There are lots of award ceremonies in Pittsburgh–with lots of deserving people to be awarded–but there’s nothing quite like the ATHENA Awards of Greater Pittsburgh. Nominated by others in the community with finalists selected by a committee, the Athena Awards are bestowed every fall at a luncheon attended by a gazillion women–ok, make that 800-plus–in a ceremony that is always inspiring. And that’s the point: To encourage more women to excel in their profession, contribute to their community and to help other women through mentorship.

2015 ATHENA Pittsburgh 2015 nominees. Photo by Brian Cohen.
NEXTpittsburgh is happy to be part of the ATHENA Awards and to present these wonderful group photos of nominees and finalists. Getting all these busy, successful women in one room at one time wasn’t easy. Every time our (very patient) photographer clicked his shutter, it seemed to be a cue for another nominee to walk in the room, apologizing for being late.
Hey, we’re just grateful they showed up.
See the ATHENA Award finalists in the top photo,including Doris Carson Williams, African American Chamber of Commerce of Western PA, Lynn M. Banaszak, Disruptive Health Technology Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Rhonda Moore Johnson, Highmark Inc., Lisa Lenihan, United States District Court for the Western District of PA, and Lucille Prater-Holliday, Black Women’s Empowerment Institute.
See below all the ATHENA Award nominees, including the Young Professional ATHENAs.

2015 ATHENA Award and ATHENA Young Professional Award nominees. Photo by Brian Cohen
And finally, below the 2015 ATHENA Young Professional Award finalists: Aurora Sharrard of the Green Building Alliance, Josie Badger, PEAL Center and Meredith Grelli of Wigle Whiskey.

2015 ATHENA Young Professional Award (AYPA) Finalists (L to R): Aurora Sharrard, Josie Badger and Meredith Meyer Grelli
Here’s the full list of 2015 ATHENA Award nominees. See you on October 9th! Get your tickets here before it sells out.
2015 NomineesShirley Anderson Beauty Mark, Inc. Barbara Baker The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium Dotti Bechtol Fragasso Financial Advisors Marsha Blanco ACHIEVA Lori Brinker Merrill Lynch Tracy Certo NEXTpittsburgh Rosemary Crawford Crawford McDonald, LLC Tracy DeCock PNC Bank Deborah Degner Noble Energy Kim Dellostretto Allegheny Health Network Ilana Diamond Innovation Works Susan Dietrich Sterling Office Professionals Lisa DiGorio Miller Lisa DiGorio School of Dance Pat Downey Chatham University Karen Wolk Feinstein Jewish Healthcare Foundation Melissa Ferraro Sisters Place, Inc. Jennifer Fox Rabold FedEx Ground Package System, Inc. Mamar Gelaye Omnyx Tisha Germany KBK Enterprises Abby Goldstein 91.3 WYEP Denise Graves Covenant Church of Pittsburgh / Oakland Service Ministries Karen Hochberg Pittsburgh Area Jewish Committee Susan Jordan Fox Rothschild LLP Eva Kerschbaumer ESSpa Kozmetika and eDRY Debra Killmeyer Community College of Allegheny County Darcel R. Madkins PNC Financial Services Wendy Maletta NFM Group Jill McKibbin McKibbin Consulting Melissa McNeil University of Pittsburgh & UPMC Natalie Mihalek Natalie Mihalek Attorney At Law Arlinda M. Moriarty Moriarty Consultants Chris Phillips PNC Bank Mary Jo Podgurski Academy for Adolescent Health/Teen Outreach Betty Rich ConnectedHealth Aisha Robinson Pittsburgh Public Schools Elisabet Rodriguez Elisabet Rodriguez & Associates Casey Ryan Reed Smith LLP Fern Schwartz Merrill Lynch/The Schwartz Group Dana Ann Slizik Caye for Judge Committee Tracy Vitale Seneca Valley School district Michelle Welch PPG Industries Olga Welch School of Education, Duquesne University Dr. Claudia Wendel eyegotcha Jillian Zacks Metz Lewis Brodman Must O’Keefe LLC And finally, the full list of Young Professional ATHENA nominees:
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