she served as chair and co-chair on a number of Links committees, then as corresponding secretary and as President. Under her leadership as President, The Western Reserve Links raised $100,000 for transformational programs, celebrated its 30th anniversary with signature programming, and piloted what would become the award-winning Growing Leaders Program focused on empowering greater Cleveland high school girls toward greater academic success and achievement leading to college admission and beyond.
Over her nine-year term on the Rainbow Babies and Children’s Foundation Board, she helped design and launch the Foundation’s coed Associate Board for young professionals ages 21-40. One of her supporters noted: “Lynnette was an advocate for the importance that young professionals play in shaping the future of many legacy organizations.”
As anyone who attends Laurel basketball games can attest— she is among its most devout supporters—Lynnette bleeds Green and White, and she brought that same engagement, dynamism, and devotion to her trailblazing leadership of two of Laurel’s volunteer boards. She served as the first alumna of color President of Laurel’s Alumnae Association—during her tenure, her team established the Sarah Lyman Day of Community Service which has expanded and is still going strong 12 years later—and she was the first person of color to serve as Chair of the Board of Trustees.
For her dedication to institutions working on behalf of the citizens of Cleveland, for her unwavering commitment to mentoring young women, especially those of color, and for her insightful Board leadership, strategic thinking and wise counsel to her alma mater, the Laurel School Alumnae Association bestows the Distinguished Alumna Award on Lynnette Jackson Crenshaw ’93.
