Powhatan native Lillian L. Lambert was the first African-American woman to graduate from the Harvard University Business School.

The Rev. Sylvia V. Tucker, who lives in Disputanta, was the first female African-American hospital chaplain in Virginia.

The women are scheduled to share their success stories Friday, Sept. 25, with students at Chimborazo Elementary School, 3000 E. Marshall St., in the East End.

The occasion: The 6th Annual Back to School with the HistoryMakers.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is chair of the nationwide effort with the goal of having more than 400 African-American leaders go “back to school” in 67 cities and 32 states, according to organizers.

The program puts history makers in direct contact with more than 25,000 students in 200 schools across the nation to “inspire them with their life’s stories and to encourage youth to strive for excellence,” according to a news release about the event.

Ms. Lambert moved to New York City after graduating from Pocahontas High School in Powhatan’s Ballsville area. She worked as a maid and typist before going to Washington, where she was a typist for the federal government before she enrolled at Howard University.

She graduated in 1966 and entered Harvard Business School in 1967, where she co-founded the African-American Student Union. When she graduated in 1969, she was the first African-American woman to receive an MBA from the school.

Ms. Lambert went on to work as a stockbroker, teach at Bowie State College and serve as executive vice president of Unified Services, before starting her own janitorial company, Centennial One Inc., in 1976. Starting the company in her garage, she grew Centennial into a business with more than 1,200 employees and $20 million in revenue.

In 2001, she sold her company and became a professional speaker, coach and consultant. In 2003, she received the Harvard Business School Alumni Achievement Award.

Rev. Tucker was a homemaker from 1963 to 1978, when she became a financial adviser at First Merchants Bank in Richmond. She continued her financial counseling work at John Randolph Medical Center in Hopewell from 1983 to 1995.

In 1982, she earned a degree in theology at the University of Lynchburg Seminary. In 1994, she was ordained and licensed as a Baptist minister. Rev. Tucker was appointed to her historic post as chaplain of John Randolph Medical Center in 1985.

In 2000, she was appointed the national chaplain of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the first woman to hold that post.