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ATHENA PINNACLE AWARDS
2008 Nominations
The Pinnacle Awards recognize women and men who support the Athena vision: To foster
personal and professional change through inclusion, risk taking, education, recognition and
diversity of thought thereby enchancing competitiveness and opportunity in the San Diego
business community.
Awards will be presented to the individual or company/organization who, through the
development and promotion of skilled and talented women, has had as significant impact within
the San Diego information technology and life sciences communities and educators and service
professionals who support those communities.
Who is eligible for a Pinnacle Award?
Awards are presented to four outstanding individuals and one outstanding company each year.
Any member of the San Diego community may make an award nomination. Neither nominator
nor nominee need be a member of Athena.
How do I make a nomination?
· You must use the designated on-line application form to submit your nomination. You
can access each application form by clicking the appropriate link below. No other forms
of applications will be considered
· You will be notified within 24 hours by e-mail that your nomination has been received by
Athena and is in the process of being considered.
· Please do not send any additional information - ONLY the information on the online
application will be considered. Please note that the form will only accept 300 words for
each recommendation.
· Note that it is not possible to save a partially completed nomination form. It is helpful to
prepare the nomination information separately and then copy it to the nomination form.
· An eligible nominee should be present at the Pinnacle Awards Dinner on May 1, 2008.
What are the award categories that an individual or a company/organization can be nominated for?
There are five award categories: four for individuals and one for companies/organizations. They
are as follows:
INDIVIDUALS
· Individual in Information Technology
Nominees may include individuals who work in information technology-oriented, software
design/application, semiconductor, communications, internet, defense or similar environments or
those who work to create an enabling information technology function in a non-tech company.
Click here to nominate an individual in Information Technology
· Individual in Life Sciences
Nominees may include individuals who work in life sciences and health care-oriented,
biotechnology, pharmaceutical, health care, medical device, clean technology or similar
environments.
Click here to nominate an individual in Life Sciences
· Individual in Services
Nominees may include individuals who provide legal, accounting, financial, banking, public
relations, venture capital, marketing, or similar services.
Awards for Individual in Information Technology, Individual in Life Sciences and Individual in
Services are presented to individuals who:
· Hire, mentor, promote or empower women within the company or workplace
· Play a key role in successfully creating and/or developing an information technology, life
sciences or service company in San Diego
· Demonstrate personal leadership through active participation in San Diego based
business or professional forums and/or educational programs
Click here to nominate an individual in Services
· Individual in Education
Nominees may include teachers of children in grades K-12, teachers in higher education, and
designers and providers of other educational programs. The Award for Individual in Education is
presented to an individual who:
· Directly impacts or is a strong role model inspiring young women to pursue opportunities
in math or science
· Promotes math or science study programs in which a significant number of participants
are young women
· Provides innovative approaches to generating young women's long-term careers in math
or science
Click here to nominate an individual in Education
· CORPORATION/ORGANIZATION
Any corporation or organization is eligible for this award. Presented to a corporation or
organization which:
· Demonstrates a commitment to hire, encourage, promote or empower women within the
company or organization.
· Employs a significant number of women in senior executive or managerial roles, or
serving as members of the organization's Board of Directors.
· Organization is performing successfully within its current development stage, given the
current state of the economy or its industry
Click here to nominate a CORPORATION/ORGANIZATION
To assist you in completing the nomination form, samples for each category have been provided
below for your reference.
Example I (Individual in Services):
[Name] is a living legend within the [Organization], where she has worked tirelessly the past 20 years
to promote the advancement of women. A seasoned professional in the [describe business], [Name]’s leadership
and communication abilities have put [Organization] on the map. Through innovative programs and calculated risk
taking, [Name] has enabled [Organization] to grow and flourish - making [Organization] the largest and most financially
sound of any [Organization] chapter. The result is higher awareness and recognition for women in science and coalition
building that is addressing workforce issues affecting both women and men.
[Name] is a builder of organizations that last. She established the highly successful [Organization] conference series
that 14 years later continues to draw sold-out audiences. Thousands of women scientists have benefited from the program
both as attendees and as program committee members. Many women, in fact, credit the leadership skills learned on the committee
as their springboard for advancement in their professional careers. [Name] has also contributed greatly to [Group] as a Board Member,
[Committee] chair, participated in the creation and launch of [program], and helped redesign [Group] site.
An award-winning [specify profession] professional, [Name] is nurturing the next generation of professionals as a
program advisor to [Educational Organization] where she helped create certificate programs in [describe programs].
She also teaches a highly popular course in [describe course]. A former board member of [Non-profit], [Name] is founder
of the [Association] and is editor of [Publication]. She also serves on the board of [Company/Non-profit].
