President Passerini Delivers Keynote at Women Lead Luncheon

Gonzaga’s Women Lead is celebrating 10 years of growth and support – all housed within a uniquely powerful community.

The leadership program, started in 2015 by Sherri Lynch (’96, ’04 M.A., ’22 Ph.D.) and Rachelle Strawther (’16 M.A., ’20 Ed.D.), educates and empowers women through a variety of avenues, all with the Jesuit mission in mind.

Lynch, now assistant dean of the School of Leadership Studies, addressed the crowd at this year's annual Women Lead Fall Luncheon in November. “Our goal has always been to educate and empower women, and to bring speakers to campus that allow you to see yourself in another story.”

She described the program’s desire for speakers from a variety of life experiences, disciplines and organizations, so women can educate themselves in a way that feels authentic to their individual journey.

This year’s luncheon featured a particularly special keynote speaker – President Katia Passerini.

As Passerini took the stage to a resounding round of applause, she began her presentation with a series of statistics on women, specifically women in higher education. And while the numbers varied from slide to slide, her message resonated with Lynch’s introduction – women are making progress.

She also reflected on her hiring, and the realization she came to after her first press conference as Gonzaga’s president in July 2025.

“A lot of the news articles after that focused on the fact that I was the first woman president at Gonzaga,” she shared. “And then a few comments on social media from some who did not even seem associated with the University exclaimed, ‘Oh, she’s just another diversity hire.’” Fortunately, Passerini said, those social media commenters received quick corrections from others who were actually part of our community directing them to her prolific resume. But still, she hopes for the day when gender isn’t a part of the headlines, and our credibility is based on the strength of our accomplishments despite any other characteristic or attribute.

“Some leaders are born women, that’s how it is and how it needs to be,” she said, echoing a well-known quote from Geraldine Ferraro, the first female vice-presidential candidate for a major American political party.

After the keynote address, the luncheon moved on to a “fireside chat” where Passerini discussed the ways humility in leadership can both help and hinder.
“I always feel inadequate and fear that I don’t know enough, or I did not prepare enough, because, really, the more you know, the more you don’t know.” She calls that perpetual curiosity.

She carried this into the idea that often women, more so than men, have a hard time feeling like they are ready – ready for a promotion, ready to take a big leap – because they feel, as she does herself, that there is some more preparation and training to do.

“I am your president now because I happened to stumble into the interim presidency at my prior institution, Seton Hall,” she explained. “I had three hours to decide if I should take that job. I didn’t think I was ready. But I took that leap anyways. If I hadn’t stumbled into that opportunity, I would not have known that I was in fact good enough to be a president.

As Women Lead looks ahead at the next decade, the program will continue to host conferences and luncheons, and to create a community of women who are capable of making a difference – only now they’ll do so alongside President Passerini.