KC Chamber set to honor steward of economic inclusion with its 2024 ATHENA award
September 3, 2024 | Startland News Staff
Transformational leadership guides Qiana Thomason’s purpose, officials with the KC Chamber said, detailing the Health Forward Foundation executive’s commitment to health equity through strategic community investments and policy influence through seasoned social capital.
Thomason is set to be honored 5 p.m. Oct. 16 at Starlight Theatre during the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce’s 2024 ATHENA Leadership Award ceremony. The reception also will celebrate Kamera Meaney, director of advocacy and government relations for University Health, as the ATHENA Young Professional.
Click here for more event details.
“The ATHENA Award is about championing women in business and the community,” said Lindsay Jarquio, director of leadership development for the KC Chamber. “This is an opportunity to honor exceptional women like Qiana Thomason and Kamera Meaney, who unlock the potential of others and drive progress in critical issues.”
“The ATHENA Award celebrates those who lead the way in empowering women throughout the Kansas City region to rise, lead and inspire the future,” she continued.
The prestigious honor is presented annually to a woman (or man) who stands out in professional excellence, community service, and actively helps women in their attainment of professional excellence and leadership skills, according to the KC Chamber.
Click here to learn more about past ATHENA recipients.
As president and CEO of Health Forward Foundation, Thomason guides the $1 billion foundation in stewarding diverse capital investments, leadership in public policy, and institutional social capital that fosters health and economic inclusion throughout the Kansas City region.
Her transformational leadership has positioned Health Forward as a national model, the KC Chamber said in a release.
Click here for more on Qiana Thomason’s background and previous awards.
Kamera Meaney, University Health
University Health’s Meaney works strategically to eliminate health disparities and improve health outcomes for underinvested communities through policy creation and lobbying efforts.
She is also committed to the betterment of the community and all of those within it, the KC Chamber said, noting Meaney is a graduate of the Centurions Leadership Program and a current participant in the Missouri Chamber’s Leadership Missouri.
She serves on the UMKC Alumni board and was a past board president of Nurture KC as well as the Centurions Alumni Board.
RELATED: Nurture KC partners with Prospect KC in fight against hunger in Kansas City’s urban core
Featured Business
2024 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
MVP in his field: Royals groundskeeper earns his own bobblehead for keeping The K green amid ups and downs
For the club’s first-ever Ag Night, the Kansas City Royals are celebrating — and bestowing the honor of a bobblehead — on their very own farmer. That’s what Trevor Vance — who has been keeping the field at Kauffman Stadium perfectly manicured for nearly 40 years — considers himself and other groundskeepers, he shared. “We’re…
Right to Start plans GOP debate on entrepreneurship; If America is going to be saved, Heartland innovators will be key, says leader
A nonprofit founded by a former Kauffman Foundation executive is planning a first-of-its-kind forum on entrepreneurship with four Republican presidential candidates this Friday in the Midwest. Right to Start is a nonpartisan organization that champions entrepreneurship as a civic priority through grassroots organizing and policy advocacy, with the goal of expanding entrepreneurial opportunity. Friday’s forum…
KC’s ‘vacation ice cream parlor’ floats into City Market; scooping two passions into one sweet escape
The connection between two of Lucas Thompson’s businesses — KC Soda Co. and the freshly opened Fountain City Scoops and Floats — provides the perfect opportunity to blend soda and ice cream, he said. “I’m not sure there’s another float place in the region,” Thompson said of the new shop in the City Market. “As…
‘Neon Alley’ turning on 40 historic KC signs at Pennway Point, lighting the way to new entertainment district
The planned Pennway Point entertainment district near the Crossroads and Union Station soon will be awash in the glow of neon history, said Nick Vedros. “What’s more Kansas City than to have all these great signs that were once part of our city’s historical fabric all in one spot?” said Vedros, teasing the future Lumi…