IHM: Stanbridge Final Vows

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Detroit businesswoman returns

to IHM Sisters as Vowed Member
April 16, 2008

On Saturday, April 12, Barbara G. Stanbridge, IHM, professed her final vows with the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Monroe, Mich.

Stanbridge, a native of Detroit and former member of the IHM community from 1958 until 1966, professed vows at a Eucharistic liturgy at the IHM Sisters' Motherhouse in Monroe. Stanbridge left the IHM community in 1966 to follow a path in religious education for local parishes, serving the Archdiocese of Detroit as a religious education coordinator for many years.

Left: Barbara Stanbridge, IHM, with Margaret Brennan, IHM

In 1976 she and business partners founded CHANGE - HRD, an organization development firm specializing in managing whole systems change. She has served as the national president of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) and was named one of Michigan's most powerful women in 2002 by CORP magazine.

In 2006, Stanbridge began working with various North American Provinces of the School Sisters of Notre Dame. She currently serves as chair for two TEC (an international organization for CEOs) groups and chair of the Board of Trustee of the new Detroit Cristo Rey High School, scheduled to open September 2008.

Unable to be present for the vows ceremony, her daughter, Lara and son-in-law, Eigo Mulawka Okada, recently returned from Japan and are currently living in Indiana with their three young sons, Tai, Gen and River.

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