SAN DIEGO (PRWEB) APRIL 20, 2018

Athena, a professional association dedicated to advancing women in STEM, is releasing its 2018 Pinnacle Awards nominees in advance of its May 3 awards ceremony at the Hyatt La Jolla. Athena’s Annual Pinnacle Awards Gala is a staple of Southern California’s technology and life sciences sectors, convening 600+ industry leaders to honor those advancing the careers of women in the STEM fields.

Athena’s 20th Anniversary & Awards ceremony will place the spotlight on corporations, institutions and individuals that mentor, promote and advance women in STEM. The corporate sponsors of this year’s Pinnacle Awards include industry titans, life sciences startups, educational centers, the media and the associated service providers. They include Sony as Title Sponsor, Qualcomm and ICE as Presenting Sponsor, Thermo Fisher Scientific, bioTheranostics and Intuit, as well as other diversity champions like Alexandria Real Estate, EY, IRRAS, Marsh McLennan Agency, Sales Benchmark Index and supporting organizations like San Diego Business Journal and Academy of Our Lady of Peace.

2018 Pinnacle Awards Nominees By Category

Individual in Life Science 

  • Francie Barron | Nanomedical Diagnostics
  • Dawn Barry | Luna DNA
  • Denise Bevers | KindredBio
  • Kara Bortone | Johnson & Johnson Innovation, JLABS                    
  • Lisa Freeman-Cook | GenMark Diagnostics
  • Ciara Kennedy | Amplyx Pharmaceuticals                            
  • Christina Lim | Illumina, Inc.
  • Alyssa Master | Nucleus Biologics
  • Vatsala Naageshwaran | Absorption Systems
  • Meredith Perry | Catalent San Diego
  • Irit Rappley | Celgene Corporation
  • Stella Sarraf | Amydis & Spinogenix
  • Sara Zaknoen | ZED Strategic Consulting

Individual in Education 

  • Rommie Amaro | UC San Diego
  • Stacey Brydges | University of California, San Diego
  • Michelle Bunn | San Diego State University PLTW & Femineer Program
  • Joylyn Darnell | National University
  • Dr. Katherine Kantardjieff | California State University San Marcos
  • Debra Kimberling | Private Consulting
  • Sandra Lebron | San Diego Coastkeeper
  • Kris Mooney | Fleet Science Center
  • Youwen Ouyang | California State University San Marcos
  • Shira Robbins | University of California, San Diego

Individual in Technology

  • Michiko Araki Kelley | Sony Electronics
  • Alex Balazs | Intuit
  • Kimbra Brookstein | Intuit
  • Ioana Diana Broome | General Atomics Aeronautical Systems
  • Aliza Carpio | Intuit
  • Rashmi Char | Qualcomm
  • Jaye Connolly-LaBelle | RippleNami, Inc.
  • Kelly Davis | Sony Electronics
  • Eiling Ferdaws | Qualcomm
  • Houman Haghighi | Qualcomm Ventures
  • Kathy Herring Hayashi | Qualcomm, Inc.
  • Brittany Emal Hurd | Oracle
  • Tania Hurt | Sony Electronics
  • Virginia Jacobs | Intuit
  • Neal Manowitz | Sony Electronics
  • Rocio Montes | Intuit
  • Saura Naderi | Qualcomm
  • Karla Pinckes | WD-40
  • Susan Poser | Oracle
  • Kimberly Rinder | General Atomics Aeronautical Systems
  • Sree Santhosh | Sony Interactive Entertainment
  • Tony Schwarz | Qualcomm
  • Kylie Taitano | Intuit
  • Sara Vaz | Nordson

Individual in Service 

  • Inge Bear | Scientist.com
  • Amy Bergen | The Leadership Edge
  • Alisa Beyer | LemonTree Partners
  • Brandy Bullen | Sequoia Consulting Group
  • Debbie Chelberg | Marsh & McLennan Agency
  • Denise Hummel | Lead Inclusively, Inc.
  • Will Marré | Leadership SPA
  • Taylor Moyer | Managed Laboratory Services, Inc.
  • Stephanie Seidman | Dentons US LLP
  • Tali Tuchin | Mintz Levin
  • Carla Vallone | Girls Inc. of San Diego County
  • Amy Wood | Cooley

Company/Organization 

  • AbacusNext
  • Alta Environmental
  • Career Sparks
  • Intuit
  • Oracle Corporation
  • Point Loma Nazarene University
  • Sony
  • UC San Diego CREATE STEM Success Initiative
  • Viasat

Startup Company: Life Science & Technology 

  • Aquasend
  • Daré Bioscience
  • Formalloy
  • NotesFirst
  • Trials.ai

The 2018 Pinnacle Awards Gala is on May 3, 2018 at the Hyatt La Jolla. Limited tickets and tables are available: athenasd.org/purchase-a-table. Pinnacle sponsorship inquiries may contact: Holly@AthenaSD.org.

ABOUT ATHENA 
Athena is a professional association dedicated to empowering progress together by advancing women in STEM. Athena’s 500+ member community accesses executive leadership forums, educational and mentoring programs, and targeted networking that empower women across STEM industries to accelerate their professional ambitions and perform at their highest levels. Athena members hold positions of senior executive, entrepreneur, educator and manager from the STEM fields, as well as the associated service providers.