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About this event
Talent, be it in-house or with your sourcing partners, has become complex in 2023. Global services especially are always on the lookout for talent sources that are highly engaged and stable, ensuring high-quality work and low attrition. Impact Sourcing, or hiring skilled and motivated talent from disadvantaged groups around the world is proving to be a solution – helping forward-thinking organizations tap into new talent pools, fill roles, create pipelines, and realize substantial business benefits.
Everest Group has specially designed a panel for Athena leaders and decision makers. Join Rita Soni, Wendy Gonzalez, Isabelle Mashola, and Srishti Gupta who share real-world lessons on creating an inclusive workforce with a focus on marginalized communities and the business case to persuade the skeptics. These incredible leaders are marrying quality global services and sustainability, the ultimate of “doing good while doing well" . Our CEO, Coco Brown was formerly on the Finance Committee for the board of Samasource and for 10 years leveraged Televerde (which operates out of a woman's prison in Arizona) for telesales , and also provides perspective into this and other sourcing platforms that leverage incredible talent from marginalized communities.
Experts
Wendy Gonzalez CEO
Wendy Gonzalez is the CEO of Sama. Sama provides high quality training data to power AI technology, used by leading technology companies such as Walmart, Google, NVIDIA, GM, and Getty. Under Wendy’s leadership, Sama has achieved three-year revenue growth of 134%, gaining recognition on the Inc. 5000 list as one of America's fastest-growing private companies. The company was also recently named one of the most promising AI companies in the Forbes AI 50 list for 2021.
Prior to taking on the role of CEO, Wendy spent five years at Sama as COO, and is an active Board Member of the Leila Janah Foundation. As CEO, she is one of few female leaders within the male-dominated AI industry. With two decades of managerial and technology leadership experience, Wendy is an executive passionate about building high-performing, high-functioning teams that develop and scale innovative, impactful technology.
A thought leader in the AI and tech industry, Wendy has undertaken several conference and speaking opportunities, including The WomenTech Network, UpTech Report, Lean Startup Week, Digital Trends Live, Forbes Books Radio and Tech First.
Isabelle Mashola CEO & Co-founder
Isabelle Mashola is president and co-founder of Isahit, an internet socially oriented platform for outsourcing digital tasks.
Isabelle gained an engineering diploma and started work with EDS in 1988, followed by Cisco in 1994 as Director of IT Operations Europe. Isabelle joined Dell in 2006 as Global Marketing Director and then Publicis in 2009 as EMEA CIO.
Her international vision and exposure have helped shape a strong interest in certain social causes, such as the defence of women’s rights or poverty in the world. This interest saw her leave Publicis in 2015, to create isahit. isahit has a presence in 23 countries across four continents including Africa, Asia and South America.
Rita Soni Principal Analyst for Impact Sourcing and Sustainability
Rita N. Soni is Everest Group’s Principal Analyst for Impact Sourcing and Sustainability. Her focus delivers a triple bottom-line lens of people, planet, and profits to global services market research, beginning with an in-depth examination into impact sourcing.
Before joining Everest Group, she was CEO of NASSCOM Foundation when the term impact sourcing was coined and continued to evolve the field as an advisor to B2R Technologies. Rita also held the role of Country Head of Responsible Banking at YES Bank, where she led an award-winning business approach to CSR and Sustainability. She grasped these economic development issues on the ground in earlier positions at the Ford Foundation and American India Foundation after beginning her professional journey with General Electric and NBC. Her initial start as an engineer instilled in her a strong passion for the catalytic role of technology to solve social and environmental challenges within the private sector.
Rita serves on the Board of Sapna NYC and is an active mentor at the New York Academy of Sciences. She holds a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology.
