Skip to content

2023 ATHENA Awards® Young Professional Leadership Finalists

YP leadership

The 2023 Young Professional Leadership Finalists

ATHENA Young Professional Leadership Award®

The ATHENA Young Professional Leadership Award® honors an emerging leader who demonstrates excellence, creativity, and initiative in their business or profession, and serves as a role model for young women personally and professionally.

Take a moment to meet this year's finalists.

Meet them in this video:

Read about them on our blog:

ATHENA Award® Selection Process

  • All nomination applications were reviewed by the ATHENA Executive Committee after January 31, 2023. The committee will vote on the top 10 nominees for the individual awards and the top 5 for the organizational awards.  This will result in the finalist selections.   
  • Finalists were notified in early February 2023 with details regarding important dates and deadlines, photo shoot opportunities, and details.

Prior to the event, the ATHENA Executive Committee will review the finalists' forms and will grade the applications based on the criteria outlined. No one, including BNP staff and the ATHENA Executive Committee, will be made aware of the ATHENA Award recipients. All graded finalist applications will be sent directly to the official accounting firm of ATHENA and the recipients will be announced live at the March 29, 2023 event!

About the ATHENA Awards®

The Buffalo Niagara Partnership is the area representative for ATHENA International, a nonprofit that seeks to support, develop, and honor women leaders. The ATHENA Awards® are celebrated around the world in more than 500 communities and 8 countries.

The Annual Luncheon brings the individual and organizational finalists together with the community for networking and a celebratory Awards presentation!

ATHENA Awards® Executive Committee

Trina Burruss
President/CEO | United Way

Lorrie Clemo
President | D’Youville University

Juweria Dahir
Director, Innovation Community  |
Adjunct Professor, Business & Entrepreneurship at Daemen University

Rhonda Frederick
President and CEO | People, Inc.

Melissa Free
SVP & Chief Marketing Officer | Seneca Resorts & Casinos

Rachael Ireland
Social Impact & Community Engagement Specialist | Rich Products Corporation

Danielle Ossher
Creative Director | Buffalo Magazine

Mary Owusu
CEO & Head of Digital | SprintMarketer.com

Teresa Sprague
Creative Services Manager | Independent Health

Vilona Trachtenberg
Distribution Coordinator |  New Era Cap Company

Elizabeth Woike-Ganga
President/CEO | BestSelf Behavioral Health

Sujata Yalamanchili
Partner | Hodgson Russ LLP

Thank You to our 2023 Annual ATHENA Award® Sponsors

Title Sponsor

Presenting Sponsor

Finalist Sponsor

Official Accounting Sponsor

Official Media Sponsor

Supporting Sponsor