The internationally recognized ATHENA Awards program was founded in 1982 in Lansing, Michigan by ATHENA International Founder Martha Mertz. The award was originally established to honor the achievements of exceptional women leaders. And more importantly, it was established to inspire others to achieve excellence in their professional and business lives.
Since 1982, more than 8,200+ recipients, spanning 500+ regions, representing 48 states, and 11 countries like United States, Bermuda, Canada, China, Greece, India, Russia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, to name a few, have received the prestigious global ATHENA International Awards.
The ATHENA International Awards program honors and recognizes women who embody The Eight Principles of Enlightened Leadership™, demonstrate excellence personally and in the workforce, and open doors of leadership opportunities for women and girls in our community. To learn more about ATHENA's Enlightened Leadership model, please see below.
The ATHENA International Awards are presented in three categories:
The ATHENA Award®
The ATHENA Award®, introduced to our community in 1987, recognizes female leaders who:
• Demonstrates excellence, creativity and initiative in their business or profession.
• Provides valuable service to improve the quality of life for others in their community.
• Actively assists women in achieving their full leadership potential.
The ATHENA Young Professional Award®
The ATHENA Young Professional Award®, introduced to our community in 2015, recognizes young female leaders in the 30 to 45 year old range who:
• Demonstrates excellence, creativity and initiative in their business or profession.
• Provides valuable service to improve the quality of life for others in their community.
• Clearly serves as a role model for women and girls, both personally and professionally.
The ATHENA Organizational Award®
The ATHENA Organizational Award®, introduced to our comnunity in 2018, recognizes a woman-owned, or woman-led, organization with a min of 5 full-time employees based on the following criteria:
• Creates an organizational culture that encourages women employees to achieve their full leadership potential.
• Gives back to the larger community of women and girls by providing and/ or supporting leadership development opportunities and initiatives.
The ATHENA Leaderhship Model is a philosophy that highlights the unique perspectives and leadership styles of women. Created by the ATHENA Foundation with support from a grant by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the model outlines The Eight Principles of Enlightened Leadership™, which capture the profound contributions women make to themselves, their organizations, and their communities, both locally and globally:
The Eight Principles of Enlightened Leadership™:
- AUTHENTIC SELF
- RELATIONSHIPS
- GIVING BACK
- COLLABORATION
- COURAGEOUS ACTS
- LEARNING
- FIERCE ADVOCACY
- CELEBRATION AND JOY
These personal traits have been shown to be more intuitive to women than men. They combine with the strongest aspects of traditional leadership—taking risks, assertiveness, hard work. And they prepare women to be successful leaders in the 21st century.
Please note that there is no official merchandise for the ATHENA International Awards in Greater Rochester, NY.
Any third-party solicitations claiming to offer such merchandise are unauthorized and not endorsed by us.
Please contact Events Director, Susan George at Susan.George@GreaterRochesterChamber.com for more information.