Srishti Gupta Head - TCS Youth Employment Program
Srishti has 23+ years of IT experience in global delivery, customer management and people management, out of which 20+ years have been in TCS. She has led multiple big transitions for manufacturing clients in this role. She has set up offshore delivery centers for these clients and partnered with them in their Transition to Transformation journey. She has strong program management expertise and has handled several large and critical projects for various international clients. She had been actively volunteering for various CSR programs especially focused on education and skilling . Volunteering for these programs gave her immense satisfaction. It became her passion and she took the plunge to put all her expertise for the benefit of society. She is Head of TCS CSR’s Youth Employment Program. She is also a marathoner and member of TCS Diversity and Inclusion Council
Hosts
Coco Brown CEO
Coco Brown is founder and CEO of Athena Alliance. Prior to her current roles, Coco served as President, COO, and Board Director of Taos, a market leader in IT Services serving hundreds of F1000 companies, including Apple, Cisco, ebay, Facebook, and Silicon Valley Bank. Coco brings rich experience across F1000 companies, start-ups, and nonprofits in the roles of CEO, COO, advisor, and Board member to Athena. She possesses a unique understanding of the breadth of challenges and opportunities of leadership. She empowers leaders to execute successfully, working with them to develop the relationship between a company’s strategy and its organizational design and environment. Coco’s expertise in developing and strengthening these important linkages makes her a powerful C-level advisor and Board member. In addition to serving on the Board of Taos from 2004 to 2014, Coco served as a Board Director for MentorNet during its rebranding, product transformation, and subsequent acquisition by Great Minds in STEM. Coco was on the finance committee supporting the Board of Directors of Samasource and established the Operating Committee for the Silicon Valley arm of Golden Seeds, a New York-based early-stage investment firm. She also currently serves as Chair of the Nominating Committee for the Anita Borg Technology Leadership Award, one of the most prestigious awards honoring women in technology.
Thu, May 25 @ 9:00am PT (0.75 hrs)
VIRTUAL (Join us remotely! RSVP for link)
Open to Public
Salon
Upcoming Events
Join us for a Salon or Meetup to get a peek inside our community! Peer Groups and Learning Circles are exclusively for members - log in here
- ALL events
- A Look Inside Athena
- Peer Group
- Salon
- Meetup
- Orientation
A Look Inside Athena
A Look Inside Athena is held monthly for prospect members to come and understand how Athena works. They will learn more about the backstory of Athena, see a tour of our platform, and have the opportunity to discuss more of what they are interested in and ask questions about joining our community.
Salons
Learn about the most pressing topics facing executives today in an intimate, yet casual, virtual setting. Hosted by board directors and leaders from the world's top brands.
Meetups
Gather with Athena members in your area for a casual, in-person Meetup. These are planned by request and hosted by Athena members in various cities. If you're interested in hosting and/or joining a meetup in the future, reach out to the Member Success Team and let them know.
Peer Groups
We have an incredible community of female leaders at Athena and we want to bring you closer together! Join a Peer Group and build a network of peers you can engage with for guidance, lessons learned and insights around a shared interest. Choose a topic that most interests you or drop in and out of multiple peer groups as it suits you best. You’ll find at least one peer group available to join every week. Each live session goes for one hour, no preparation is needed, just show up as you are. We look forward to seeing you there!
Learning Circles
A Learning Circle is an opportunity to connect with a small group of other Athena members in a focused yet casual setting, creating accountability around targeted learning to assist you in achieving your goals. Over the course of 6 sessions, club members will meet every 2 weeks to participate in an organic, peer-led discussion of the session's "chapters" consisting of 1-2 Athena salons which are to be reviewed on your own prior to the group session. When joining, members are committing to completing all 6 sessions.
Guided Networking
Typically led by one of Athena's coaches, networking events provide members an opportunity to meet one another in a smaller intimate and virtual setting.
Partner Events
These are typically in-person events led by Coco and our partnering companies on topics that are relevant to the industry and audience of our business partners.
Workshops
A workshop is an interactive session for members to actively practice something, such as their pitch. These sessions typically involve breakout rooms, member to member feedback and are not recorded.
Orientations
For members new to Athena looking for ways to engage, these bi-weekly orientations led by an Athena Member Success Manager, provide a live tour of Athena, member success insights, and a chance to get questions answered.
Enterprise Events
Athena customizes virtual learning events with expert business leaders tailored to a unique company’s needs. These events cultivate cross-functional community, development, and learning across the partner organization.
Other
Athena listens and we're always adding new event types and opportunities for members to engage. See what new events we are currently offering members.
No Upcoming Events Found.
