Athena nominees
Athena nominees
Some details about the work and community involvement of the Athena Award nominees:
Madhu Mathur Anand
Director of clinical operations at Synchro Medical Innovations in Youngstown
Active in the Boardman Rotary since 2002
Professional concert vocalist whose most recent devotional vocal album, “Traditions I,” was released in 2007
Member of the Society of Clinical Research Associates
Germaine Bennett
Educational human resource consultant at ONTASC
38-year education career as an assistant superintendent, principal and teacher in area schools
Member of 22 community, education, religious and health-care groups and boards
Received the Youngstown State University Diversity Community Leadership Award in 2008
Sharyn Braunstein
Chief executive of The Youngstown Columbiana Association of Realtors
Serves on the board of directors of the Mahoning Valley Fair Housing Association
Volunteers at the St. Vincent de Paul soup kitchen and Rescue Mission of the Mahoning Valley
Instructs workshops on professional standards training for other Realtor associations in Ohio
Patricia Brozik
Executive director at Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley
Led the Community Foundation to grow to nearly 60 funds with assets exceeding $12 million
Played an active role in the formation of the Mahoning Valley Grantmakers Forum and serves as its chairwoman
Serves on many community boards and councils including the Mahoning Valley College Access Program, the Boardman Township Zoning Board of Appeals and the Regional Chamber’s Government Affairs Council
Annette Camacci
Community Volunteer
Chairwoman or a committee member of the Junior League of Youngstown’s annual Pink Ribbon Tea for the past 13 years
Honored as Volunteer of the Year for Mission Delivery in 2008 by the American Cancer Society
Co-chair of Holy Family Parish’s 50th anniversary celebration and fundraising campaign for Habitat for Humanity
Stella M. Camuso
Diversified health coordinator at Choffin Career and Technical Center
Co-founder of the Choffin Magnet School in 2007, the first of its kind in a secondary school in Northeast Ohio
Received the 2007 Teacher of the Year award in Youngstown City Schools
Organized three charitable concerts for Russian orphans through Youngstown State University’s Protestant Campus ministries and three infant clothing and toy drives at area Catholic churches, also to benefit the Russian orphans
Diana Colaianni
Director of nursing at District Board of Health, Mahoning County
Received the Federal Primary Care Fellowship via the National Association of County and City Health Officials organization
Served as Cardinal Mooney High School speech coach for 10 years and received the 2003 Cardinal Mooney Distinguished Alumni Award
Peforms liturgical drama and is a reader and eucharistic minister at St. Luke Church
Karen DeSalvo
Senior vice president of marketing, Seven Seventeen Credit Union
Recognized as a financial marketing expert by being only one of less than 250 people nationally and one of only seven in Ohio to be designated a Certified Financial Marketing Professional
Serves on the United Way of Trumbull County’s board of directors and board of trustees and has been a member of its communications committee since 2004
Established three youth programs at Seven Seventeen: Dollar Dog Kids Club, Cha-Ching Teen Club and the Edge young adults programs to help children grow to be financialy responsible Dr. Nancy Gantt
Surgeon at St. Elizabeth Health Center
Serves as vice-chair of the Committee for Surgical Education in Medical School of the American College of Surgeons
As a breast-cancer surgeon and breast-cancer survivor, her dream is to develop a comprehensive breast-cancer center in Youngstown
Serves as a board member of the American Cancer Society
Michele D. Grant
Associate director of development at The Paula and Anthony Rich Center for the Study and Treatment of Autism
Organized and enhanced the development division of the Rich Center
Serves as president of The Junior League of Youngstown
Received the YWCA Outstanding Women award in 2001
Shari Harrell
Executive director of YWCA of Warren
Spearheaded efforts to reorganize and revitalize the YWCA of Warren
Member of the Upton Association since she helped purchase the historic Upton House in 1988
Serves as president of the Warren Board of Education
Mary Beth Houser
Attorney at Newman, Olson & Kerr
First and only female partner in the company history at the law firm
Member of the Humility of Mary Health Partners board of directors and its executive committee
Serves on Catholic Diocese of Youngstown finance council
Susan Kondos
Business manager at Corrections Corporation of America
Selected to attend Samburg Frontline Leadership Training
Chosen to be a training instructor for both newly hired staff and regular staff during the annual in-service program
Led a Community Relations Day that brought nearly 30 community leaders to the facility as part of Leadership Mahoning Valley
Diane Less
Co-founder and board member of Angels For Animals
Raised more than $3.5 million in private funds to build the Angels facility
Oversees a budget that has grown from less than $1,000 a year to more than $900,000 in 2009
Originated the idea and worked with Columbiana County commissioners to implement a revolutionary mandatory spay/neuter program at the county dog pound
Celeste Lisko
Marketing director at Handel Investments
Helped Easter Seals of Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties raise more than $300,000 through the Drive for Dough event and the Auction at Margaritaville
Serves as a chairwoman of the board of Easter Seals and is a member of the Easter Seals Presidents Council, where members are recognized for annual donations of $1,000 or more
