League City Regional Chamber of Commerce Board Director, Rolando Villarreal with Hilltop Securities and 2019 ATHENA Leadership Award recipient, Ashlea Quinonez, Memorial Hermann Health System.
By Mary Alys Cherry
Ashlea Quinonez, Memorial Hermann Health System’s director of government relations, is the 2019 recipient of the League City Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Athena Leadership Award.
The presentation was made by last year’s winner, Clear Lake Shores Mayor Pro-tem Amanda Fenwick, at the annual Athena Leadership Luncheon, held at South Shore Harbour Resort. Jill Reason served as emcee.
The ATHENA Leadership Award was inspired by the goddess of Greek mythology known for her strength, courage, wisdom and enlightenment — qualities embodied in the Athena Leadership Model. The award is unique in both scope — local, national and international — and the Athena mission upon which it is based. The award is presented to a woman — or man — who is honored for professional excellence, community service and for actively assisting women in their attainment of professional excellence and leadership skills.
Introducing her to the crowd, the emcee said “She demonstrates the qualities of excellence, creativity and initiative in every task she is associated with. Ashlea continually works for the better health of the community at large and to improve quality of life for all. She is heavily involved and committed on local, state and national levels on initiatives that impact all members of the community.
“Ashlea is a role model and mentor to all that come in contact with her. She informally mentors many women with her involvement in the Women Leaders of Memorial Hermann program and the Dress for Success Initiative. She has led the efforts for suits to be donated throughout the Memorial Hermann system to help women in the community who want to return to the work force dressed properly for job interviews. The “Send One Suit Drive” reached approximately 3,500 women in 2018 and in 2019 is slated to reach 4,000 women. This is in large part due to Ashlea’s efforts and partnerships across the City of Houston and surrounding areas.
“A fun fact about Ashlea is that she graduated from the FBI citizen’s academy a few years ago. “