Orientation
Athena Member Orientation
Host: Athena Member Success Manager
Meetup
In Person: An Intimate Dinner in Alpharetta, GA (6:00-8:00 PM ET)
Host: Marva Bailer
Meetup
In Person: Accoutrements And Artificial Intelligence in Los Angeles, CA (6:00-8:00 PM PT)
Host: Jeanine Wright
Experts: Erica Mandy
Salon
The Role and Impact of Advisory Boards
Host: Coco Brown
Experts: Betsy Atkins
Peer Group
Building a Company
Host: Gabriela Aneas
Experts: Coco Brown
Salon
Leading Under Pressure: How to Master Stress for Executive Success
Host: Coco Brown
Experts: Cindy Montgenie
Peer Group
Sales and Marketing Leaders
Host: Analuisa Martinez
Experts: Rebecca Jones
Peer Group
Nom/Gov Committee
Host: Cristina Scharffenorth
Experts: Karen Cone
Peer Group
Navigating a Career Transition
Host: Analuisa Martinez
Experts: Cate Goethals
Meetup
In Person: Impact Circle in Seattle, WA (5:00-7:00 PM PT)
Host: Gavriella Schuster
Experts: Coco Brown
Peer Group
Audit Committee - How AI Will Transform the Audit Committee
Host: Gabriela Aneas
Experts: Carol Coughlin, Katrinka McCallum
Salon
Unleash Your Impact
Host: Coco Brown
Experts: Jocelyn King
Salon
CHRO Perspectives with Lisa Buckingham, CHRO at U.S. Soccer Federation
Host: Coco Brown
Experts: Lisa Bettinger-Buckingham, Belen Gomez
Orientation
Athena Member Orientation
Host: Athena Member Success Manager
Peer Group
The Board and Beyond for Women in Law
Host: Gabriela Aneas
Experts: Alice Brennan
Peer Group
Athena's Book Club - Currently reading "Co-intelligence: Living and Working with AI" by Ethan Mollick
Host: Cristina Scharffenorth
Experts: Anna Goranson, Mirna Daouk
Salon
Experienced Board Director AMA with Margaret Lazo
Host: Coco Brown
Experts: Margaret Lazo
Meetup
In Person: A Coaching Walk with Sheryl Kline in San Diego, CA (5:00-6:30 PM PT)
Host: Sheryl Kline, M.A.
Meetup
In Person: Rocky Mountains Meetup in Denver, CO (6:00-8:00 PM MT)
Host: Stephanie Beguin
A Look Inside Athena
A Look Inside Athena
Host: Coco Brown
Salon
Ripped from the Headlines: Risk, Crisis & Tech Governance in Turbulent Times
Host: Coco Brown
Experts: Andrea Bonime-Blanc
Peer Group
Board Readiness Course Alumnae
Host: Erin Essenmacher
Peer Group
Engineering and Product Leadership
Host: Cristina Scharffenorth
Experts: SuiLin Yap
Salon
How Private Equity Firms Think About Portfolio Companies at Different Growth Stages
Host: Coco Brown
Experts: Tara Zahiri, Tolliver Brown
Peer Group
Unleash Your Impact Alumnae
Host: Jocelyn King
Peer Group
Fractional Executives
Host: Cristina Scharffenorth
Experts: Caitlin Sachdev, Shelly Morales
Salon
Standing on Bigger Stages - Auditing Your Readiness
Host: Coco Brown
Experts: Shelley Dolley
Meetup
In-Person: Off the Grid Wine Tasting in Atlanta, GA (6:00-8:00 PM ET)
Host: Erin Brown
Peer Group
Compensation Committee
Host: Analuisa Martinez
Experts: Suja Chandrasekaran
Peer Group
Life Sciences Professionals
Host: Analuisa Martinez
Experts: Barbara Troupin
Peer Group
First Time Board Members
Host: Gabriela Aneas
Experts: Cate Goethals
Orientation
Athena Member Orientation
Host: Athena Member Success Manager
Peer Group
HR Leadership
Host: Cristina Scharffenorth
Experts: Geoff Balzano
Peer Group
Black Women Thriving
Host: Gabriela Aneas
Experts: Julianna Hynes, Maeve Richard
Salon
Looking Inwards to go Upward
Host: Aysha Khan
Experts: Coco Brown
Salon
Soft Power: A Sustainable Approach to Leadership
Host: Coco Brown
Experts: Elizabeth Raynor, CHPC, BCHN
Salon
CEO Perspectives with Shelley Zalis, CEO of The Female Quotient
Host: Coco Brown
Experts: Shelley Zalis
Peer Group
Building a Company
Host: Gabriela Aneas
Experts: Coco Brown
Peer Group
Nom/Gov Committee
Host: Cristina Scharffenorth
Experts: Karen Cone
Peer Group
Navigating a Career Transition
Host: Analuisa Martinez
Experts: Cate Goethals
Salon
Financing for Small to Mid-Cap Diversity-Owned Businesses
Host: Coco Brown
