KC Chamber Honors Two Exemplary Women

Adele Hall. Anita Gorman. Mamie Hughes. Dianne Cleaver. Beth Smith.

Those are just a few of the women on the list of past ATHENA Leadership Award winners, awards presented annually by the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. This year, Marian McClellan, Program Consultant for the Kansas City STEM Alliance will join that group as she receives the 2023 ATHENA Leadership Award.  Lauren Conaway, founder and CEO of InnovateHER KC, has been selected for the ATHENA Young Professional Leadership Award.

The two women will be honored at a special reception September 20 from 5:00 to 7:00 at Loews Hotel. (Here’s the link to registration.)

The award is named after the Greek goddess Athena, symbol of intelligence, wisdom, arts, and sciences, and recognizes not only exemplary leadership and service, but also honors an individual who has actively assisted in opening doors for others. Award recipients are selected by the KC Chamber’s Executive Women’s Leadership Council and a selection committee comprised of program sponsors.

About Marian McClellan, Program Consultant, Kansas City STEM Alliance, ATHENA Leadership Award winner:

Marian works with the STEM Alliance in support of girls who are interested in STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. She is a fierce advocate for girls because she believes that equity in education is a moral imperative.

She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of South Florida. Her early career was in manufacturing where she focused on improving work environments through the Sociotechnical Systems method.

Marian continued to support women throughout her career at Sperry, Rockwell International, and the Boeing Company through programs, mentorships, coaching, and networking. She became known for elevating women to receive professional recognition and opportunities.

After thirty years in the corporate world, she moved to non-profit work and helped establish Blueprint for Education, an advisory and evaluation firm focusing on STEM and education. For the last eight years she has worked for the Kansas City STEM Alliance creating opportunities for girls to be inspired by STEM.

When she’s not working, you can find Marian in southern Missouri running the tractor at her farm, riding her horse, and hunting. Most weekends you can find her on stage in Kansas City, either playing the drums or performing Improv Comedy.

About Lauren Conaway, founder & CEO, InnovateHER KC, ATHENA Young Professional Leadership Award winner:

The ATHENA Young Professional Leadership Award honors emerging leaders who demonstrate excellence, creativity, and initiative in their business; contribute time and energy to improve the quality of life for others in the community, and serve as role models for young women personally and professionally.

Lauren began her career in operational roles with international companies like Hilton Hotels, Hendrick Automotive Group, and Boeing before embarking on her entrepreneurial journey. In 2013, she founded Ideative Creative, a boutique digital marketing agency with a mission to help people tell their brand stories to the world. As CEO of Ideative Creative, Lauren curated marketing strategies for a clientele spanning large corporations, small business, politicians publications, and industry giants like Dell and Globalization Partners.

Currently, she is the founder and CEO of InnovateHER KC, an industry agnostic leadership community serving women and gender minorities. InnovateHER KC works to create connectivity and break barriers to leadership for emerging and historically marginalized professionals through the five pillars of social connection, professional development, mentorship, championship, and resource-sharing.

In addition, Lauren is co-host of the Startup Hustle Podcast, a top 10 entrepreneurship podcast on Apple with over 5 million downloads and a reach extending across 190+ countries. The podcast features meaningful conversation on topics like diversity in entrepreneurship, historically excluded founders, socially just capitalism, and community building.

Lauren is currently pursuing her Executive MBA at Rockhurst University, and finds joy in reading, cooking, travel, and her husband Aaron and dog Kiya.