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Athena Awards

30th Annual ATHENA Awards®

The ATHENA Awards is the region’s most prestigious event recognizing the professional accomplishments of exceptional individuals and organizations dedicated to the advancement of women. 

We celebrate all of the 2021 nominees. There is an incredible depth of professional talent and leadership in the Buffalo Niagara community.  This year’s honorees and finalists are accomplished, inspirational women leaders whose work is advancing the Buffalo Niagara region and helping to develop our next generation of successful leaders.

Congratulations to the 2021 ATHENA Leadership Award® Recipient:

Sujata Yalamanchili
Partner
Hodgson Russ LLP

Read Her Blog

Congratulations to the
2021 ATHENA Young Professional Leadership Award® Recipient:

Juweria Dahir
City Planner & External Affairs
Manager
City of Buffalo

Read Her Blog

Congratulations 2021 ATHENA Organizational Award® Recipients:

Ernst & Young LLP

Read The Blog

Girl Scouts of Western New York

Read The Blog

Watch the Full Event Here!

About the Award Categories

ATHENA
Leadership Award®

The ATHENA Leadership Award® honors an exceptional individual who has achieved the highest level of professional excellence, contributed time and energy to improve the quality of life for others in the community, and actively assisted others—particularly women—in realizing their full leadership potential.

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.

ATHENA
Organizational Award®

The ATHENA Organizational Award® recognizes 2 organizations: One for-profit organization and one non-profit organization that supports, develops, and honors women leaders, inspiring women to achieve their full potential and creating balance in leadership throughout Buffalo Niagara.

Criteria: ATHENA Leadership Award

The ATHENA Leadership Award® honors an exceptional individual who has achieved the highest level of professional excellence, contributes time and energy to improve the quality of life for others in the community, and actively assists others, particularly women, in realizing their full leadership potential. This award is dedicated to promoting and honoring the valuable contributions being made to advance the status of women in the Buffalo Niagara region.

QUALIFICATIONS:
  • Nominees from all sectors will be considered.
  • Business and leadership achievement, community involvement and support for women professionals must be clearly demonstrated.
  • Previous ATHENA Award® nominees are eligible for re-nomination.
  • Nominees are not required to be a member of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership or be employed by a Partnership member firm.

Criteria: ATHENA Young Professional Leadership Award

The ATHENA Young Professional Leadership Award® honors an exceptional individual who demonstrates excellence, creativity and initiative in their business or profession; provides valuable service by contributing time and energy to improve the quality of life for others in the community; and clearly serves as a role model for young women professionally and personally. This award is dedicated to promoting and honoring the valuable contributions being made to advance the status of women in the Buffalo Niagara region.

Please note: Nominees must be under 40 years of age.

QUALIFICATIONS:
  • Nominees from all sectors will be considered.
  • Business and leadership achievement, community involvement, and support for women professionals must be clearly demonstrated.
  • Previous ATHENA Award® nominees are eligible for re-nomination.
  • Nominees are not required to be a member of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership or be employed by a Partnership member firm.

Criteria: ATHENA Organizational Award

ATHENA Organizational Award® nominees are for-profit and non-profit businesses or organizations that meet each of the following criteria:

  • Creates a 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.
  • Has a minimum of five (5) paid full-time employees that help with the day-to-day functions of the organization.
Note: Nominees from all industry sectors and organization types will be considered. Eligible for the award are for- and non-profit companies from both the public and private sectors.

 

ATHENA Awards® Honorary Steering Committee

Honorary Co-Chairs:

Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes
Majority Leader | New York State Assembly

Trina Burruss
Senior Vice President & District Manager | Northwest Bank

Steering Committee Members:

Lorrie Clemo
President | D’Youville College

Ann M. Evanko
Member, Chair of Labor & Employment Practices Group | Hurwitz & Fine, P.C.

Mary Owusu
Assistant Professor of Marketing | Canisius College
CEO | GuruBound.com

Danielle Ossher
Editor | Buffalo Magazine

Rhonda Frederick
President and CEO | People, Inc.

Sharon Randaccio
President and CEO | Performance Management Partners 
Chair | Vistage International

Katie Krawczyk
CEO and Partner | 19 Ideas

Enjoy The 30th Annual ATHENA Awards® Commemorative Album

The 2019 ATHENA Award Recipients:

JoAnn Falletta
Music Director, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra – 2019 ATHENA Leadership Award®

Katie Krawczyk
Partner & CEO, 19 IDEAS – 2019 ATHENA Young Professional Leadership Award®

See the 2019 Buffalo News Smiles Gallery for more.

For a full list of previous ATHENA Award® recipients, click here.

Join Us to See Who Will be This Year’s Winners!
Date: Wednesday, April 28, 2021 | Time: 11:30 AM – 1:15 PM
Register Here For The Event

 

Thank You to the Sponsors of The 30th Annual ATHENA Awards

Title Sponsor
 
Presenting Sponsor
seneca-gaming-logo-web
 
 
Finalist Sponsor
 
 
Official Accounting Sponsor
LM logo final
 
 
Television Sponsor
WKBW logo
 
Official Media Sponsor
BuffaloMagazineLogo2020
 

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. Since 1989, the Partnership has been honored to produce the annual ATHENA Awards® Luncheon, at which finalists for the ATHENA Leadership Award®, the ATHENA Young Professional Leadership Award®, and the ATHENA Organizational Award® are honored.