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:
Trish Gelsomino
Trish Gelsomino considers herself blessed to have the opportunity to do what she loves every day, and that is supporting organizations across the Valley that work to make the community better.
As foundation giving coordinator for Premier Bank, Trish manages all bank and foundation sponsorships. In the role she’s held since April 2021, she works seamlessly with the bank’s market presidents to identify opportunities to help and with local organizations to find ways the foundation can support them.+
Through her work, she has coordinated giving efforts of more than $400,000 a year to more than 400 local groups and organizations. She is a founding partner of Paws for a Cause, an effort that, so far, has raised more than $60,000 to benefit local animal charities through bake sales at Premier branch locations.
And as part of the bank’s relationship with the United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley, Trish put together a program for Success After Six students that allows them to tour the downtown bank and learn savings tips.
She was instrumental in starting Business Spotlight, highlighting business clients at branch locations to raise awareness about what they do.
Kathleen Harley
Since becoming president of St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital in 2019, Kathleen Harley and her team of health care professionals have improved the hospital’s Healthgrades by two levels. Under her guidance, the facility has been recognized as an America’s Top 100 hospital.
Kathleen set out to make a difference in the Valley by going out into the community, engaging residents and really listening to what they had to say, and also by working closely, in a hands-on fashion, with her dedicated staff.
Under her leadership, the hospital has embarked on an initiative to improve a patient’s journey from the emergency department to an inpatient bed by reducing admission time. Her team has increased the number of intermediate patient beds by nearly four dozen after she led an assessment of waits and delays experienced by patients being transferred between units.
Kathleen was recently the recipient of the Heart-titude Award, given to those who lead using their heart, and was part of the inaugural class of 30 to attend a yearlong legacy and leadership course by Bon Secours Mercy Health, a program to hold true to the teachings, work and belief of the founding sisters.
Lorena Hegedus
Lorena Hegedus wants the community to see their public libraries not just as a place for books, but as the first chance for learning and personal growth. That’s why over the past several years, she’s found ways to get more resources into the hands of the community.
Lorena, director of the Hubbard Public Library, and her team have rolled out the Library Beyond Walls to achieve that goal. The Toy Lending Library, a collection of educational toys for children and families, launched in 2020. Also part of the effort was the Library of Things, which allows the community to borrow everything from solar ovens to traffic cones for driving practice. They presented the solar oven lending initiative at a virtual international conference that included 25 nations.
Since Lorena was named director in 2013, the library has added a sensory path, permanent story walk and a tech toy collection to lend items like devices for home internet connection and a sewing machine.
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Lorena is a member of the Hubbard Chamber of Commerce and Hubbard Rotary. Professionally, she is a member of the Directors Advisory Council for Cleve-net, a consortium of libraries across Ohio.
