For four decades, Lori Varlotta, Ph.D., has held leadership positions at universities large and small, public and private, faith-based and secular, stand alone and system-embedded. For 20+ years she has served at the executive level: Senior VP at Sacramento State and President, Hiram College (OH) and California Lutheran University. In both presidencies, Varlotta was the first woman at the institution to hold the post. At each, she was recruited to lead systemic changes to reposition the institution for future. Along with the turnaround and repositioning work for which she is known, Varlotta contributes routinely to national conversations and publications on student success, systemic change, integrated planning and budgeting, curricular and co-curricular prioritization, shared governance, and DEIJ. As a first-generation college student, she is grateful for the educational opportunities she has experienced. She credits her blue-collar family and community, however, for teaching her life’s most important lessons.