Example II (Individual in Technology):
Throughout her career, [Name] has been passionate about mentoring women of all ranks, helping them to understand and exploit
the full potential of their positions. The result is the advancement, empowerment, and creation of a workplace culture where women
help women. Since joining [Company] in [Year], [Name] has recruited women to the roles of [Positions] and has promoted one woman to
[Executive Position] and one to [Executive Position]. She continues to support the women on her team by involving them in high visibility
projects, encouraging them to participate in community networking and professional development activities and empowering them in their daily
work activities.
[Name] was invited to join [Company] to help lead the [Company] into a new phase of growth. Within months she optimized the administrative
functions and created a new business development position. Under her leadership, the [Department] refinanced outstanding bonds and raised greatly
needed funds for capital expenditures. [Name] took the lead in generating over $___ million in funding and is now executing a plan to [Describe plan].
These activities will allow [Company] to [describe plans]. [Name] has also taken a leadership role in the creation of [Program] and is actively
involved in [Activities for Program].
In the role of [Past Position], [Name] contributed to the growth of two start-up biotechnology companies ([Company X and Company Y]) and took both
public. The success of these companies stands as testament to [Name]'s ability as a strategic and tactical leader. [Name] now applies her
biotechnology experience to the boards of directors she serves on, which include [Companies]. [Name] is a consummate net-worker who is quick to use
her deep and carefully nurtured professional relationships to help other women. She readily makes introductions and facilitates communication. [Name]
serves as a Board member of [Organization], and is a co-founder of [Networking Group]. She has participated in [Non-profits].
Example III (Individual in Education):
[Name] is an extraordinary role model and a research pioneer, as evidenced by her prestigious [describe awards and recognition]. These recognitions,
and her encouragement, provide enormous inspiration to young women. [Name] founded [Name of Educational Program], an academic program that
[describe Program activities]. It provides students with experience engineering for social good, and attracts a higher percentage of women. She
is currently faculty advisor for the undergraduate team working with [describe activities].
[Name] is extremely active in promoting women's interest and success in college level science. As [Academic Area] Professor, she co-founded and
advises the [describe Educational Group]. Her recent class, [Name of Class] involved [describe activities], providing experience and encouragement.
She brought to [Institution] an electronic mentoring system that has been especially attractive to women students. Her recent $X grant from
[Granting Entity] will help launch an [describe initiative] Initiative to inspire and encourage middle school girls in science and engineering careers,
and will reach over Y middle school students.
[Name] is an excellent mentor to female graduate students, nurturing them into successful careers in academia and industry. As [Academic Position],
she has worked successfully to increase the diversity of the [Academic Area] faculty. She formulated a policy, adopted [Institution]-wide, to have
every faculty recruiting advertisement ask applicants for their contributions to diversity. She founded the [Group Name], which promotes leadership
development and recognition of women campus leaders. For her efforts, she was recognized as [Name of Award] in [Year].
Example IV (Corporation/Organization):
Recognized for strong company culture, [Company] provides innovative employee development programs and significant advancement opportunities for women.
[Company] President and CEO [Name], has spearheaded organization-wide incentives that have greatly contributed to the professional growth and development
of female associates, including programs such as career pathing, peer advisors, and employee recognitions and surveys. [Company] has launched additional
opportunities for women including the [Company volunteer program], monthly roundtable meetings with employees and the President and
[professional development program]. Active in the philanthropy community with many causes, [Company] sponsors the [describe philanthropic commitments].
Internationally, [Company] provides professionals for [Organization], a non-profit organization focused on [describe Organization’s activities].
[Company] is committed to educating its female associates through supplemental newsletters relevant to women’s healthcare issues and trends.
[Company]’s dedication to empowering women professionally and furthering internal advancement is demonstrated in the X% of senior leadership
positions of Vice President and above and Y% of middle managers to directors are held by women. Most notable among the company’s female leaders
at [Company] are [Name], Director and Chief Executive Officer; [Name], Chief Clinical Officer, [Name], Senior Vice President of Recruitment; and
[Name], General Counsel and Senior Vice President. In the past several years there has been a significant increase in the number of women promoted
and hired to key leadership positions, who contribute to critical areas of [Company] including sales, finance and operations.
[Company] is the nation’s largest [describe business], and is ranked one of San Diego's top 10 largest publicly traded companies, posting revenues
of over $Z for [Year]. The company has continued to rapidly grow, most recently due to the acquisition of [Acquired Company], a [describe business
of Acquired Company] company. [Company] can attribute its successful growth to continued investment in its employees and the [describe industry],
and plans to aggressively administer the same strategies to remain a leader and continue its advancement of women in business. [Company] and its
executives have garnered several awards for their unique business philosophies including [describe awards] and were recognized by [Organization]
for workplace excellence