ATHENA International: Professional businesswomens organization dedicated to leadership initiatives for women.

SPEAKER BIOS

		Ann Marie Almeida The vision of the AWBC is to help create a world where economic justice, wealth and well being are realized through the leadership and power of entrepreneurial women. Pragmatically, therefore, the AWBC promotes the collective leadership and power of entrepreneurial women by developing and strengthening a global network of women's business centers to advance the growth and success of women business owners. As President and CEO, Ann Marie directs training, mentoring, funding and research programs that foster prosperity, encourage entrepreneurship, support economic access and empower leadership among women entrepreneurs. Previously, Almeida has served as the Director of Finance for Kodak’s creative imaging programs, Director of Research for the Center for Venture Research and was an adjunct faculty member of the University of New Hampshire. She was co-founder and owner of JOA Planning Services, Inc., that provided financial and management consulting services to corporate and individual clients. Almeida currently serves as a board and advisory member for several organizations, including the National Women’s Business Council, which advises the President, the Congress and the SBA on matters regarding women’s entrepreneurship. She is a featured speaker on Body and Soul, a nationally syndicated PBS series and is a host for the Nieman Fellows Program of Harvard University.

		Emily Barr Emily L. Barr is the President and General Manager of ABC 7 Chicago (WLS-TV). Under her leadership, ABC 7 has strengthened its dominance in the market. Currently, ABC 7’s entire news lineup is rated #1 in Chicago. Barr is actively involved in the Chicago community through the Chicago Central Area Committee, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and Children’s Memorial Hospital Foundation. Currently, Barr is the President of the Board of United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Chicago and is the past Chairman of the Board for the Illinois Broadcasters Association and a current Vice Chair-TV for the IBA. Barr holds a B.A. in Film Studies from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. In 1986, she earned an M.B.A. from George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

		Laurel Delaney Laurel Delaney is a successful entrepreneur, speaker, educator and author with over 20 years of global business experience. She runs GlobeTrade.com and LaurelDelaney.com, Chicago-based firms specializing in international entrepreneurship. A world-renowned global small business expert, Ms. Delaney received the SBA’s "Illinois Exporter of the Year" award. She is the author of "Start and Run a Profitable Exporting Business." Her articles have appeared in numerous international and scholarly publications, including The Wall Street Journal and The Conference Board, and she is the global business columnist for Entrepreneur magazine. Ms. Delaney produces a monthly e-zine called Borderbuster and is the creator of three blogs: The Global Small Business Blog, Escape From Corporate America and Women Presidents’ Organization Chicago Chapter. In addition, she serves on the International BOD for the Women Presidents’ Organization and is a Governing Body member of ATHENAPowerLink. Ms. Delaney holds an M.B.A. from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management.

		David Dunning Dave is Executive Vice President and Senior Managing Director of National City Bank’s Private Client Group division, responsible for the management and oversight of the trust, private banking, brokerage, and personal money management business in Illinois and Missouri region. Other executive management positions held during his 14-year career with National City, including President of NatCity Investments, the full-service broker/ dealer for National City, and Executive Vice President of the Private Client Group’s Resource Center, Tax Services, and Fiduciary Management units. Prior to joining National City, Dave held senior sales management roles at Merchants Securities Corp., FN Investment Center, the brokerage arm for First Nationwide Bank, and Mark Twain Brokerage Services, Inc., a subsidiary of Mark Twain Bank. Dave is a director for The Theater School of DePaul University and the Executive Service Council. He is also a member of the Securities Industry Association (SIA), the Chicago Executives’ Club, and the Chicago Estate Planning Council. Dave resides in Chicago with his wife, Toni.

		Stephanie Fuller As Director of Global Business Development at Office Depot Stephanie leads sales teams to develop global programs and solutions for their customer's procurement of office products and services in 42 countries. Through extensive communication, an understanding and openness to cultural differences and a passion for continuous learning and connecting people, Ms. Fuller develops vibrant relationships with her 50,000+ associates as well as their global customers and prospects. Prior to her work with Office Depot, Stephanie worked for Emery Worldwide (now a UPS Company) and GE Medical. In each industry Stephanie earned the honored distinction of achieving the Chairman's Circle, the highest recognition for sales professionals within their organizations. Her passion for adventure has taken her to all seven continents, however spending time with her husband and three year old daughter, whom she says are the most interesting people she has ever met, is what she treasures most.