Member of Boardman Rotary since 2004 and currently serves as club service director
Andrea L. Lupton
Realtor and past president of Warren Area Board of Realtors
Created an affiliate task force, designed new member benefits, hired an executive officer and reduced the operation budget for the board in 2008
Recognized as Top Agent for four months in 2008 by Century 21 Prestige
Member of Save our Valley Homes task force
Patricia Matthews-Wanat
Owner and president of Comprehensive Worklife Solutions
Chairwoman of Mahoning County Bridges out of Poverty steering committee since 2008
Serves as local liaison to the Cleveland Chapter of the Employee Assistance Professionals Association
Member of the Northeast Ohio Critical Incident Debriefing Team
Joan Sandra Mingo
Principal of Byzantine Catholic Central School
Implemented the Autism Private Provider Program at the school, the first Catholic school to become a provider
Participates in raising money for the Cancer Society, Heart Association and St. Jude Children’s Hospital
Improved technology at the school by getting 75 computers donated by the government
Sharon Mock
Supervisor at Hill, Barth & King
Serves on the advisory board for business administration at ITT Technical Institute in Youngstown
Member of Hill, Barth & King’s professional women’s advancement team
Serves on the company’s mentoring program and is assigned female accountants
Veronica A. Rice
Postmaster, Youngstown, United States Postal Service
Serves as the USPS’s national coordinator for Delivery Operations Information System
Inducted in the Trumbull County Black Achievers Hall of Fame
Holds leadership roles in the Mediation Association of Northeast Ohio, National Alliance of Postal and Federal Employees and Disabled American Veterans Association
Ann Sevenich
Associate director of community outreach at Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Retirement Services
Instrumental in expanding the home-health-care division of Shepherd of the Valley to encompass the tri-county area
Named 2005 Home Health Care Elite through the Ohio Home Health Council
Serves as vice chairwoman of the Columbiana County Red Cross
Susan J. Shafer
Community events coordinator of the Tribune Chronicle
Spearheaded such projects as the Trumbull County Veterans Memorial, Make a Difference Day and the communitywide health and fitness competition
Among the activities she coordinates are the Trumbull County Veterans Day Parade, the Leaders of Tomorrow program and the popular Taste of Home Cooking Show
Has received several state and national awards for Make A Difference Day
Barbara E. Stacy
Family consumer science teacher at Poland Seminary High School
Participates in the March of Dimes Walkathon and volunteers for Relay for Life and the Rescue Mission
Coordinates student involvement in community service projects with nursing homes, Rescue Mission, Relay for Life and entertaining needy families in shelters
Nominated for Outstanding Vocational and Family Consumer Science Teacher in Ohio
Marilyn Titus
Vice President and chief operating officer of Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital, Forum Health
Under her leadership, Hillside has established three Centers of Excellence: Strike in 2002, Spinal Cord Injury in 2005 and Brain Injury in 2007
Past recipient of the Ohio Nurses Association District 3 Excellence in Nursing Award
Was the first volunteer with the Camelot Center, a therapeutic and recreational horseback riding program
Wilma Violeta Torres
Director of planning & development at the Mahoning Youngstown Community Action Partnership (MYCAP)
Assists nonprofit agencies in improving their operations and helps entrepreneurs build their businesses
Founding member of the Latinas United Netowrking Association Inc.
Received the Puerto Rican Making a Difference Award from the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
Atty. Patricia B. Wagner
Chairwoman of the Department of Criminal Justice and Forensic Science at Youngstown State University
Was instrumental in helping students obtain scholarship money as chairwoman of the DeGarmo Law Enforcement Scholarship Committee
Nominated for the Inspire Integrity Award through the National Society of Collegiate Scholars
American Health Association Heartwalk team leader since 1996
Tammy Weaver
Chief Officer of Coleman Professional Services
Assisted in obtaining $15 million in grants and foundation money for subsidized housing units for people who are homeless, mentally ill or disadvantaged
Serves as president of the Trumbull County Housing Collaborative
Serves as a member of the Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention, Transitional Youth with Mental Health Disorders and the Trumbull Adult Protective Network
Patricia Weston-Hall
Chief executive at Glenbeigh
Has overseen two multimillion-dollar expansions on Glenbeigh in the last decade
Founding member of the Ohio Alliance of Recovery Providers
Inducted into the Cleveland Clinic Regional Hospitals System Leadership Hall of Fame
Krystie Whetstone Sutch
Owner and director of Krystie’s Dance Academy
Her competition dance team has been regional and national champions for the past seven years
Dancer Magazine nominated the academy as the 13th most- competitive dance studio in North America and first in Ohio
The competition team and staff donated more than $2,000 and toys to Toys for Tots in 2006 and 2007
Mari Wren Petrony
Assistant director of The Mahoning County Green Team
Instrumental in promotions and other activities that increased Mahoning County’s recycling rate from 9.7 percent to 21.13 percent
Under her leadership, the Green Team won the 2006 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Waste Wise Award
Served on the fund development committee of Children’s Museum of the Valley