Meet this year's finalists
Young Professional Leadership Finalists | Organizational For-Profit | Organizational Non-Profit
The 2023 Leadership Finalists
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.
Take a moment to meet this year's finalists.
Watch their interview
Read their 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