		Melissa Giovagnoli Melissa is one of the top five practitioners in the world teaching the science of networks as a way to create explosive business growth through the exclusive process she created called Networlding. Networlding, has provided relationship marketing and management programs for organizations like AT&T, CNA, Motorola, and Disney as well as thousands of entrepreneurs over the past twenty years. Melissa is the author and coauthor of eleven books, including Networlding: Building Relationships and Opportunities for Success (#10 on Amazon for a year in Chicago) and The Chicago Entrepreneurs Sourcebook. Four of her books have been on top business book lists, including The Power of Two and Networlding. Melissa has been a guest The Today Show, CNN and FOX. A frequent presenter at conferences, specializing in interactive sessions Melissa has won a Consummate Speaker award. In 1998 she was chosen one of six extraordinary women of the year by The University of Chicago Women's Graduate Business Alumni Board.

		Julie Hendricks Julie Hendricks is a Regional Wealth Strategist for the Private Client Group at National City Bank serving clients in Illinois and Missouri. Julie counsels executives, business owners and other high net worth individuals in order to create wealth conservation and tax-efficient strategies. Generally such strategies will focus on effective ways to reduce estate, income, gift and generation-skipping transfer taxes. Prior to joining National City Bank, Julie practiced law in the Trusts and Estates and General Practice departments of Chicago law firms focusing on estate planning, estate administration, tax planning and transition planning. She has extensive experience in: consulting affluent clients; working with family offices; drafting wills, trusts, pre-nuptial agreements and other estate planning documents; post-death tax planning; preparation of gift, estate and fiduciary income tax returns; handing IRS estate and gift tax audits; and probate and fiduciary litigation.

		Terri Hornsby Terri L.C. Hornsby believes image is everything. She has helped transform the industry of promotional services through her effective leadership as a respected advocate for women and minority-owned businesses. The founder of TLC Adcentives LLC marked her eleventh anniversary of entrepreneurial leadership and is recognized for winning major national contracts with Fortune 100 and 500 companies including Shell Oil Company, Marathon Oil Company, Citgo, CenterPoint, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, Ernst & Young, HP, and Halliburton. Terri willingly accepts the role of advocate who opens the doors for others to pursue the American Dream by owning and operating a successful business. TLC Adcentives LLC is dedicated to developing and maintaining a client’s desired image through corporate identification services that drive brand awareness while being affordable, accountable and delivered on time.

		Karyl Innis Known nationally for architecting career growth strategies for hundreds of Fortune 500 executives. Karyl knows how people succeed and when they fail how to help them. A dynamic and sought after speaker, Karyl regularly addresses business and professional organizations, has shared the podium with Nelson Mandela, and is widely quoted in journals and newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal, which touted her advice as "the best you’ve ever heard".

		Robin Kottke In her role as ATHENA Award Program Director Robin works directly with hundreds of facilitators of the ATHENA Award® Program in communities across the United States and around the world. In November, 2005, she traveled with ATHENA Founder, Martha Mertz as an ATHENA Award was presented in Athens, Greece. An advocate of ATHENA’s premier program, Robin has first-hand knowledge of the outstanding individuals who are ATHENA Recipients and is committed to promoting the ATHENA Leadership Model. Her passion for sharing the message of the ATHENA mission is evident in her dedication to supporting the host organizations and sponsors who implement the ATHENA Award® Program in their communities. Robin is actively engaged in ensuring the continuity of the program, assisting as new programs are launched, serving as a liaison with General Motors and National City and providing resources and support for active programs. Her B.S in Education and Women’s Studies from Michigan State University makes her current position a well-suited match.

		Sue Kozel The 2003 Athena Award Recipient for a NJ Chamber of Commerce, Sue Kozel operates an award-winning public relations firm that specializes in media outreach, and award and bio development. Having prepared over 2,500 press releases and hundreds of opinion pieces, letters and columns, words matter for Sue. With spokesperson experience for the public, private, and non-profit sectors, Sue was recently named one of four national recipients of Enterprising Women Magazine’s 2007 Enterprising Women of the Year Advocacy Award. One of NJBIZ’s 50 Best Women in Business and having received national awards from the US Chamber of Commerce, Women Impacting Public Policy and the Stevie Awards, Sue supports community outreach programs that benefit women and children. Her op-eds promoting diversity were published recently in NJBIZ and the Philadelphia Business Journal. Happily married, Sue teaches Public Speaking for the NJ Women’s Business Center and three college history classes, including The 60s.

