The Athena Rising Foundation
The Athena Rising Foundation was created to see underrepresented women take a place at every level of senior leadership, from executives, to the C-suite, to the boardroom.
About The Athena Rising Foundation
The Athena Rising Foundation was created to see underrepresented women take a place at every level of senior leadership, from executives, to the C-suite, to the boardroom.
Vision
We believe the top ranks of business should reflect the demographics of the society it serves. We are dedicated to supporting all women as they reach the top ranks of business, from all ethnicities, abilities, LGBTQ+, and more.
Opportunities
Our funds are wholly dedicated to giving underrepresented women an ecosystem of community, learning, and a larger funnel of opportunity. We achieve success through two funds, either a self-directed journey or a high-touch executive coaching experience in partnership with Athena Alliance, Inc.
The Athena Access Fellowship
Through the Access Fellowship, underrepresented women executives may join Athena Alliance, Inc., the global, digital community of the top women executives, and access a self-directed ecosystem of support. Through an Athena Self-Service membership, women executives access the community, learning, and opportunities that can accelerate their career, into the C-suite or the boardroom. Access Fellowship membership to Athena includes:
Virtual Salons
Learning starts in a live format, designed for busy executives. Members learn corporate governance and leadership insights from board directors and leaders from the world’s most notable brands.
Community
Women executives engage with each other in Athena’s digital community, a place to ask questions, share advice and thought leadership, support each other’s interests, and more.
Learning Library
Members gain access to a multimedia learning library, which includes hundreds of on-demand modules built for and by executive Athena members and supporters
Opportunities
Access Fellowship members can view and apply to all opportunities, such as board seats, CxO roles, and advisory positions.
Member Testimonials
“Athena Alliance has managed to curate some of the most relevant and engaging virtual salons for prospective board members. They aren’t your typical video webinars with a speaker, but rather experts from the Athena Alliance network who are engaging attendees around board specific topics. No lectures, more a like a dinner party on zoom.”
Lybra Clemons
“Athena Alliance has provided me with an amazing network of women who are actively serving on boards. Learning from their real world experiences has been invaluable in preparing me for my own board search.”
Ebony Beckwith
“Athena Alliance is leading the way to increasing women, and women of color to be placed on corporate boards. They are a true leader in ensuring diversity and inclusion is met at the executive level.”
Madinah Ali
“Since joining Athena, I have felt a synergy amongst the members that I have never felt before within a networking dynamic. The members and Athena team are really passionate about helping each other. They equally provide actionable details to assist you with your Board Member/Board Advisory journey and will connect you with individuals that can be the catalyst to further your efforts on securing said roles. You couldn’t ask for a more welcoming group of ladies that lock arms and help each other climb the ladder to their next career post!”
Gia Fisher
“Athena is such a wonderful platform! I have attended several salons, learned so much, and connected with AMAZING women. From the authenticity of the salons and the quality of the learning to the wonderful opportunities Athena shares with the community, I’m so impressed with your organization and thankful to be member.”
Ebonie Jackson
Apply or Nominate for the Access Fellowship
The Athena Accelerator Fellowship
The Athena Accelerator Fellowship delivers all the benefits of the Access Fellowship, along with 8 hours of one-on-one executive coaching and a custom-crafted Brand Package (CV, bio, LinkedIn update). This is a high-touch coaching journey with some of the top coaches in their field, positioning executive women to get as close as possible to their goals, whether advancing into the C-suite or the boardroom. In this one-year program, members access all the benefits of an Access Fellowship. They will also receive:
8 hours of one-on-one coaching with top-tier coaches, board directors and leadership experts.
A custom Brand Package, which includes a CV, bio, and LinkedIn update, specifically tailored to a member’s goals.
Peer workshops and guided networking events, where members can work intimately with other members and leaders to fine-tune their pitch, develop their leadership stories, and strategically network.
Key Connections: Members will have the support of a member success manager, who will act as their personal concierge and help them form meaningful and powerful connections throughout the Athena ecosystem.
To apply to the Athena Accelerator Fellowship, women must already be a member of Athena and come from an underrepresented group, such as Black, Asian, Latinx, or LGBTQ+. Women must first demonstrate that they have taken advantage of all that Athena can offer and that they are prepared to level up their development through this high-touch program.
Our Supporters
Some of the world’s most notable brands, investment firms, and individuals have joined us to support this effort.
Scott and Jane Maxwell
Lloyd Taylor
Yvonne
Wassenaar
Meet the Board
We are a diverse group of leaders, unified by the belief that when women rise, we all rise. Through the Athena Rising Foundation, we seek to achieve equity at the highest ranks of leadership.
Patti Robb
Interim Executive Director and Board Director / Chair
At Intel, Patti served as Chief Strategist and Head of Innovation for Intel’s Premier Autonomous Driving Vehicle Labs and Engineering Center in Silicon Valley. She’s spent her career leading exciting new technologies to market, with deep experience in automation, IoT and cloud. She’s passionate about using technology to improve people’s lives, every single day—and she’s especially passionate about diversity, equity, and inclusion, and closing the gender gap.
Lloyd Taylor
Board Secretary/Treasurer
Lloyd serves as COO as Alembic, an early-stage software startup headquartered in San Francisco. He hails from Autodesk, where he built and led operations for the global infrastructure for Autodesk’s cloud products. His board experience includes Samasource, the award-winning technology social enterprise. Lloyd is passionate about bringing opportunity and under-served people together.
Coco Brown
Board Director
Coco is the founder and CEO of Athena Alliance, the community platform that brings together women leaders, investors, CEOs, board directors and corporations in one digital ecosystem. Prior to founding Athena in 2016, Coco served as President, COO, and Board Director of Taos, a market leader in IT professional and managed services, serving hundreds of F1000 companies such as Apple, Cisco, ebay, Facebook, and Silicon Valley Bank. Coco also serves on the board of directors for ArcherPoint.
Dr. Yasmin Davidds
Board Director
Dr. Yasmin Davidds is an organizational psychologist, entrepreneur, and CEO of the Multicultural Women Executive Leadership Foundation and the Dr. Yasmin Davidds Leadership Institute, organizations dedicated to the teaching, instruction, and development of leadership competencies primarily focused on women in professional settings. Dr. Davidds’ commitment to the empowerment and development of all women leaders has brought her recognition and acclaim from the U.S. Congress, the California State Senate and the California State Assembly. She has been recognized and highlighted as one of the top Leading Latinas by Hispanic Magazine and as one of the most influential Latinas in “The Book of Latina Women.”
Beverly Cole
Board Director
Ms. Cole is an independent corporate director, serving on the Enterprise Risk and CRA, and Complex Real Estate Committees of a public company. She has been a senior executive in real estate, hospitality, food service, entertainment industries, and the manufacturing of consumer products in public and private companies. She is an ex- Wall Street investment banker in the commercial and residential real estate markets and served as a Federal regulator. She holds an MBA, finance degree from The Wharton School and a Juris Doctor from Fordham University. She is board member and Chair of investment Committee of a private fund, and she sits on the Board of National Association of Corporate Directors PSW Region and is a Retired State Commissioner and Insurance Task Force Member.
Stand with Us
Join forward-thinking leaders and top brands as they work to ensure the top ranks of business mimic society. Your donation will help women of all colors and backgrounds be represented at the top ranks of leadership.
Apply Now
Access Fellowship
Accelerator Fellowship
