Seeing What’s Possible
by Courtney Crane Dauer
A branch snapped behind Sharon Mitchell.
Then another. Brush rustled. Twigs cracked.
Hiking in Wyoming with her teenage sons, Sharon assumed one of them was behind her. She turned.
A moose. A very big moose.
For a beat, they stared at each other. Sharon slowly backed away.
Curious, observant and bold, Sharon has never been one to stop looking.
The Mind of an Inventor. The Drive of a Leader.
After graduating from Miami University in 1973 with a chemistry degree, Sharon joined Procter & Gamble — one of just three women among roughly 200 people in Soaps and Detergents.
She entered a world where few women had gone before her — and built a remarkable career, helping open the way for women coming behind her.
Over 36 years, Sharon helped invent Dawn dish soap, earned four U.S. and three international patents, and became one of P&G’s pioneering women executives. As senior vice president of Research & Development (R&D) for Global Fabric Care, she led approximately 1,500 scientists and engineers and managed a $300 million budget before retiring in 2009.
Leading global teams taught her that culture and experience shape how people tackle a challenge — and the best answers rarely come from one voice.
R&D, she says, gave her “the tricks and tools for getting things done.”
Listening taught her where to begin.
Why Can’t We?
Sharon first heard about Impact 100 through founder Wendy Steele, whose children attended school with Sharon’s sons. The idea clicked: women pooling resources to make transformational investments in their community.
She joined Impact 100 Cincinnati in 2005 while working 80-hour weeks. For six years, she was what she calls a “silent” member.
Then she joined a Grant Review Team.
Wednesday night meetings. Site visits. Organizations she hadn’t known existed. Women from differing professions and backgrounds. Across generations and experiences, everyone brought something different to the table.
“It’s made me a better listener — looking at things through a different lens,” she says.
Impact brought Sharon closer to home, opening her eyes to Greater Cincinnati organizations and needs she hadn’t seen up close before.
Then she stepped in — and up.
Sharon became vice president in 2011, president from 2012–2015, and co-president in 2021.
When members imagined growing from two transformational grants a year toward five, Sharon asked, “Why can’t we?”
Then she helped make it happen. Two annual grants became three. Then four. Membership models evolved. The Young Professionals program brought a new generation into collective giving.
For Sharon, growth meant more women leading, more nonprofits dreaming bigger and more communities getting the chance to thrive.
This Is What Impact Looks Like
At a Mercy Neighborhood Ministries graduation after a 2012 Impact 100 grant supported workforce training, Sharon saw that impact up close.
Graduates arrived with their children. Impact 100 members hugged them, cheered them and celebrated with them.
“There was so much pride and excitement.”
Here was the grant made human: women moving forward, surrounded by people believing in them. Impact 100 has just awarded another grant to Mercy Neighborhood Ministries in 2026 to expand training opportunities for certified nursing assistants. The ripple effect continues.
What Do You See That I Don’t?
Impact 100 helped inspire Sharon and her husband, Graham Mitchell, to establish their family foundation — and bring the next generations into giving.
Their sons joined their foundation, then their daughters-in-law. Now their grandchildren help direct charitable dollars.
When one granddaughter turned 11, Sharon asked her where she would give.
“It was so illuminating,” Sharon says.
A woman who led 1,500 scientists still wants to know what an 11-year-old sees that she doesn’t.
“Few groups involve so many generations,” Sharon says of Impact 100.
It reminds her of a favorite Miami University professor, Megan Gerhardt, whose work on Gentelligence demonstrated that generations become stronger when they learn from one another. For Sharon, Impact proves the point — different ages bring different insights and make the decisions better.
Wild by Nature
Sharon and Graham relish time at their second home in Estes Park, Colorado, where wildlife, hiking and conservation are shared passions. An award-winning nature photographer, Sharon captures wildflowers and wildlife with her camera — and stalks elk.
One of her earliest inventions has become beneficial to the wildlife she so deeply respects. Dawn dishwashing soap is tough on grease and oil but gentle enough for wildlife. The dish soap she helped invent and expand internationally has become widely used in caring for wildlife affected by oil spills.
She calls it a “full circle moment.”
That commitment extends to Miami University. Her family’s $5 million gift created the Sharon and Graham Mitchell Sustainability Park, opened in April 2026. In recognition of Miami’s relationship with the Miami Tribe, the park carries a Myaamia message of stewardship:
“The earth, water and sun give life. We must be wise about how we act.”
What Comes Next?
As Impact 100 Cincinnati celebrates its 25th anniversary, Sharon is still asking: Who haven’t we heard from? Who else belongs at the table? Who is ready to lead?
It’s the instinct she had on that Wyoming trail: turn toward what’s there. Look closer. Widen the lens. Invite others in.
And ask the question that has propelled so much of Sharon’s life:
“Why can’t we?”
Again and again, she has helped turn the answer into:
We can.
Keep Asking, “Why Can’t We?”
Sharon’s story reminds us that extraordinary change begins with curiosity, collaboration, and the courage to think bigger. Discover how Impact 100 is turning possibilities into lasting community change.
