Shannon Huffman Polson has always met resistance head-on. As one of the first women to fly the Apache helicopter in the U.S. Army, she learned that flying—and leading—means turning to face the wind, not away from it. “When you take off in the Apache helicopter, you turn to face the wind,” she says. “Making change, we have to do the same thing. Turn to face the wind, and the resistance will help you rise.”
That ethos has powered her through every chapter of a remarkable career—from the military to Microsoft, from public libraries to national leadership programs. After earning her MBA and working in enterprise at Microsoft, Shannon redirected her focus to community impact. In Winthrop, Washington, she led a $6.5 million capital campaign to replace a tiny, outdated trailer with a new public library that now serves as a digital and educational lifeline for a rural community grappling with poverty and isolation. The project, launched and completed through a pandemic and economic downturn, has transformed the region’s access to learning and connection.
As founder and CEO of The Grit Institute, she wrote her book The Grit Factor: Courage, Resilience and Leadership in the most male dominated organization in the world, through that, Shannon now equips executives, military leaders, and students alike with the tools to lead through purpose, pressure, and complexity. Recognizing a growing mental health crisis among youth, she redesigned her institute’s leadership curriculum for high school and college students, delivering it through a blended model of digital training and in-person community facilitation. With its first deployment at a Boys & Girls Club in California, the initiative marks a new chapter in scaling access to character-based education for the next generation.
Her advocacy doesn’t stop there. She continues to support veterans, champions educational reform in underserved regions, and is helping to co-found a new school that prioritizes both academic excellence and economic inclusion.
Across each endeavor, Shannon uses technology as a lever, not a substitute, for human potential. Her belief is simple: tools are powerful, but it’s the people who wield them with courage and clarity that truly change lives.
From cockpit to classroom, Shannon Huffman Polson shows us that leadership is not just about rising. It’s about facing the wind—then lifting others with you.
About #empowHER50 campaign
This campaign celebrates women leaders at Microsoft, past and present, who have been instrumental in democratizing access to technology, opportunity, and growth. By honoring their contributions over the last half-century, this campaign highlights stories of resilience, innovation, and inclusivity. Through digital spotlights, a commemorative coffee table book, live recognition events, and more, the campaign inspires collective action toward achieving equitable societal goals. To learn more about empowHER50, please visit https://womenincloud.com/empowHER50
To learn about Microsoft 50th celebrations: https://news.microsoft.com/microsoft-50/
