History

ATHENA International…
began 35 years ago, while Martha Mayhood Mertz was serving on the Michigan Regional Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors in Lansing.

As the only woman on the Board, Mertz quickly recognized that the Chamber’s boardroom did not reflect the reality of the business community. The more she observed, the more convinced she became: If women’s strengths and contributions as leaders are publicly acknowledged, they could no longer be dismissed.

She took action in 1982, founding ATHENA International as a non-profit organization that supports, develops, and honors women leaders.

What Mertz conceived in 1982 is now a global movement. Since the program’s inception, over 7,000 ATHENA awards have been presented in more than 500 communities in eight countries.