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ATHENA Award
Recipients
The ATHENA Award is given
annually by the Society to a local member for his or her work
toward accomplishing the mission of the Society. The award
recipient is honored at the annual Society luncheon with a
plaque and a scholarship for attending the National ATHENA
Conference.
2003 --
Jewel Jones
In
March 2003, Jewel
Jones was the Director of the Department of Health and Human
Services and has been an enduring force in government for 32-years. She has
served under every mayor since George Sullivan and shaped the
modern-day municipal public heath system.
Jewel has tirelessly worked to provide more
opportunities for women and minorities in government.
Jones is active in the Alaska Black Caucus, National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Alaska
Black Leadership Conference,
United Way
, LINKS, Commonwealth North, is on the board of Alaska Housing
Finance Corporation and more.
Two of her many awards are the 2001 BP/YWCA Women of
Achievement Award as well as the 2001 National Association of
Social Workers Alaska Chapter Citizen of the Year.
 2002 -- Kathleen Porterfield
Kathleen has helped open the door for women in a once truly
male-dominated profession. With more than 80 offices
nationally and 800 international locations, Kathleen was the
first woman managing partner at KPMG. Through great
recruiting efforts on her part, more than half of KPMG
'
s
Anchorage
office management is now women.
Just 10-years ago, fewer than 25-percent were. Kathleen
was a 1998 YWCA Woman of Achievement and is currently the
Vice-Chair of the board of the Anchorage Economic Development
Corporation, Treasurer of the Consumer Credit Counseling
Service, and President of the board of the Alaskan Aids
Assistance Association. She is also a charter member of the
board of the YWCA, and currently co-chair of its $1,000,000
building campaign.
 2001 -- Betsy
Lawer
Betsy Lawer, Vice President and Chief Operating
Officer of First National Bank, is the 2001 ATHENA Award
recipient. In her tenure at First National,
Lawer has promoted women into leadership
positions within the bank, helped to add another woman to the
bank’s board of directors, and actively worked within the
community to promote women in business.
She has
been named one of the top 25 Most Powerful People in Alaska,
has won the Soroptimist International Anchorage Women Helping
Women Award, and is a director for the Seattle Branch of the
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
 2000 – Arliss Sturgulewski
Beginning her more than 30-year
public service career with the Greater Anchorage Borough
Planning & Zoning Commission in 1968, Arliss quickly moved to
the Anchorage Municipal Assembly and then to the Alaska State
Senate, where she served until 1992 when she chose not to
stand for re-election. During her time with the legislature,
she served as Senate President Pro Tempore and served as chair
of six committees, including Budget and Affairs, Resources,
Rules, and Community and Regional Affairs. In 1986 and 1990
she ran for Governor as the Republican candidate. Today,
Arliss serves as a trustee or board member on 20 boards,
commissions, or committees, ranging from the Anchorage
Community YMCA to the State of Alaska Commission on Rural
Alaska Governance and Empowerment. She also gives speeches
frequently on small business opportunities and on educational
issues.
 1999 – Sharon
Richards
With a long history of
assisting women and her community, Sharon, the 1999 ATHENA
Award recipient, founded the YWCA and has served as its
executive director for the past 12 years. In that role, she
established the "Women of Achievement" awards program. She
also serves as a role model for young women in the community
who aspire to public service and political positions. She has
been the president of the League of Women Voters, the
Anchorage School Board, the Association of Non Profit
Corporations, and the Anchorage Association of Volunteer
Administrators. She was presented with the 1994 "Citizen of
the Year" award by the Alaska Chapter of National Association
of Social Workers and is a 1999 YWCA "Woman of Achievement."
Sharon is truly a non-profit entrepreneur who has developed an
organization that enriches the lives of all women and girls in
the community.
 1998 – Julianna
Guy
Julianna, the 1998 ATHENA Award
recipient, began her career as a CPA in a then male-dominated
field. She moved from accounting with a "big eight" firm to
broadcast management and was one of the first women station
managers in the Western U.S. In the early 80’s, she served as
the first woman Deputy Commissioner for Telecommunications for
Alaska. Whenever new opportunities have presented themselves,
she has used her persuasive verbal skills to begin a new
challenge and to open the door for other women to follow. She
has served as president of the Anchorage Chapter of the
American Society of Women Accountants and was the society’s
1992 National Woman of Achievement. She is a member of the
Alaska Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame and has been a
board member for Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Arctic Power, ALPAR,
and the Alaska Center for Performing Arts. She was also a 1992
YWCA Woman of Achievement.
 1997 – Jo
Michalski
Jo is one of Anchorage’s most
successful entrepreneurs. Running a series of successful
businesses has made her a valuable mentor for local women in
business. Jo is always willing to share her experiences and
expertise. She has worked with professional businesswomen from
Russia as well as international business students. She was the
1997 recipient of the Anchorage ATHENA Award, one of 50 1998
YWCA National Woman Entrepreneur Award recipients, 1998
recipient of the Philanthropy Small Business Award, and an
Anchorage Chamber of Commerce 1999 Gold Pan Award recipient.
She has also been the President of the League of Women Voters,
President of the YWCA board of directors, a charter member of
the Alaska Junior Theater, and a board member of the Anchorage
Chamber of Commerce.
 1996 - Cynthia
Parker
Now living and working in
Seattle, Washington, Cynthia, the 1996 ATHENA Award recipient,
is the former executive director for the Anchorage
Neighborhood Housing Services. Under her direction, the
organization grew from a $15,000 business contribution start
to a $57 million asset-based corporation. While in Anchorage,
she was responsible for safe low-cost housing for single
women, childcare programs, home ownerships for single women,
and increased participation by women on ANHS related programs
and boards. She received the 1994 Alaskan of the Year
Governor’s Award, and received the Fannie Mae Foundation’s
1993 Maxwell Award for The Village project. She served two
three-year appointments to the Federal Reserve Bank of San
Francisco board, served on an advisory committee on the
Alaskan Commission for the Homeless, and is a past chair of
the Anchorage Planning Authority.
 1995 – Eleanor
Andrews
Eleanor has built her business
from the ground up and still has the time to support the
issues she cares about. Through chairing the Anchorage ATHENA
Society, Eleanor, the 1995 ATHENA Award recipient, has worked
tirelessly to support local women in business. Last year, she
brought the ATHENA PowerLink program to Alaska. Her
list of community service contributions is lengthy, but to
highlight a few, she was a 1993 YWCA Woman of Achievement and
received the 1998 Alaska Small Business of the Year award. She
is also on the boards of the Anchorage Mutual Housing
Association, the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, Commonwealth
North, UAA, and Anchorage East Rotary. Eleanor continually
seeks out joint ventures to work with new and emerging
companies to launch them into the business world. She also
regularly employs her company’s resources and staff’s efforts
in support of community activities.
 1988 – Joyce
Murphy
Joyce was the first Anchorage
ATHENA Award recipient. Originally the owner of Alaska Animal
Eye Clinic and Alpine Veterinary Clinic, she now lives in
Homer and continues to practice veterinary medicine. During
her time in Anchorage, she also received the 1993 Soroptimist
Woman of Achievement Award and the 1988 U.S. Small Business
Administration’s Alaska Businesswoman of the Year award. She
was the first woman president of the Chugach Electric
Association; she served on the Governor’s Energy Task Force,
and was vice-chair of the Alaska Energy Authority. In
addition, she has served as the chair of the Salvation Army’s
Booth Memorial Home Advisory Council and the American Red
Cross Disaster Committee. She also founded and chaired the
People-Animal Connection which takes pets to seniors in
nursing homes and patients in hospitals. |
