2016 ATHENA Award®
Frequently Asked Questions
WHAT ARE THE ELIGIBILITY
CRITERIA FOR AN ATHENA
NOMINEE?

Must work within the Greater Rochester Area (which includes Genesee, Livingston,
Monroe, Ontario, Orleans, and Wayne counties).

May be employed by either the for-profit or not-for-profit sectors.

Should have a minimum of ten years professional/business experience.

May not be a previous ATHENA Award® recipient (Previous ATHENA nominees may
be eligible).
May not be employees of the Rochester Business Alliance, or current year members of
the ATHENA Selection Committee, Women’s Council Board of Directors or ATHENA
Awards® Planning Committee.
Must be willing to participate in Women’s Council events designed to further the vision
and mission of the Women’s Council during the year following their nomination.
An individual is ineligible if she has been nominated in the two consecutive years prior
the current, anticipated nomination. For example, if the potential nominee was also
nominated in 2014 and 2015, she is not eligible for a 2016 nomination. However, she
may be considered for nomination again in 2017.



WHO CAN NOMINATE AN
ATHENA AWARD
CANDIDATE?

Organizations, groups, Boards, or individuals may nominate a woman for the ATHENA
Award®. Nominators may separately submit more than one woman for consideration.
IS THERE A SPECIAL
NOMINATION FORM?

An easy-to-use nomination may be completed and submitted online. The 2016
ATHENA Award® online nomination form and instructions may be found at
www.rbawomenscouncil.org. The site also includes sample nominations for small
business, for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. For further assistance, please
call Susan George at the Rochester Business Alliance at (585) 256-4612.
HOW DO I COMPLETE THE
NOMINATION?


Fill out the online nomination form completely and accurately.
An option to attach supporting documents in PDF or JPG format (Word is easily
converted to PDF)(i.e., resume, letter of recommendation, awards and accomplishments)
is available online. Attachments should directly support the ATHENA Award® criteria.
For strongest consideration, nominators are expected to provide detailed supporting
information about the nominee’s qualifications when submitting a nomination. Any
additional information regarding the nominee that is not included within the nomination
submission and supporting documentation will not be considered as part of the selection
process. Nominators are encouraged to provide as much information regarding the
nominee’s success, awards, contributions, and achievements in order to provide the best
nomination possible.
It is highly recommended that nominators review the nomination form with their
nominee prior to submitting.
Sample nominations demonstrating the level of detail expected can be found at
www.rbawomenscouncilorg. Review of these sample nominations is required.



Women’s Council is an affiliate of the Rochester Business Alliance
WHAT CAN I INCLUDE WITH
THE NOMINATION FORM?





WHAT IS THE NOMINATION
PROCEDURE?


HOW IS THE RECIPIENT
SELECTED?



WHAT ARE THE EVALUATION
CATEGORIES AND CRITERIA?
The nomination form should include all information necessary for evaluation of the
nominee and should be heavily detailed.
Letters of recommendation and other supporting documentation may be included online.
However, resumes will not take the place of the nomination form.
Please do not include binders, pictures or DVDs in the mail.
Nominations can only be submitted online www.rbawomenscouncil.org.
Nominators are asked to place a courtesy call to Susan George, Manager, Corporate
Events, at the Rochester Business Alliance (RBA) at 585.256.4612 with the name and
company of their candidate(s) by Friday, September 11, 2015.
All completed online nomination form must be submitted no later than on Friday,
October 9, 2015. Nominations received after this date will not be considered.
The Women’s Council ATHENA Awards® Nominations Committee pre-screens
nominations to ensure all required information is included.
Finalists are determined based on the award criteria, the level of detail in the nomination
form submission, and supporting documentation provided by the nominator.
Final selection of the ATHENA Award® recipient is made by a Selection Committee
consisting of a diverse group of leaders from the Rochester Area.
Nominations will be evaluated based on the following:
 Business/Professional Achievements: including specific and detailed examples of how
the nominee has demonstrated excellence, creativity and initiative in her business or
profession.

Community Service: including local, state, national and international experience, length
of service and offices held in civic and/or service organizations such as charitable
activities, political pursuits, religious groups, chambers of commerce, professional
associations, etc.

Personal Leadership: including specific and detailed examples of how the nominee has
contributed to the ability of other women to reach their full leadership potential, and
demonstrated support for their personal, career and/or professional advancement.

Additional Information: Any additional information you feel is important for
consideration of your nominee. List awards, honors received, publications or articles
supporting service to their profession, industry or community.
Women’s Council is an affiliate of the Rochester Business Alliance
WHEN IS THE RECIPIENT
ANNOUNCED?
WHO ARE SOME OF THE PAST
ATHENA AWARD®
RECIPIENTS?
HOW DO I GET MORE
INFORMATION?

The ATHENA Award® recipient will be announced at the 30th Annual ATHENA
Award® luncheon on Thursday, January 21, 2016 at the Joseph A. Floreano
Rochester Riverside Convention Center.

Recent ATHENA Award® recipients include: Amy Tait, President & CEO, Broadstone
Real Estate; Dr. Lynne Maquat, University of Rochester Medical Center, RNA Biology;
Dr. Anne Kress, President, Monroe Community College; Judith Baumhauer, Associate
Chair of Academic Affairs, Orthopaedics, University of Rochester Medical Center; Kitty
Van Bortel, President, Van Bortel Auto Group; Jennifer Leonard, Executive Director,
Rochester Area Community Foundation; Holly Hillberg, Vice President of Product
Development at Ortho Clinical Diagnostics; Dr. Ruth Lawrence, Professor of Pediatrics
and Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Rochester Medical Center; Patricia
Malgieri, Chief of Staff, Rochester City School District and Ursula M. Burns, CEO,
Xerox.

The Women’s Council Web site at www.rbawomenscouncil.org includes the online
nomination form and additional information such as sample nomination forms for the
for-profit and not-for-profit sectors and small business organizations (indicating the type
of supporting documentation expected for ATHENAAward® nominees), and additional
details about recent past recipients and their level of accomplishment. If you have any
questions or need more clarification, please contact Susan George at
[email protected] or (585) 256-4612.
Women’s Council is an affiliate of the Rochester Business Alliance