Unveiling the Extraordinary Women of the Valley: Meet the 2023 Athena Award Nominees; Aronson, Behnke, & Bozick

In March, the Youngstown/Regional Chamber released its 2023 Athena Award Nominees. STN will be showing and honoring the women of the valley over the next couple of weeks.

The ATHENA Award honors individuals who strive toward the highest levels of professional accomplishment: women who excel in their chosen field, have devoted time and energy to their community in a meaningful way and also open doors so that others may follow in their path.

Showcasing some of the great women of the 2023 ATHENA Award Nominees:

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Dr. Sarah Aronson
Dr. Sarah Aronson says it’s been a privilege to serve her community as a chief and regional director of anesthesia in the nearly 12 years she’s worked at Trumbull Regional Hospital in Warren and its sister hospital in Sharon, Pa., Sharon Regional Medical Center.

She has worked to improve patient experience, from developing anesthesia protocols and processes and developing quality tracking measures, to putting into place guidelines that help to reduce opioid use after surgery.

She has served as a resource and role model for women in many areas of health care, but her greater impact may be her ability to engage male co-workers and leaders in a more “female” collaborative and less hierarchical approach to patient care.

In 2017, Dr. Aronson was named Trumbull Regional Medical Center’s Physician of the Year, a prestigious award that recognizes a physician who supports employees in care delivery and one who works collaboratively with staff to assure the best possible outcomes for patients.

She supports several causes championed by the Trumbull Regional staff, including St. Vincent de Paul Society, Road to Hope and the Piggyback Foundation of Youngstown.

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Tracy Behnke
Tracy Behnke is an inspiration to her team in the everyday fight against heart disease and stroke through her work with the American Heart Association.

Recently made senior development consultant for the Midwest region of the organization, she previously served as executive director of the northeast Ohio team. In that role, she was given the Excellence in Leadership award two years in a row for her team achieving seven sustainable changes in government policy or organizationally to help improve health outcomes, while raising more than $2 million.

In 2020, Tracy started the Tri-County’s first Go Red for Women initiative, an effort designed to increase awareness around women’s heart health. She has also hosted several community conversations to engage local citizens and given them the opportunity to ask questions of doctors and medical professionals.

Tracy helped her northeast Ohio team launch the first Women of Impact campaign, which was named the No. 3 campaign in the U.S.

Having lost her mother to heart disease, Tracy said bringing the Go Red for Women initiative to the region was her “most important professional accomplishment” and “truly” her life’s passion.

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Elayne Bozick
It’s in Elayne Bozick’s DNA to serve. That’s evidenced by the long list of groups and organizations she belongs to, often in a leadership role. For example, Elayne belongs to the Soil and Water Conservation District in Lowellville and the Wild Ones Youngstown Area Chapter and co-chairs the YWCA Women Artists group.

She is a member of the Rotary Club of Youngstown and works with Operation Pollination Mahoning Valley and Little Free Library, both through Rotary, the Mahoning Valley Historical Society and the Mahoning Valley Watercolor Society.

Elayne sponsored the first black businesswoman as a member of rotary club. The woman went on to serve as club president and has brought in other black entrepreneurs to the organization, not only increasing its membership and diversity, but also creating opportunities for collaboration and fellowship.

Elayne works as a realtor with Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Stouffer Realty, after years in the financial securities and insurance industries – fields where she consistently served her clients well in protecting their families, homes and businesses.

Professionally, she belongs to the National Association of REALTORS, Ohio Association of REALTORS and Youngstown Columbiana Association of REALTORS.