PURPOSE
Serve as the premier leadership advocacy organization that transforms STEM talent into corporate leaders
MISSION
Widen the bridge to advance ONE MILLION STEM LEADERS BY 2030
CORE VALUES
Empower through wisdom, create a safe harbor, avoid comfort zone & take risks, fanatical attention to excellence, have FUN
OVERVIEW
Athena is a global leadership advocacy organization that fast-tracks those in STEM through leadership development, mentoring, and advocacy initiatives.
WHAT SETS ATHENA APART
Several factors differentiate Athena from other leadership development organizations:
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STEM Industry Focused
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Leadership Development Content Developed by STEM leaders and Workplace Allies
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Offer Both Executive & Aspiring Leaders Career-Level Services
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Collaborator with the UN Global Compact: SDG5 | Gender Equality
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Headquartered in Global STEM Hub
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25 Year History
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Philanthropic Arm
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No National Affiliation
Athena partners with STEM-driven companies and organizations employing STEM talent, and strategic service providers to strengthen leadership pipelines, accelerate innovation, and advance business performance.
Through tailored leadership development and workforce optimization strategies, Athena helps companies build agile, future-ready teams and cultivate high-impact leaders who drive measurable results.
Athena also supports individual STEM professionals—across all industries—through exclusive leadership development, mentorship, and career mobility tools designed to expand impact and elevate performance.
Our purpose-built, performance-driven learning ecosystems equip both organizations and individuals with the insights and capabilities to lead at the highest levels of the modern economy.
Mission and History
Athena’s mission is to widen the bridge to advance
one million STEM leaders by 2030
Athena is a global leadership development organization accelerating the advancement of leaders in STEM to strengthen business performance, leadership pipelines, and workforce impact.
As the AI economy reshapes industries and the future of work, Athena ensures leaders—and their workplace allies—are equipped to lead at the highest levels, driving innovation, retention, and measurable business outcomes. Our bold goal: ONE MILLION STEM LEADERS BY 2030.
With more than 25 years of experience advancing leaders across one of the nation’s most competitive STEM markets, Athena delivers strategic value to organizations by developing high-impact leaders, supporting career mobility, and cultivating agile, future-ready teams. Through leadership development, mentorship, and allyship initiatives, Athena helps organizations strengthen internal talent strategies and accelerate organizational performance.
Now active in 170+ countries, Athena is not just responding to workforce shifts—we’re helping companies outperform through strategic leadership investment at scale.
History
In 1998, no leadership organization existed to support and develop executives leading inside San Diego’s STEM community. They say necessity is the mother of invention, and Athena was born of pure necessity. At a time when a handful of remarkable executive leaders lacked the social capital and market insights to effectively navigate inside these male-dominated industries, they converged with a clear vision and launched Athena. Over twenty years later, the "Athena Effect" is stronger than ever. While there is a grossly underrepresented group in the STEM economy, the Athena community is unwavering in its pursuit to deliver innovation through diversity. Athena members range from tech entrepreneurs to members of academia to life sciences CEOs, all of whom benefit from the gold-standard leadership development that Athena offers to STEM professionals.
Milestones
2024
Athena 'goes global' with the launch of Athena on Demand and the Athena Global Task Force, expanding access to leadership development content and networking opportunities worldwide.
2023
Athena commemorates its 25-years of powering women’s leadership journey by celebrating its global stakeholder community, its mission and diversity champions. The year-long celebration #IAMONEINAMILLION digitally showcases the success drivers of STEM women and companies enabling Athena’s mission of advancing 1 million women leading in STEM, by 2030.
2022
In under 2 years of deploying its turn-key digital hub to give access to Athena’s portfolio of leadership content without boundaries, Athena reaches more than 135 countries, educating women and diversity advocates worldwide.
2021
Athena launches its inaugural Allyship Committee. In furtherance of its gender equity commitment, these essential advocates address the roadblocks that allies face in taking action, broadly promoting and disseminating these best practices and activating more allies across the STEM economy.
2020
Athena announces the launch of its full-scale digital transformation in the midst of a global pandemic, providing a premier digital hub for women’s leadership journey, worldwide.
2019
During the United Nations 73rd General Assembly, Athena and the New York Academy of Sciences announce their partnership to launch the “Athena Assembly” in efforts to publish a data-driven “DEI playbook” to drive corporate performance through gender equality.
