Pioneering Harvard entrepreneur to be honored by Howard University
Free Press staff report | 2/2/2023, 6 p.m.
Lillian L. Lambert is being recognized by Howard University with its Alumni Award for Distinguished Postgraduate Achievement.
Mrs. Lambert was the first African-American woman to receive an MBA from Harvard University,
The award, which was announced on Wednesday, Dec. 14, will be presented during the university’s annual Charter Day Dinner on Saturday March 4.
Ms. Lambert was born in Ballsville in 1940. After graduating high school, she moved North and worked for a few years as a maid and typist in New York and Washington D.C. before deciding to further her education.
In 1962, Ms. Lambert began working on her bachelor’s degree at Howard University, and after graduating in 1966, she applied and was accepted into the Harvard Business School.
She graduated from Harvard in 1969. From there, she worked several jobs over a six-year period, accumulating enough money to found Centennial One in 1976 in Landover, Md. The building services company ultimately grew and expanded into six states with more than 1,2000 employees and $20 million in sales.
Her memoir, “The Road to Someplace Better,” was published in 2010.
An avid golfer, Mrs. Lamberts splits her time between Richmond and Sarasota, Fla.