Experts: Yuriko Mita
Peer Group
Sales and Marketing Leaders
Host: Analuisa Martinez
Experts: Rebecca Jones
Salon
Rockstar CFO with Tricia Tolivar, CFO of Cava
Host: Tricia Tolivar
Experts: Erin Essenmacher
Orientation
Athena Member Orientation
Host: Athena Member Success Manager
Peer Group
The Board and Beyond for Women in Law
Host: Gabriela Aneas
Experts: Alice Brennan
Salon
CHRO Perspectives with Tina Jones, Senior Vice President, Global Human Resources at Cadence Design Systems
Host: Coco Brown
Experts: Belen Gomez, Tina Jones
Peer Group
Athena's Book Club
Host: Cristina Scharffenorth
Experts: Anna Goranson, Mirna Daouk
Salon
Experienced Board Director AMA with Sheila Bangalore
Host: Coco Brown
Experts: Sheila Bangalore
Salon
Ripped from the Headlines: Risk, Crisis & Tech Governance in Turbulent Times
Host: Coco Brown
Experts: Andrea Bonime-Blanc
Peer Group
Board Readiness Course Alumnae
Host: Erin Essenmacher
Peer Group
Engineering and Product Leadership
Host: Cristina Scharffenorth
Experts: SuiLin Yap
Meetup
In Person: Sip and Inspire in Miami, FL (5:00-7:00 PM ET)
Host: Tami Reiss
Experts: Erin Essenmacher
Peer Group
Fractional Executives
Host: Cristina Scharffenorth
Experts: Caitlin Sachdev, Shelly Morales
Peer Group
Unleash Your Impact Alumnae
Host: Jocelyn King
Salon
Learning to Take Risks as a Woman
Host: Coco Brown
Experts: Karen Bulluck
Meetup
In Person: A Walk in Central Park in New York, NY (6:00-8:00 PM ET)
Host: Neeha Curtis
Experts: Rachel Owens
Salon
CEO Perspectives with Richard Ridinger, Chairman of the Board at Brenntag and Recipharm
Host: Coco Brown
Experts: Richard Ridinger
A Look Inside Athena
A Look Inside Athena
Host: Coco Brown
Peer Group
Experienced Investors
Host: Gabriela Aneas
Experts: Lilia Shirman, Shauna Turner
Peer Group
Life Sciences Professionals
Host: Analuisa Martinez
Experts: Barbara Troupin
Peer Group
Succeeding in Your First Board Role
Host: Gabriela Aneas
Experts: Cate Goethals
Orientation
Athena Member Orientation
Host: Athena Member Success Manager
Peer Group
HR Leadership
Host: Cristina Scharffenorth
Experts: Geoff Balzano
Peer Group
Black Women Thriving
Host: Gabriela Aneas
Experts: Julianna Hynes, Maeve Richard
Meetup
In Person: Connect with Coco in Moss Beach, CA (5:00-8:00 PM PT)
Host: Coco Brown
Peer Group
Building a Company
Host: Gabriela Aneas
Experts: Coco Brown
Peer Group
Audit Committee
Host: Gabriela Aneas
Experts: Carol Coughlin, Katrinka McCallum
Salon
Miracles, Mysteries, and Motivation
Host: Erin Essenmacher
Experts: Maryann Bruce
Peer Group
Sales and Marketing Leaders
Host: Analuisa Martinez
Experts: Rebecca Jones
Peer Group
Nom/Gov Committee
Host: Cristina Scharffenorth
Experts: Karen Cone
Peer Group
Navigating a Career Transition
Host: Analuisa Martinez
Experts: Cate Goethals
Orientation
Athena Member Orientation
Host: Athena Member Success Manager
Peer Group
Athena's Book Club
Host: Cristina Scharffenorth
Experts: Anna Goranson, Mirna Daouk
Peer Group
The Board and Beyond for Women in Law
Host: Gabriela Aneas
Experts: Alice Brennan
Peer Group
Engineering and Product Leadership
Host: Cristina Scharffenorth
Experts: SuiLin Yap
Peer Group
Fractional Executives
Host: Cristina Scharffenorth
Experts: Caitlin Sachdev, Shelly Morales
Peer Group
Unleash Your Impact Alumnae
Host: Jocelyn King
A Look Inside Athena
A Look Inside Athena
Host: Coco Brown
Peer Group
Compensation Committee
Host: Analuisa Martinez
Experts: Suja Chandrasekaran
Salon
Ripped from the Headlines: Risk, Crisis & Tech Governance in Turbulent Times
Host: Coco Brown
Experts: Andrea Bonime-Blanc
Orientation
Athena Member Orientation
Host: Athena Member Success Manager
Peer Group
Board Readiness Course Alumnae
Host: Erin Essenmacher
Peer Group
Black Women Thriving
Host: Gabriela Aneas
Experts: Julianna Hynes, Maeve Richard
Salon
Establishing Your Executive Presence
Host: Erin Essenmacher
