Breaking Glass
Celebrating Ann McLaughlin Korologos, 1941–2023
Her biography reads as a who’s who, with accomplishments most people can only dream of in a lifetime. Doing any one thing she did was a feat in her day and age. Doing them all… unheard of and inspiring. Even for a man. Especially for a woman. Awe-provoking, really.
I met Ms. Korologos when she had the good grace to accept an invitation to speak at our inaugural Outsell Women’s Conference in 2018. A friend knew her and said she would be perfect. And she was. She accepted sight unseen and by recommendation.
I met her twice — once by phone to discuss her keynote and then that day, onstage and after.
I was struck by her — what she stood for, and her amazing roster of great work done. Press secretary for the Inaugural Concerts for Nixon’s second inauguration… Under Secretary of the Department of the Interior, Under Secretary of the Treasury Department, and then Labor Secretary, all under President Ronald Reagan. Chair of the President’s Commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism. Board member of myriad blue-chip companies, including Microsoft, Kellogg, and RAND Corporation. Philanthropist, and, and, and….
And she did it against all odds, when women were still reaching for the glass ceiling, let alone breaking it. Later she would buy a gallery in Basalt, Colorado, and name it the Ann Korologos Gallery, allowing her deep love of Western art to show through. I loved that after her amazing professional accomplishments, she chose to follow her passion in art. She taught us our left brain and right can coexist. Sometimes not at once. Choices must be made. Decisions taken. We can’t have it all at once, but we can have it all. And we can because of women like her.
At our event, she challenged and inspired us. She taught us the importance of legacy. And she reminded me that women today owe it to women of yesterday who sacrificed and fought with grit and determination against the barriers we could neither see nor imagine.
We must say thank you to the women who broke glass so we could have families and work, and benefits that enable them both. Before Lean In, they were getting it done and becoming role models they didn’t necessarily aspire to be.
The world is a little sadder and a little emptier without Ms. Korologos in it; the legacy she left is an indelible impression — an imprint, to continue to do more and be better. And for us to also leave a legacy that is giant compared to the size of our footprints.
God bless you, Ms. Korologos. Thank you for inspiring 200 women from our industry that day and for taking time to make our event a better one and each of us a better person. You reminded us that we, too, are legacy-leavers and stewards for the next generation, and we still have our work to do.
We are richer for those 30 minutes with you and forever grateful. Thank you to your amazing spirit. Your gauntlet and advice and wisdom are now ours to take up.