On May 7, Athena, California’s premier advocate for women in the STEM workforce, hosted San Diego’s STEM event of the year during its 21st Annual Pinnacle Awards at Qualcomm campus. Central to this annual industry celebration is shining the light on the region’s leaders of diversity and Athena’s advocacy partners. This year’s reimagined Pinnacle production placed a greater emphasis on showcasing these leaders in diversity and inclusion through “experiential zones.” Featured Athena partners included Qualcomm, Sony, Intuit and others as 600+ STEM professionals gained insight into how gender diversity is reflected in their corporate brand, products and culture code.
Athena’s Pinnacle Awards Showcases Leaders in Diversity and Inclusion
The reimagined 21st Annual Athena Pinnacle Awards Celebration included dynamic experiential zones and a focus on STEM networking.
Athena’s mission to empower 1 million women in STEM by 2030, is fueled by its 50 leadership development and mentoring programs, its digital library and its local and global advocacy partners. This year’s Pinnacle Awards corporate sponsors featured Qualcomm as Title Sponsor, Sony as Presenting Sponsor and supporting sponsors ARE, Accenture, EY, Intuit, Marsh & McLennan, Viasat, Mintz Levin, SDG&E, Biotheranostics, San Diego Magazine, San Diego Business Journal and Winkler Designs.
A staple of Southern California’s technology and life sciences sectors, these Pinnacle Awards showcase the best in class of those advancing the promotion of women leading in STEM. The nominees and winners are devoted champions who pull out all the stops to promote and advance women leaders. The 2019 Pinnacle Award winners are:
- Individual in Technology: Mary Gendron | Senior Vice President & CIO | Qualcomm
- Individual in Life Sciences: Sheila Gujrathi | President & CEO | Gossamer Bio
- Individual in Service: Pamela Gardner | Founder | Biotech Vendor Services
- Rising Star: Kylie Taitano | Software Engineer | Intuit
Athena’s Pinnacle Awards Showcases Leaders in Diversity and Inclusion
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Athena’s Pinnacle Awards also present merit-based scholarships to young women pursuing STEM degrees, through its Foundation. Athena is proud to champion the next generation of women leaders in STEM.
These outstanding Pinnacle Scholarship recipients demonstrate academic excellence, leadership in school organizations, and community involvement. The 2019 Athena Pinnacle Scholarship recipients are:
- Marisa Beresford | Academy of Our Lady of Peace | STEM Focus – Engineering at MIT
- Jeanette Chen | Monte Vista High School | STEM Focus – Management Science and Engineering at Harvard
- Gillian Folk | Academy of Our Lady of Peace | STEM Focus – Molecular Biology at UCSD
- Rachel Kulchar | Carlsbad High School | STEM Focus – Medicine and Mathematics at Stanford
- Aida Razavilar | Canyon Crest Academy | STEM Focus – Neuroscience at Cal Poly
Athena’s Pinnacle Awards Showcases Leaders in Diversity and Inclusion
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