2020 ATHENA Awards Presented by Junior League of Greater Lakeland

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SUPPORTING, RECOGNIZING AND HONORING WOMEN LEADERS OF LAKELAND

The Awards Dinner Presentation will honor exceptional leaders that inspire others to achieve excellence in their professional and personal lives in three categories:

ATHENA Leadership Award
ATHENA Organizational Award
ATHENA Young Professional Award

Founded in Lansing, Michigan in 1982, more than 7,000 top leaders in over 500 communities have received this prestigious ATHENA Award in nine different countries. The award actively advocates and celebrates the ATHENA mission of supporting, developing and honoring women leaders, inspiring women to achieve their full potential creating balance in leadership worldwide. The ATHENA Award honors women who strive toward the highest levels of personal and professional accomplishment, who excel in their chosen field, devote time and energy to their community in a meaningful way, and forge paths of leadership for other women to follow.
 

Keynote Speaker: Rita Barreto Craig

Rita Barreto Craig of West Palm Beach is founder and president of Top Tier Leadership headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, taps into her more than 40 years of global human resources experience – including nearly 25 years in the corporate arena – to help leaders and organizations build winning cultures, deliver results and maximize performance.

She is an award-winning international consultant, author, TEDx speaker and leadership expert with extensive experience in strategic planning, leadership development, managing multiple generations at work, talent management, diversity, coaching and facilitation. Rita’s clients from around the globe have capitalized on her ability to swiftly drill down to identify issues, engage stakeholders and create positive change solutions.

As a seasoned HR professional and master communicator, she frequently delivers keynote addresses, facilitates workshops and conducts highly interactive C-level retreats. Her ability to connect with each client to provide relevant content and measurable results consistently rewards her with top ratings. Rita earned her Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), the highest designation for professional speakers from the National Speakers Association.

Her publishing credits include Welcome to the Workforce, I Showed You So, FORESIGHT: Finding Your Footing In A Fast-Forward World, and a manuscript entitled, “Ethics: The Hot New ‘E’ Word,” featured in the National Speakers Association first-ever book, Paid To Speak. Her professional honors are numerous and diverse, including recognition from the South Florida Business Journal, HR Florida, Palm Beach North Chamber of Commerce, Executive Women of the Palm Beaches, SER Jobs for Progress and The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. Jupiter Magazine featured her in an edition on inspiring women and she is the recipient of the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award from the Human Resource Association of Palm Beach County.

Ms. Craig’s civic and community involvement reflects a diverse business and non-profit base. She has three gubernatorial appointments, and in 2016 was appointed by the CFO of Florida to serve as one of 22 Commissioners on the Florida Commission on the Status of Women. She has served in leadership positions with numerous organizations including Discover the Palm Beaches, The Florida Commission on Human Relations, Executive Women of the Palm Beaches, the Human Resource Association of Palm Beach County, Leadership Palm Beach County, and the Florida Speakers Association.

She enjoys travel, collects hearts and plays a not so pretty game of golf.