The Salt Lake Chamber has announced Lori Chillingworth as the 2016 ATHENA Award recipient. The ATHENA Award is a national award presented annually to an active member of the Salt Lake Chamber who demonstrates excellence, creativity and initiative in business. Each recipient must also provide valuable service by devoting time and energy to improve the quality of life for others in the community and assist women in reaching their full leadership potential.
The Salt Lake Chamber has announced Lori Chillingworth as the 2016 ATHENA Award recipient. The ATHENA Award is a national award presented annually to an active member of the Salt Lake Chamber who demonstrates excellence, creativity and initiative in business. Each recipient must also provide valuable service by devoting time and energy to improve the quality of life for others in the community and assist women in reaching their full leadership potential.
“Lori has done so much to improve awareness of the positive impact that women leaders have on economic development, vitality and the overall health of business and politics — her life stands as a testament to that fact,” said Lane Beattie, president and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber. “As I’ve come to know her during her service as board chair, I’ve been impressed, not only by her professional ability, but by her devotion to the causes she cares about. That dedication is rare in today’s world.”
Professionally, Chillingworth oversees credit risk management for small businesses for Zions Bancorporation. She previously served as the executive vice president of Zions Bank’s Small Business Division.
Chillingworth dedicates much of her time to business and community service. She served as the 2015-16 board chair of the Salt Lake Chamber Board of Governors, in addition to serving as the inaugural chair for the Women’s Leadership Institute, an organization dedicated to elevating societal understanding of the value of women’s leadership.
“To be recognized with the ATHENA Award is incredibly humbling,” said Chillingworth. “I look up to the women that have received this award and to be included among them is an incredible honor. I hope that this opportunity will bring more awareness to the important professional contributions of women.”
In addition to recognition as the ATHENA Award recipient, Chillingworth has received the Community Impact award from U.S. Banker Magazine. She has also received the International Women’s Forum Leadership Foundation 2014-15 Fellows Program Scholarship, allowing her to participate in advanced studies in global leadership at Harvard Business School and INSEAD Business School for the World in Paris.
The ATHENA award will be presented to Chillingworth at the 40th Annual American Express Women & Business Conference & Wells Fargo ATHENA Awards Luncheon on Nov. 15 at the Little America.
In addition to the ATHENA Award, four women will receive Pathfinder Awards at the conference. The Pathfinder Awards are presented annually to community leaders who create new paths promoting the development and recognition of women in business.
The five Pathfinder recipients this year are Ivy Estabrooke, executive director, USTAR; Kathy Luke, vice president, American Express; Laura Kaiser, executive vice president and COO, Intermountain Healthcare; and Maura Carabello, president, The Exoro Group.
Established in 1982 in Lansing, Michigan, the ATHENA Award program is now administered from its Chicago headquarters and boasts over 300 active communities in the United States, Canada, China, Russia and the United Kingdom. More than 5,000 individuals representing a wide variety of professions and businesses have received the ATHENA Award.