Experts: Kathryn Vandiver
Meetup
In Person: Colorado Convention in Denver, CO (6:00-8:00 PM MT)
Host: Courtney Harrison
Experts: Coco Brown
Peer Group
Building a Company
Host: Gabriela Aneas
Experts: Coco Brown
Peer Group
Life Sciences Professionals
Host: Analuisa Martinez
Experts: Barbara Troupin
Peer Group
Succeeding in Your First Board Role
Host: Gabriela Aneas
Experts: Cate Goethals
Peer Group
HR Leadership
Host: Cristina Scharffenorth
Experts: Geoff Balzano
Salon
CHRO Perspectives with Sheri Bronstein, Chief Human Resources Officer at Bank of America
Host: Coco Brown
Experts: Sheri Bronstein, Belen Gomez
Peer Group
Sales and Marketing Leaders
Host: Analuisa Martinez
Experts: Rebecca Jones
Peer Group
Nom/Gov Committee
Host: Cristina Scharffenorth
Experts: Karen Cone
Peer Group
Navigating a Career Transition
Host: Analuisa Martinez
Experts: Cate Goethals
Orientation
Athena Member Orientation
Host: Athena Member Success Manager
Peer Group
The Board and Beyond for Women in Law
Host: Gabriela Aneas
Experts: Alice Brennan
Peer Group
Athena's Book Club
Host: Cristina Scharffenorth
Experts: Anna Goranson, Mirna Daouk
A Look Inside Athena
A Look Inside Athena
Host: Coco Brown
Peer Group
Experienced Investors
Host: Gabriela Aneas
Experts: Lilia Shirman, Shauna Turner
Salon
Ripped from the Headlines: Risk, Crisis & Tech Governance in Turbulent Times
Host: Coco Brown
Experts: Andrea Bonime-Blanc
Orientation
Athena Member Orientation
Host: Athena Member Success Manager
Peer Group
Board Readiness Course Alumnae
Host: Erin Essenmacher
Peer Group
Engineering and Product Leadership
Host: Cristina Scharffenorth
Experts: SuiLin Yap
Peer Group
Fractional Executives
Host: Cristina Scharffenorth
Experts: Caitlin Sachdev, Shelly Morales
Peer Group
Unleash Your Impact Alumnae
Host: Jocelyn King
Peer Group
Life Sciences Professionals
Host: Analuisa Martinez
Experts: Barbara Troupin
Peer Group
Succeeding in Your First Board Role
Host: Gabriela Aneas
Experts: Cate Goethals
Peer Group
HR Leadership
Host: Cristina Scharffenorth
Experts: Geoff Balzano
Peer Group
Black Women Thriving
Host: Gabriela Aneas
Experts: Julianna Hynes, Maeve Richard
Peer Group
Nom/Gov Committee
Host: Cristina Scharffenorth
Experts: Karen Cone
Peer Group
Navigating a Career Transition
Host: Analuisa Martinez
Experts: Cate Goethals
Orientation
Athena Member Orientation
Host: Athena Member Success Manager
Peer Group
Audit Committee
Host: Gabriela Aneas
Experts: Carol Coughlin, Katrinka McCallum
Peer Group
Sales and Marketing Leaders
Host: Analuisa Martinez
Experts: Rebecca Jones
Peer Group
The Board and Beyond for Women in Law
Host: Gabriela Aneas
Experts: Alice Brennan
Peer Group
Athena's Book Club
Host: Cristina Scharffenorth
Experts: Anna Goranson, Mirna Daouk
Salon
Ripped from the Headlines: Risk, Crisis & Tech Governance in Turbulent Times
Host: Coco Brown
Experts: Andrea Bonime-Blanc
Orientation
Athena Member Orientation
Host: Athena Member Success Manager
Peer Group
Board Readiness Course Alumnae
Host: Erin Essenmacher
Peer Group
Engineering and Product Leadership
Host: Cristina Scharffenorth
Experts: SuiLin Yap
Peer Group
Fractional Executives
Host: Cristina Scharffenorth
Experts: Caitlin Sachdev, Shelly Morales
Peer Group
Unleash Your Impact Alumnae
Host: Jocelyn King
A Look Inside Athena
A Look Inside Athena
Host: Coco Brown
Peer Group
Compensation Committee
Host: Analuisa Martinez
Experts: Suja Chandrasekaran
Peer Group
Life Sciences Professionals
Host: Analuisa Martinez
Experts: Barbara Troupin
Peer Group
Succeeding in Your First Board Role
Host: Gabriela Aneas
Experts: Cate Goethals
Peer Group
HR Leadership
Host: Cristina Scharffenorth
Experts: Geoff Balzano
Peer Group
Building a Company
Host: Gabriela Aneas
Experts: Coco Brown
Orientation
Athena Member Orientation
Host: Athena Member Success Manager
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