		Ronna Lichtenberg Prior to founding Clear Peak, a management consulting firm that specializes in helping companies mine the value of relationships, both internal and external, Ronna was a Senior Vice President with Prudential Securities, Inc. As head of Marketing, she developed new markets and new products, and was named the first woman in the firm’s history to its top management group, the Operating Council. Ronna helps individuals develop business relationships that support their career goals. A contributing editor for “O”, the Oprah magazine, Ronna’s work has also been selected for inclusion in the forthcoming “O” anthology. She has been seen as a business expert on every major morning network show and is frequently quoted as an expert on cable television and in national print. Her first two books, published in nine languages were widely recognized for their insightful analysis of how to handle critical business issues.

		Dr. Inonge Mbikusita-Lewanika Inonge Mbikusita-Lewanika is Ambassador of the Republic of Zambia to the United States, Washington, D.C. From 2002 to 2003, she also served as special envoy of the President of the Republic of Zambia. In that capacity, she chaired an Organization of African Unity Meeting of Experts on Gender Mainstreaming in the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She was among the lobbyists that ensured the gender balance in the highest ranks of the African Union. From 1991 to 2001, Dr. Mbikusita-Lewanika, served on several parliamentary committees in Zambia, including the Foreign Affairs Committee, the Women, Youth, and Child Development Committee, and as chair of the Sports, Youth, and Child Welfare Committee. From 1996 to 2001, she chaired the Zambia All Party Women Parliamentary Caucus. From 1980 to 1990, Dr. Mbikusita-Lewanika held various posts with UNICEF, including that of regional advisor on Women and Development and Child Development. Dr. Mbikusita-Lewanika earned an M.A. in education and psychology from California State Polytechnic College, San Luis, Obispo, and a Ph.D. in early childhood and primary education from New York University. The Ambassador was the 2006 International ATHENA Award Recipient.

		Kay McCurdy Kay is a partner in the Corporate Department of Lord, Bissell & Brook LLP, a Chicago based law firm. She focuses in the general corporate and finance areas, with emphasis on representation of lending institutions and borrowers in a variety of transactions, nonprofit organizations and executive compensation issues, mergers and acquisitions and public and private securities offerings. She has served on numerous boards, including Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., Trek Bicycle Corporation, The WBEZ Alliance, Inc. (Chicago Public Radio), Bradley University and Trinity Foundation of Wisconsin. She also serves on the Visiting Committee of the University of Chicago Law School. Kay was selected in June 2004 as one of Chicago’s 100 Most Influential Women by Crain’s Chicago Business and was named one of the Top 50 Leading Women Business Lawyers in Illinois.

		Martha Mertz Martha Mertz is the Founder of ATHENA International. She served as President of ATHENA International from its inception in 1982 to May 1999. In addition to her continuing role as a Board member of ATHENA, Martha is also a successful real estate entrepreneur, and is president and owner of Mayhood/Mertz Investment, Inc. She actively served her local community of Lansing, MI as founding partner in several development/management partnerships in the Lansing area, as president of the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce and in leadership positions for many other organizations. Over the years Martha has received numerous awards, was honored as one of the top 25 Women Business Owners in Michigan by NAWBO and was chosen as the Michigan Women-In-Business Advocate by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Martha received her B.A. in Women’s Studies and Psychology from Michigan State University. She currently resides in Sedona, AZ with her husband, Dr. Edward Ingraham.

		Todd Popham Todd has over twenty-five years experience in corporate and non-profit leadership. A Leadership Development Associate with State Farm Insurance in Frederick, MD., his current role involves multi-cultural marketing in the Washington, D.C. area as well as providing performance coaching for internal leaders. He has dedicated his professional career to developing future leaders, particularly women. Popham also has extensive non-profit leadership experience. Currently, Todd is a member of the Athena Board of Directors. He has held leadership roles as Chairman for Occupational Development Center Board of Directors, President for Saratoga Springs Education Foundation, Chairman for Domestic Violence Services Board of Directors, and Chairman for Partners in Education Program. Popham holds a B.A. in Business Economics from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN. He earned his M.B.A. from Bradley University Foster College of Business in Administration in Peoria, IL, where Bradley faculty honored him with the 2004 Outstanding M.B.A. Award.