2018
Athena marks its 20-year milestone of advancing STEM women’s career and leadership development and announces new collaboration with the United Nations Global Compact.
2017
Athena San Diego removes “San Diego” from its name reflecting its market expansion goals and aspirations to serve women beyond California.
2008
Athena San Diego becomes an independent 501(c)(6) non-profit membership-based, business league, governed by a Board of Directors and dedicated to advancing the professional and leadership development of women in STEM.
2001
Athena San Diego becomes a stand-alone, member-based organization initially under the auspices of UC San Diego Extension and then UC San Diego’s Rady School of Management.
2001
Athena San Diego Foundation is established as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization to award merit-based scholarships to young women pursuing undergraduate degrees in sciences, technology, engineering, and math.
1998
Athena San Diego launches as an executive women's networking group to support female STEM executives; and affiliates with UC San Diego CONNECT, San Diego's flagship entrepreneurial program.
Team Athena
Board Officers & Executive Committee
Board of Directors
DR. LESLIE NANGLE
Vice President, Research | aTyr Pharma
ATHENA EMERITUS AND FOUNDING BOARD MEMBERS
We are grateful to the leaders and visionaries that enabled Athena’s 25 year impact in advancing professional STEM leaders. Their collective insights and dedication drove the success in building a robust member portfolio serving STEM executives, managers, educators, entrepreneurs and service providers. We salute and honor these founding members for executing on a vision where the world views STEM leader's contributions to innovation as a core strategic value.
Helen Adams
Barbara Drinkrow
Deborah Jondall
Sigrid Pate*
Christie Vail
Erna Adelson
Berit Durler
AnneMarie Kaiser
Leni Perciado
Elaine Weidenhammer
Cathy Akin*
Karin Eastham
Beth Kinsey*
Aboli Rane
Sara Wilensky Napoli
Gemini Babla
Sue Ebner
Karen Klause*
Rashmi Char
Liz Gasser
Revathi Subramanian
Rhonda Rhyne
Annette Winn
Suzanne Biggs
Tamar Elkeles*
Sarah Lamade
Gwen Rosenberg
Teresa Young
Janice Brown
Maureen Feerick
Patti Lazard
Faye Russell
Nicola Zahl
Barbara Bry*
Karen Fisher
Linda Le Beau*
Killu Sanborn
Julie Burgess
Lola Adeyemo
Michele Comtois
Jennifer Brown
Lynne Friedmann*
Dawn Saunders
Anita Busquets
Tammy Garbett
Sandra Louis Schmid
Jeni Schrimsher
Donna Caley Leach*
Karen Garsson
Maggie Lowe
Joleen Schultz
Cathryn Campbell*
Brenda Gebler
Catherine Mackey
Linda Seaton
Kelly Cashion
Susan Gonick
Margaret Mann
Carolyn Fritz
Katherine Kantardjieff
Grace Chui-Miller
Stephanie Shkolnik
Jennifer Cayer
Cathy Gonzales
Vicki Marion
Abby Silverman
Kay Chandler
Diane Goostree
Magda Marquet
Kim Silverman
June Chocheles
Lisa Grillone
Lisa Martens
Joan Stafslien
Nancy Conyers
Lisa Haile
Donna Nichols
Deirdre Stewart
Nicole DeBerg
Lee Wills
Chadia Robertson
Kathleen Hedges
Barbara Noerenberg
Julie Sullivan
Jan Dehesh
Emilie Hersh
Anne O’Donnell*
Susan Ten Eyck Mallory*
Martha Dennis*
Denise Jackson
Benita Page*
Denise Thompson
Karen Anderson
Wendy Johnson
Tracy Lawhon
Jackie Townsend
Sabrina Johnson
Constance Maples
Judy Muller-Cohn
Ruchika Rastogi
Jean Stadwiser
*Founding Board Member
ATHENA FOUNDATION BOARD OFFICERS
SARA ZAKNOEN
PRESIDENT
Principal | Zed Strategic Consulting
SUE EBNER
TREASURER
Principal | Ebner Consults
ATHENA FOUNDATION BOARD
TRACY LAWHON
Strategic Development and Operations Consultant
AMY ROMAKER
Director, Client Service |
Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton, LLP
VICKI MARION
President | The Marion Group
GWEN ROSENBERG
Vice President of Global Corporate Communications |
Integrated DNA Technologies