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A longtime parishioner of St. Charles Borromeo in Harlem will be awarded the University of Notre Dame’s 2021 Laetare Medal, the oldest and most prestigious honor given to American Catholics, during the university’s commencement ceremony May 23.
Carla A. Harris is vice chairman of wealth management and senior client adviser at Morgan Stanley, where she has worked since 1987. She is also a celebrated gospel singer, speaker and author. In 2013, Ms. Harris was appointed by President Barack Obama to chair the National Women’s Business Council, an independent counsel to the president, Congress and the U.S. Small Business Administration on economic issues of importance to women entrepreneurs.
She is the recipient of numerous achievement awards and media recognitions, including the archdiocesan Pierre Toussaint Medallion, presented through the Office of Black Ministry; the archdiocesan Christmas Angel Award; and the Bakhita Woman of Faith and Service Award, which Cardinal Dolan presented at the 2020 Black History Month Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral.
The Laetare Medal, established at Notre Dame in 1883, has been awarded annually to an American Catholic “whose genius has ennobled the arts and sciences, illustrated the ideals of the Church and enriched the heritage of humanity.” The honor was announced on Laetare Sunday, March 14.
Father John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., president of Notre Dame, said in a statement, “Throughout her exceptional career, Carla Harris has exemplified the highest ideals of American enterprise, championed the principle that opportunity should never be denied on the basis of gender or race and generously mentored countless rising leaders.” Father Jenkins also cited Ms. Harris’s commitment to service and her Catholic faith.
Ms. Harris, a member of the board of directors of the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation, has funded the Carla Harris Scholarship at Harvard University, of which she is an alumna, and at Bishop Kenny High School in Jacksonville, Fla., where she is a graduate. She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard and a master’s from Harvard Business School.
Brother Tyrone A. Davis, C.F.C., executive director of archdiocesan Office of Black Ministry, noted that the Toussaint medallion presented to Ms. Harris in 2005 reads: for special merit in advancing the cause of freedom, human rights and the Gospel in the Church & the Black community.
“Carla is someone who not only practices her faith but more importantly lives it,” Brother Davis told CNY last week, adding that Ms. Harris is “greatly blessed and has turned each and every one of those blessings into blessings for others.”
Ms. Harris, a gospel singer, has performed at Carnegie Hall with the Mark Howell Singers, raising money for charitable endeavors, including funding for St. Charles Borromeo School in Harlem; she has mentored hundreds of associates and has led efforts focused on promoting women and people of color in business.
Born in Port Arthur, Texas, and raised in Jacksonville, Fla., she has released multiple albums and has produced and performed sold-out benefit concerts at Carnegie Hall and the Apollo Theater.
She is the author of “Expect to Win” and “Strategize to Win,” which she wrote to share what she has learned about pathways to success. A married mother of two, she resides in New Jersey. She and her husband, Victor Franklin, were high school sweethearts; their wedding was at St. Charles Borromeo in 2001.
Recipients of Notre Dame’s Laetare Medal have included John F. Kennedy, Dorothy Day, Walker Percy, Martin Sheen, and Sister Norma Pimentel, M.J., executive director of Rio Grande Valley Catholic Charities.
