Lola Mercedes Parker was one of the greatest visionaries of her time. She realized that Black women who were discriminated against based on both race and gender needed to not only improve their existing skills but also motivate and inspire other women to achieve the highest level of proficiency in their chosen professions. In 1929, while employed as secretary to Rev. L. K. Williams, then president of the National Baptist Convention, she founded Iota Phi Lambda Sorority, Incorporated. Its aim: “To encourage young women to enter the Business Field by means of business training”. Lola M. Parker was its National President from 1929 to 1946 and President-Emeritus until her death in 1987. Ninety-four years later, the organization continues to grow and today there are more than 60 chapters, graduate and undergraduate, across the United States, including the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.