The Greater Phoenix Chamber announced the 2021 ATHENA private sector, public sector and young professional award recipients at its 34th Annual ATHENA Awards.

Molly Stockley, Regional Vice President of Marketing, Cancer Treatment Centers of America was awarded the 2021 ATHENA Businesswoman of the Year Award in the private sector. Jeanine Bashir, Regional Director, First Things First, earned the 2021 ATHENA Businesswoman of the Year Award in the public sector. Stella O’Rourke, Corporate Development & Events Manager, UMOM New Day Centers took home the 2021 ATHENA Young Professional Award.

“The Greater Phoenix Chamber’s ATHENA Awards celebrates the most inspiring women leaders in the Valley,” said Todd Sanders, president & CEO of the Greater Phoenix Chamber. “These influential women are dedicated to building a brighter future and ensuring our community remains strong. They embody the best of the Arizona business community and we look forward to seeing how they will carry on the legacy of ATHENA through their work.”

The ATHENA Awards, named after the Greek goddess of courage and wisdom, is a program of ATHENA International, a non-profit organization dedicated to creating leadership opportunities for women.

“I am so honored to have been selected as a private sector ATHENA Award recipient. The ATHENA is the pinnacle of women in business and I’m speechless. I am beyond honored,” says Molly Stockley, 2021 ATHENA Award recipient in the Private Sector.

Molly Stockley is the Regional Vice President of Marketing at CTCA holding executive-level positions on both the Phoenix and Chicago hospitals’ Executive Teams. She rooted herself in the Phoenix market and was excelling in her 18-year career in broadcast media, but she knew she could do more to honor her close friend, who had passed away after suffering from cancer, and help others. In 2008, she took initiative and made the courageous leap from sports to media to healthcare, at Cancer Treatment Centers of America® (CTCA) Phoenix, a national network of cancer hospitals and clinics, where she led with her direct-to-consumer expertise, creativity, grassroots marketing, and passion.

Jeanine Bashir’s devotion to youth and women’s issues has been the driving force behind her work in the community. Her professional career has included working with various organizations that serve the community and government sector alike. She is currently the Regional Director for the First Things First’s Phoenix South Region. She is responsible for creating a family-centered, comprehensive, collaborative, and high-quality early childhood system that supports the development, health, and early education of all Arizona's children, birth through age 5, in the South Phoenix, Laveen, and Maryvale areas. Bashir has been recognized for her experience in the community and in the nonprofit sector, as well as and her work on child welfare and maternal & child health issues.

“It’s an honor to receive this ATHENA Award; it truly means so much to me to be recognized with such a wonderful caliber of women. I believe it speaks to the work that I’ve been doing, and I’m really excited to be a part of this,” says Jeanine Bashir, 2021 ATHENA Award recipient in the Public Sector.

“It has been such an honor and this process has been mind-blowing. We are surrounded by the best of the best in the community, and I am just so honored to be a part of that. I am so grateful,” says Stella O’Rourke, 2021 ATHENA Award recipient in the Young Professional category.

Stella O’Rourke is a passionate advocate and voice for her community. She chose to begin her career in the nonprofit sector to lift up people experiencing similar life experiences, as she had as a child. Throughout her career, O’Rourke has greatly enjoyed cultivating sustainable support for programs surrounding youth and childhood development, life skills advancement, education, workforce development training, foster and adoptive care, and health services particularly for children and families. Most recently, her time is dedicated to developing corporate and community partnerships through fund development, events, volunteerism, and corporate social responsibility.

Stockley, Bashir, and O’Rourke were chosen from among 11 ATHENA finalists, who were selected from a large group of nominees. The following is a complete list of the 2021 ATHENA finalists:

Private Sector finalists:
• Catharine Ellingsen, Chief Legal Officer, Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer, and Corporate Secretary, Republic Services
• Christine Gannon, Founder & CEO, Brightworks Consulting
• Molly Stockley, Regional Vice President of Marketing, Cancer Treatment Centers of America
• Kathleen Winston, PhD, RN, Dean, College of Nursing, University of Phoenix

Public Sector finalists:
• Jeanine Bashir, Regional Director, First Things First
• Debbie Esparza, Chief Executive Officer, YWCA Metropolitan Phoenix
• Lauren Henschen, Chief Executive Officer, Phoenix Center for the Arts
• Mona Mehta Stone, SVP, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer, Corporate Secretary, Goodwill of Central & Northern Arizona

Young Professional finalists:
• Christina Ngo, Director of Social Embeddedness, Arizona State University
• Stella O'Rourke, Corporate Development & Events Manager, UMOM New Day Centers
• Kimberly Roland, Vice President of Innovation and Entrepreneur Programs, Better Business Bureau Serving the Pacific Southwest

About the Greater Phoenix Chamber
Representing 2,400 businesses across the Greater Phoenix region, the Greater Phoenix Chamber promotes regional prosperity by serving as a catalyst for economic vitality and strong communities. The Chamber pursues this mission by collaborating with business, political and community leaders to grow the regional talent pool, create a regional approach to economic development and drive a pro-Arizona agenda.

About the ATHENA Award
The ATHENA Award, an honor awarded internationally, recognizes exemplary achievement and challenges its recipients with a continued sense of responsibility, support and leadership. The ATHENA Award honors women who have consistently invested in themselves, their profession, their community, and especially other women. They have achieved the pinnacle of success within their industry, have mentored women throughout their career, and have dedicated themselves to the community through various activities and charities.

About the ATHENA Young Professional Award
ATHENA International established an award to honor emerging young leaders in our community. The ATHENA Young Professional Award officially launched at the 2007 International ATHENA Leadership Conference and Phoenix was proud to be one of the first cities to present it within their community. These are the “women to watch.”