Doranne Hudson
Board Member, SchoolSmartKC
Doranne Hudson’s passion for developing leaders threads through her corporate, university, and volunteer work. Most recently, as associate teaching professor at UMKC’s Bloch School, she created leadership courses across BBA, MBA, and executive education programs. Her teaching won multiple Best Faculty awards from both students and the university.
Doranne began her career as a social worker in Massachusetts. After completing an MBA, she spent 23 years in the corporate sector, at Gillette in brand management and at Hallmark, where she was a senior vice-president and corporate officer. She led business units, subsidiaries, and the 5000-store retail division, and served on the Hallmark UK Board of Directors before retiring.
In addition to serving on SSKC’s Board, she serves as vice-chair of the UMKC Board of Trustees and co-chair of the Startland board of directors. Past board service includes MRI Global, KCPT, Girl Scouts, Women’s Foundation, and Central Exchange where she was board chair. She holds a BA from Duke University, an MSW from Washington University, and an MBA from Harvard University.
March is Women’s History Month – who were some of your role models when you entered your professional career?
Well, I didn’t have many female role models – women in leadership positions were a rarity in the 70’s and 80’s. Dr. Juanita Kreps, dean of students at the University I attended, stood out to me for her intelligence, compassion, and understated elegance. She later became the first US Secretary of Commerce and I cheered her on at every step. I realized that breaking ceilings needed to be part of my own life. Later, there were a couple of group brand managers I worked for at Gillette who were female. I learned much about strategy, consumer focus, and positioning from these pioneers – as well as the importance of decisiveness and earning respect in male-dominated business settings. Turns out these are important everywhere!
You have worked as a leader in Kansas City for many years: What have been some experiences that stand out to you, and what accomplishments are you most proud of?
I loved my marketing and senior management roles at Gillette and Hallmark, launching new products, leading business units and divisions, and managing subsidiary companies. But I am proudest of my teaching career (spanning 14 years after retiring from Hallmark). To be able to impact the next generation – both in the classroom and as a mentor – was incredibly rewarding.
As a female executive, you are a role model and mentor to many young professionals – what advice do you give to other young leaders looking to build their careers?
I had lunch today with a young woman. Here are some top “lessons learned” I shared with her:
- Get in the driver’s seat of your career. It is rare that one is “tapped on the shoulder.” Instead, move mountains by being open, opportunistic, and relentlessly going after what you want (and CHANGE what you don’t like or want).
- Be bold. Our tendency is to stay in a zone of comfort and proficiency. Instead, push this away for discomfort, challenge, and steep learning. In fact, occasionally make people think you’re a little crazy!
- Self-awareness, personal insight, and learning trumps everything. Ironically, adversity, not success, will likely define you over your lifetime. So, your resilience, positivity, and capacity to reinvent are the true markers of a “portfolio” of successful and rewarding careers.
Why did you decide to join the SchoolSmartKC board? How does it fit in with your other Board commitments, and why is public education essential in Kansas City?
SchoolSmartKC represents a great combination of my two passions – education and leadership development, so it was an easy decision! EVERY student deserves a high-quality education, and to me, this focus seems even more important today, given the growing economic disparities. I want to do my small part to deliver equity in education. And the energy and commitment – and the tangible results – of the SSKC team recharge my enthusiasm every time we meet.
As a community leader, what do you think that fellow Kansas Citian and the community can do to support schools, young people, and the closing of the achievement gap?
Two ideas: Commit to doing SOMETHING to contribute to public education, whether volunteering at a school, leading an organization, serving on a committee – whatever. And bring a positive, can-do spirit to the tough, thorny issues that can weigh people down. The next generations deserve our fresh thinking, perseverance and optimism.