Women’s Foodservice Forum and Sysco named Lisa Schairer, Aurora Health Care vice president of food and nutrition services and environmental services, this year's recipient of the Sewell Scholarship.

Sponsored by Sysco, the Sewell Scholarship award is named in honor of Phyllis Shapiro Sewell, a former Sysco board member and champion of women's rights in the workplace. As a supporter of high-level leadership development programs, Sysco annually provides funds to an emerging female executive to attend the WFF Executive Leadership Program in partnership with Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.

"This is a tremendous honor for Lisa, and presents a wonderful opportunity for her to further develop leadership skills that have already made an impact within Aurora Health Care," says Amy Rislov, Aurora Health Care senior vice president, human resources. "Lisa is very passionate about her job, and is committed to enhancing the patient experience throughout the Aurora system, which includes directing a high quality and innovative foodservice. "

Schairer's leadership experience and willingness to seek out opportunities for career growth make her an ideal candidate for WFF's Executive Leadership Program. Schairer has been successful at Aurora Health Care by building a cohesive team that reduces cost and increases efficiency while maintaining excellent relationships with multi-disciplinary departments. She continually demonstrates innovative thinking and pushes the boundaries of her organization to obtain positive outcomes.

“We want to develop a pipeline of executive leaders who will be the new faces of leadership,” says Anna Mason, general manager of the WFF.