		Maureen Prochenski Maureen Prochenski is a Senior Vice President and Area Sales Manager for National City Business Banking. Her dedication to high-quality customer service and innovative capabilities in business banking allow her and her team to provide the best solutions for her clients’ unique situations. Maureen understands the complexity of financial needs and takes the time necessary to recommends the best fit for a business for today and for the future. A native of Chicago, Maureen’s 22 years of banking experience includes expertise in commercial real estate lending, consumer banking, and business banking. Maureen sits on the Governing Body for the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center’s ATHENAPowerlink Program and is an active participant of NAWBO, SBA, WE-DO and the Women’s Business Development Center. She has won several awards including the 2006 SBA Award for Financial Services Champion of the Year and NAWBO’s Corporate Partner of the Year 2005.

		DeLores Pressley DeLores Pressley is known for her electrifying and exhilarating performance as a professional speaker. As President of BornSuccessful, a professional and personal development company, she has appeared as a success and confidence expert on the local and national levels to include national magazines Success, Glamour, First for Women, Essence, Inside Business, Ebony and Marie Claire. She has received national media attention including, NBC Today Show, Entertainment Tonight, New York Daily News, Chicago Sun Times, Chicago Tribune, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Washington Post and the Oprah Winfrey Show. DeLores is the host of the "DeLores Pressley Show", a success and inspirational show, heard on Joy 1520 AM radio and a television host of The BornSuccessful Television Show. She is the author of Clean Out the Closets of Your Life. She has received many awards and recognitions for her work.

		Minister Sandra Pupatello Sandra Pupatello currently serves as Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development and Trade and Minister Responsible for Women's Issues. Prior to this posting, she served as Minister of Education and Minister of Community and Social Services. In 1999 Sandra established the Women in Politics Conference as a chance for young women to learn about politics from the people who live it, and inspire them to get involved. Ms. Pupatello was first elected to the riding of Windsor West in 1995. Over the years, Minister Pupatello has been named an honorary member of the Rotary Club of Windsor, a Paul Harris Fellow, Italian of the Year in Windsor-Essex County, the University of Windsor Charlie Clark Award winner for Outstanding Service and named her city's "Woman of the Year." Most recently, Sandra was honored to receive the prestigious 2006 Athena Award for Windsor.

		Priti Rao Priti Rao, Senior Vice President at Infosys, plays multiple roles in the organization, executing all of them with passion, enthusiasm and commitment for excellence. She heads the Infrastructure Management Services Practice and Pune Development Center (DC), which has over 12,000 employees today. As a business unit head, she has been responsible for building the business to projected revenue of 100 Million USD this year. Since this is a relatively new business for Infosys, Priti’s achievement is very significant. Priti won the prestigious “IT Woman of the Year Award” from the Computer Society of India for 2003 and she has presented papers at prominent international software engineering conferences such as “Maintainability of Software.” Priti has been a founding member of IWIN (Infosys Women inclusively Initiative), one of the diversity initiatives which addresses needs of the more than 20,000 women employees of Infosys.

		Megan Raphael Megan Raphael is the author of The Courage Code, an exciting, bold new book transforming how women see their lives. She has over twenty years experience in organizational development, group facilitation, leadership training and life coaching. Prior to moving back to her home state of Michigan in 1998, she was President of Raphael-Leritz Consulting, a successful management development company in the Pacific Northwest. Megan also has ten years of progressive management experience in organizations including Kaiser-Permanente Medical Care Program and Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. She is Founder and President of Courage Project, an organization dedicated to championing the feminine side of courage. She has a BA in Social Work from Michigan State University, and has done MBA course work along with advanced courses in organizational development, and personal and professional life coaching. Megan and her husband Peter live in Traverse City, Michigan.

		Toni Riccardi Ms. Riccardi recently joined The Conference Board as the Special Advisor on Diversity & Inclusion. In this capacity, Ms Riccardi advises The Conference Board on internal diversity and inclusion issues. Additionally she works to infuse the various Conference Board offerings with leading edge diversity and inclusion themes. Toni was previously the Chief Diversity Officer and Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers where she was responsible for the development and execution of the firm's diversity and work/life strategies to enhance attraction, development and retention of 25,000 partners and staff. Ms Riccardi was one of 13 members of the firm's management committee responsible for the day to day operation of the U.S. firm.

		Norma Rist Norma Rist is president of Norma J. Rist CEO Consulting, Inc., a company that \ provides strategic growth and profitability solutions. She has over 20 years of experience in marketing, operations and financial management. Her management experience includes positions as controller for a $200-million division of a public corporation and vice president and general manager for a $40-million manufacturing and wholesale company, Pepsi-Cola Bottlers of Akron, Inc. Norma is the author of Small Business Savvy published by Adams Media Corporation in 2002. She is a graduate of The University of Akron with a B.S. in business administration. As a no-nonsense business coach, Norma works with business owners to analyze financial information, improve operational effectiveness, and assess new opportunities. She has assisted hundreds of entrepreneurs in growing their businesses and improving profitability. Norma may be reached at www.normarist.com.

