Recognizing YWPA Awardee Athena Savvas, an entrepreneur dedicated to empowering women
Continuing with Women’s History Month, we recognize Athena Savvas, a 2015 Zonta International Young Women in Public Affairs (YWPA) Award recipient and current member of the Zonta Club of Botany Bay Inc.
Women’s History Month is not only a time to remember big moments from the past, but also a time to celebrate what the current generation of women are doing to shape the future. Athena is a great example of how young women have the power to impact the world around them. We are eager to see what Athena and other Zonta awardees and fellows continue to accomplish for women across the globe.
Athena said, “Winning [the YWPA award] was never the important part for me, nor was being recognized. However, what it meant was that I was not only capable of doing great things but I had already achieved some. It made me begin to realize that young people are more than capable of doing incredibly colossal things, despite our likely life-inexperience.”
The financial support from the Award allowed Athena to pursue work in Cambodia running volunteer trips. Today, she continues to help the people of Cambodia, where she has organized the construction of more than 20 houses for families in the area.
Her ambition and passion have continued to play a role in her professional life, as she has dedicated her entire career to the mission of empowering women. Athena founded two organizations with shared missions of supporting women in the workplace. Meet Her is a boutique-networking event connecting young women with industry leaders and inspiring professionals to help break down the barriers for women in the working world through mentorship. The Spark Fund is a non-profit that supports entrepreneurial young women in transforming their ideas into reality. She is also the assistant director at MyGapYear Travel, which organizes volunteer opportunities in Southeast Asia. We applaud Athena’s hard work and success in the pursuit of empowering women.
19 March 2021