Lauren Morse-Wendt, 2017 Women in Leadership award winner

The 2017 Women in Leadership award winner was Lauren Morse-Wendt, a Lutheran Deacon serving for the past 10 years on the staff of Edina Community Lutheran Church. Passionate about the intersection of faith and social justice, she is grateful to serve a congregation deeply committed to community involvement, particularly for the opportunity to see 66 West built.  A graduate of St. Olaf College and Luther Seminary, Lauren is a native Michigander who now calls Minnesota home.  She and her wife, Michelle, live in St. Paul with their children, Luke and Grace.

More about the Women in Leadership Award—Chrysanne Manoles joined the Rotary Club of Edina in 1988. She was the club's first female member, and joined our club a year before Rotary International allowed female members. 

In Manoles’ honor and to celebrate the work of women in the community, the Rotary Club of Edina established an annual women’s leadership award in 2008.

Reflecting society in 1905, the Rotary organization was limited to male members and remained so officially until 1989, when the Council on Legislation, Rotary’s parliament, voted to eliminate the male-only provision, opening up membership to qualified women across the world. However, the forward-thinking Rotary Club of Edina welcomed its first female member, Chrysanne Manoles, a year earlier in 1988. Manoles continues to be active in Rotary.

In Manoles’ honor and to celebrate the work of women in the community, the Rotary Club of Edina established an annual women’s leadership award in 2008. Previous winners include Ann Swenson, Dr. Laurel Wills, Ann Byrne, Donna Tilsner, Katey Taylor, Kim Foote and Kris Marshall.