		Angela Sheen During the past twelve years, Angela has specialised in Human Resources Consultancy introducing international best practice Strategies and Standards to organisations worldwide including the Far East and the Middle East. She previously gained in-depth banking experience with the National Westminster Bank ultimately becoming a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers. Qualified to British Psychological Society standards in the use of Occupational and Psychometric Tests, Angela has focused on enabling people to achieve their potential and a satisfactory work/life balance. She has also developed and delivered an extensive range of Business Focused training and Management Development programmes. With two adult sons as well as a five year old grandson and divorced eight years’ ago, balancing her work/life commitments has presented many challenges through the years. But being a survivor and an optimist Angela appreciates the good things that life has delivered even if the balance is sometimes lopsided!

		Jerrie Ueberle Jerrie Ueberle is the founder and president of Global Interactions, Inc., a Phoenix-based non-profit corporation focused to increase worldwide communication and understanding among U.S. professionals and their international counterparts. Conferences, seminars, and study programs engage participants in sharing best practices, research, and technologies that contribute to identifying common concerns and discovering new methodologies for achieving results. She is owner and president of Jerrie Ueberle & Associates, a women-owned and operated company specializing in collaborative team building for personal and organizational change. Consultation and training is tailored to specific contractors to accelerate shifts in personal and organizational outcomes.

		Vicky Wauterlek Vicky is the President and Founder of Hands of Hope, a not for profit organization dedicated to the critical needs of women and children around the world. She has served as Director of Women’s Ministries, The Village Church of Barrington; Board of Directors, Christian Women United and Board of Trustees, Trinity International University. Vicky Wauterlek, a native Chicagoan is the wife of John and the mother of two boys, Mark and Mike.

		Edie Weiner Edie Weiner is president of Weiner, Edrich, Brown, Inc., a leading futurist consulting group in the United States. Formed in 1977, WEB has served over 300 clients (corporate, academic, government) in identifying opportunities in the areas of marketing, product development, strategic planning, investments, human resources, public affairs and advertising. Clients have ranged from the U.S. Congress to many of the Fortune 500. She is acknowledged as one of the most influential practitioners of social, technological, political and economic intelligence-gathering. Ms. Weiner was the youngest outside woman ever elected to the board of directors of a major financial institution when she joined the board of Union Mutual Life Insurance Company (now UNUM Provident Corporation) at the age of 29. She has been a guest lecturer at Wharton, Harvard, Brown and a number of other universities. Her articles have appeared in numerous publications, including The Harvard Business Review, The Futurist, and The Wall Street Journal. She has co-authored four books with her partner Arnold Brown: Supermanaging ( McGraw-Hill 1984), Office Biology (MasterMedia 1993), Insider's Guide to the Future (Bottom Line, 1997), and FutureThink (Prentice Hall, 2006). In 1992 she founded and chaired the Esteem Teams, an innovative program in which dozens of inner city, at risk girls are mentored by executive women. She serves on numerous Boards and Advisory Boards, including the U.S. Comptroller General's Advisory Board, the U.S. Council of Competitiveness, The Women's Leadership Exchange, ThinkQuest New York City (Chair) and Boardroom Inc. In the past, she has been on the Board or Advisory Board of the José Limón Dance Foundation (Chair), UNUM Corporation, First Unum Corp., CompUSA, the Fashion Group International and Avon's Women of Enterprise Awards. Ms. Weiner is a member of the Women's Forum, the Belizean Grove, and she is the first recipient of the Fashion Group International's Entrepreneur of the Year Award (1998).

		Jeff Wolf Jeff Wolf, known as one of America’s most dynamic speakers, is considered one of the top executive business coaches in the country. His strategic focus in solving both corporate as well as human issues has won him continuing raves from national firms. He is the author of the upcoming book, The Essence of Effective Leadership, has been featured on NBC and FOX TV, and has worked with such prominent companies as SONY, SBC, Abbott Labs, Ace Hardware, the American Bar Association, Diners Club, and Enterprise-Rent-A-Car. He is currently president of Wolf Management Consultants, one of the most comprehensive consulting, training and coaching firms in the country specializing in helping people and organizations achieve maximum effectiveness. Throughout the years, his principles, strategies and inspiration have influenced dramatic growth and changes in hundreds of organizations.