Athena Admin
Jul 28, 2021
Introducing Seventeen STEM Executives Ready to Modernize Your Boardroom
This sixth cohort of Athena's On Boards (AOB) Series consists of seventeen female STEM executives ready to take their seats in the boardroom. After completing the 5-month AOB program on July 20, these leaders are positioned to bring their unique talents to companies and non-profit organizations across California and beyond.
WHICH ONE OF THESE AOB GRADUATES IS YOUR NEXT BOARD DIRECTOR?
VP, Scientific Strategy & Corporate Development | Zogenix
SVP, Accounting & Corporate Controller | Mitchell International
Chief Scientific Officer | Gossamer Bio
ANILA DHOKIA
VP, Internal Audit & ERM | Illumina
Sr. Director, Alliance Management & Program Lead | Halozyme
MONIQUE LEVY
Chief Commercial & Strategy Officer | Woebot Health
Sr. Director Product Management, Applications, & Services | Thermo Fisher Scientific
VP, Global Finance | NuVasive
CEO | Key Tech
Consultant & Science Journalist
Chief Medical Officer | Neurocrine Biosciences
VP, Assay Development | Genmark Diagnostics
Sr. Manager, Global Market Development | Thermo Fisher Scientific
President | Portavoce PR
Founder & CEO | Reveal Biosciences
VP, Human Resources | Genmark Diagnostics
VP, Finance & Corporate Secretary | Ambrx Inc.
Athena On Boards is a 5-month workshop series that prepares women with their boardroom placement strategies. Central to the program’s success is the assignment to a smaller cohort of 4-6 women and led by an executive female mentor that helps mentees:
Design your board bio that captures your governance capabilities and specific value-add for targeted companies;
Articulate and role-play your boardroom superpower pitch with your peers and mentor, and
Stay accountable in activating your network on your boardroom intentions and executing on your board search strategy.
Each participant completes an application detailing the types of board, the targeted sector and other relative info as we assign the dedicated mentoring cohorts accordingly. These smaller mentor groups meet on alternate months of the AoB workshops and are announced during workshop #1.
“No company today can afford to not have women in their boardroom or in their leadership ranks because they’ll be missing out on too much talent.”
-Gina Raimondo, United States Commerce Secretary Fortune Magazine
"My AOB mentor led our small team in developing our board bio, our strategy, and board interviews preparations," says Shannon Wesley, Associate Director, Master Data & Analytics at BD and new member of the USD Shiley - Marcos Engineering Executive Advisory Board. "I enjoyed the experience and recommend it to anyone wanting to obtain a board seat. I'm honored to receive my first board seat before the program concluded thanks to Athena’s introductions.”
AoB Curriculum
Workshop 1: Introduction to Athena on Boards | Legal overview of roles and responsibilities and corporate landscape of boardroom compliance
Workshop 2: How to Join the Winner's Circle | AoB alumni share their entire journey in landing their board seats
Workshop 3: Women With A Seat & Voice In The Boardroom | Female Board Directors share their experiences on how governing actually works inside the boardroom
Following graduation, Athena publishes each alumnae profile on a dedicated webpage and promotes them in The Athena Effect newsletter and on social media throughout the year.
To secure your spot on the next cohort waitlist, contact Athena CEO, Holly Smithson and launch your boardroom journey among Athena's pioneers.