Carolyn Losos

A 1954 Arts & Sciences graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, Carolyn Losos has devoted her entire life to serving the St. Louis community. Through her professional work, Carolyn has empowered many other community leaders with the skills, knowledge and connections to fulfill their missions. In addition, she shares her expertise with a wide range of local and national boards for organizations related to the arts, education, children and health care. Many major improvements to the quality of life of the St. Louis region can be linked to her work.

Carolyn presently serves as senior consultant to FOCUS St. Louis, the organization that formed from the 1996 merger of The Leadership Center of Greater St. Louis and Confluence St. Louis, two organizations with 30 years of combined experience in developing community leaders and engaging citizens to influence community policy. Prior to the merger, Carolyn was Executive Director of The Leadership Center of Greater St. Louis, where she spearheaded and directed the highly respected Leadership St. Louis training program for 17 years.

In reference to Carolyn’s work, her nominator, WUSTL alumnus Laura Chauvin writes, “She is a powerful person with an armory of critical instinct, leadership skills, and a lifetime of connections at the ready. If a nonprofit organization is lucky enough to find itself in her sights, her complete and total involvement is a godsend.” Many such organizations have benefited from Carolyn’s involvement or leadership, including the boards of The Missouri Botanical Garden, the Regional Arts Commission, the National Board of Parents as Teachers, SSM Health Care, the OASIS Institute, the Starkloff Disability Institute, the Girl Scout Council of Greater St. Louis, the Girl Scouts of the USA and the National Council for Arts and Sciences at WUSTL. In recognition of Carolyn’s accomplishments, she has received several prestigious awards of local and national scope.

Chauvin was personally touched by Carolyn’s ethic of service through her involvement with the Girl Scouts. She writes, “The heart of my nomination goes back to a cool, fall day in 1979, the first day I met her. She was wearing Girl Scout green, moving between her home office and a bright, sunny kitchen where some of us were gathered after school. A long phone cord followed her as she talked with someone about yet another volunteer role, while she simultaneously gathered a snack for our group…It was like being in the presence of a bolt of electricity.”