Lorraine Schultz, founder of group to promote women in the auto industry, dies at 88

Lorraine Schultz, who spearheaded the Women's Automotive Association International -- a nonprofit organization that provided scholarships and networking opportunities to women in an industry long perceived as a largely male domain -- has died. She was 88.Schultz died Monday in Novi, Mich., at St. John Providence Park Hospital, said Lynn Wilhelm, former president of the association.Schultz's first role in the auto industry was as executive director of the Detroit Model Bureau, an agency that provided talent for auto shows. After the agency's dissolution, Schultz was executive director of the AutoLeather Guild of America for nearly two decades where she oversaw marketing for top tanners.When the guild was discontinued in 1995, Schultz founded and began as CEO of the Women's Automotive Association International the following year. The organization was the first of its kind, Wilhelm said, and awarded thousands of dollars in scholarships to women seeking careers in the auto industry. At one point it operated 13 chapters across the country with hundreds of members, she said."I never met anyone who was as gracious" as Schultz, Wilhelm said. "She faced any challenge with tenacity and truly shined in the presence of others."A pioneer in her field, Schultz's tenacious effort paid off in 1999, when the Automotive Hall of Fame presented its Distinguished Service awards to three women for the first time since 1945. They were Schultz; Maureen Kempston Darkes, then-president of General Motors of Canada; and Bobbie Gaunt, then-CEO of Ford Motor Co. of Canada.Schultz and the association's influence played a role in the hall of fame's decision, Crain's Detroit Business reported in 2002. Schultz was a member of the association's board of directors at the time."Women are out there doing the job, but it's all about getting the visibility that men have always gotten," Schultz told Automotive News in 2000. "That's where the 'old boys club' came to be. They knew about each other. They had a system. Today it's changing, more and more women's names are coming up."Before the organization folded in 2017, Schultz received the final Women's Automotive Association International Spirit of Leadership award."She had a way to get whatever she needed to support others," Wilhelm said. "She was a mentor, a sympathetic ear, and very dear friend to many."

Lorraine Schultz, founder of group to promote women in the auto industry, dies at 88

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