Raising friends, while raising funds.

It takes a village to raise a child, but it really only takes one woman to make a significant difference in the lives of others. Just ask Natalie Lupton.

Lupton is an adjunct faculty member and instructional coordinator at Central Washington University. She's also a distance doctoral candidate in the higher education administration, curriculum and instruction program at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.

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In her position at Central Washington, she happened to cross paths with Ruth Harrington, a Phi Beta Kappa and alumna, who is married to the school's retired provost, Ed Harrington. Ruth Harrington had invited Lupton to her monthly brunches many times over the past few years. A year ago, Lupton finally found time to go.

Attending her first brunch, Lupton found not simply an excuse to share a meal with like-minded women, but a model program of philanthropy, given an effective leader. She spoke about Harrington--her scholarships and her famous brunches--at the Women in Educational Leadership conference held in Lincoln NE in September.

An effective model of leadership

As part of her doctoral research, Lupton is studying the characteristics of women leaders. Her employer, Central Washington University, presents a unique model because it has women in the offices of the president, VP, dean and chair of her department. Such a school is more likely to spawn a leader like Harrington, but it's not the only school that could do so.