Alumna named to 2025 National Top Entrepreneurial Women to Watch list

Release Date
Photo of Linda Hannah.

HFC alumna, author, milliner, motivational speaker, and entrepreneur Linda Hannah has been named one of Career Mastered Magazine’s 2025 National Top Entrepreneurial Women to Watch.

Hannah, who launched Linda Hannah Speaks in 2021, is one of 35 women across the nation who are leading change through business innovation, industry leadership, and purpose-driven entrepreneurship who have been named to this list. She was selected for her commitment to empowering women through storytelling, mindset development, and personal transformation.

“It was quite a surprise,” admitted Hannah, of Farmington Hills. “I was writing an email. I saw it pop into my inbox. When I opened it, I was shocked and surprised. This is a real honor.”

But Hannah pointed out that it’s not so much about the honor as it is about the impact she is having on women of all ages.

“It only validates what I’ve been doing,” she explained. “You’re not doing this for an audience; you’re doing it for your passion. When someone tells you you’re having an impact, that’s an honor.”

Empowering women through speaking and storytelling

An alumna of Finney High School in Detroit, Hannah earned a certificate in court reporting from the Detroit Institute of Commerce. She later attended HFC (then Henry Ford Community College), where she was a member of Phi Theta Kappa, and earned her associate degree in general business.

Hannah transferred to the University of Michigan-Dearborn, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in general studies and human resources, also graduating with honors. During her time at HFC, she was taking classes full-time, working full-time at AAA Michigan in Dearborn as executive assistant to then-President and COO Douglas Bower, and raising three teenagers.

For 27 years, Hannah designed hats. She had her own millinery business called Forever Sweeney Millinery. She uses hats as a metaphor to empower women, which was the impetus of her first book published earlier this year called The Hat Chronicles: Scripture-Powered Insights to Embrace Every Role You Wear. In it, Hannah explores the numerous “hats” women wear in their lives as mothers, wives, daughters, professionals, friends, and leaders that shape their identity and purpose.

“This only fuels my mission to empower women and raise them up through storytelling and speaking,” she said. “The recognition is about what I’ve built and have been building. It’s a reminder that creativity, faith, and resilience can shape platforms that uplift others and leave a legacy.”

Hannah has been featured before. Read HFC’s previous articles about her: