Athena Center for Leadership at Barnard College

Name

Athena Center for Leadership at Barnard College

Legal name

Athena Center for Leadership at Barnard College

Website

https://athenacenter.barnard.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Leadership Development Education

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Civic and Social Organizations (813410), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Volunteer Management & Alumni Leadership Programs (EDALAOAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Alumni Benefits, Membership & Affinity Programs (EDALAOAM), College Access, Scholarships & Student Success Nonprofits (BPAGADAE), After-School, Tutoring & Academic Enrichment Nonprofits (BPAGADAC)

Keywords

• Women's leadership development
• Student fellowship programs
• Changemaking education
• Social entrepreneurship training
• Advocacy and policy programs

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Institutional Funding: The Athena Center operates as a department within Barnard College, a private women's liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University. Funding comes from Barnard College's institutional budget and alumni donations.
2. Philanthropic Donations: The center accepts tax-deductible contributions designated specifically for the Athena Center. The website includes a 'Give' button directing supporters to Barnard College's donation portal with directed fund designation for Athena Center.
3. Foundation Support: Laidlaw Scholars Program is a collaboration with Beyond Barnard, indicating shared funding structure. The Williams Program for Women in Politics is funded by Constance Hess Williams '66, representing named endowment/foundation support.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Athena Center delivers leadership development and changemaking programming for Barnard College students through event series, communities of practice, semester-long fellowships, and summer institutes. Offerings span entrepreneurship, advocacy, UX design, storytelling, public speaking, film, and policy, with participants receiving stipends of $100 to $5,000 plus mentorship and community support.

Product overview

Athena Center for Leadership at Barnard College is a leadership center offering a comprehensive suite of programs for Barnard students. The portfolio includes SPARK (inspirational event series), Athena Film Festival (annual film celebration), Athena Fellows Program (semester-long challenge-tackling fellowships), Athena Incubator (entrepreneur support), ADDA UX (design for social change), Athena Advocacy Institute (summer advocacy program), Williams Program for Women in Politics (government internships), Laidlaw Scholars (research program), various Communities of Practice (Storytelling for Change, Take the Mic Take Action!, Succession Planning, Ringside with Athena, Protest as a Tool for Change, Metaverse Collaborative, Conscious Investing, and more), Pre-College Programs for high school students, and Startup Summit events. Programs provide stipends, mentorship, community building, and practical skills for changemaking across entrepreneurship, advocacy, policy, storytelling, and technology domains.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Athena Film Festival: Annual film festival celebrating women leaders on screen, held at Barnard College
• SPARK
• Athena Fellows Program
• Athena Incubator
• Athena Advocacy Institute
• Williams Program for Women in Politics
• ADDA UX
• Storytelling for Change
• Laidlaw Scholars Program

Products and services

• SPARK An event series at the Athena Center that inspires students and ignites thinking about changemaking opportunities. Open to everyone and features a rotating theme each year; the current theme is transition.
• Communities of Practice Suite of student groups meeting regularly to develop changemaking skills through mentorship, funding access, and an ungraded space to try new approaches.
• Athena Film Festival Annual four-day film festival celebrating women leaders on screen, featuring films that focus on women's leadership.
• Athena Advocacy Institute A 10-week summer program for students exploring advocacy as a tool for tackling challenges, providing on-campus housing, NYC nonprofit internships, weekly workshops, and a $5,000 stipend.
• Pre-College Programs Summer programs including Leadership in Action and Athena Summer Innovation Institute for high school students to experience leadership and entrepreneurship training.
• SPEAK UP! Find Your Voice Through Advocacy A 6-session public speaking program helping students build confidence and learn to craft TED-Talk style speeches, hosted in partnership with Barnard Speaking Center and Access Barnard.
• ADDA UX A community of practice for students interested in exploring UX design as a tool for social change, facilitated by a Design Expert in Residence.
• Athena Incubator A program for student entrepreneurs actively working on businesses/ventures/startups, offering a $500 stipend, gender lens integration support, and cohort meetings with 1:1 coaching from the Entrepreneur in Residence.
• Athena Fellows Program A semester-long community of practice accepting up to 10 Fellows per cohort to tackle challenges they care about, with $1,500 stipend and Friday programming from 10 AM - 4:30 PM.
• Storytelling for Change A recurring community of practice helping students master storytelling skills to drive meaningful change, with a $100 stipend and dinner provided.
• Williams Program for Women in Politics A summer program for students exploring government as an avenue for policy change, with Fellows interning in government agencies and receiving a $5,000 stipend.
• Take the Mic, Take Action! A community of practice in partnership with the Center on Global Energy Policy's Women in Energy initiative, teaching public speaking skills and panel moderation over two sessions.
• Succession Planning A virtual community of practice helping students think about project lifespans and how to make organizational transitions thoughtful and sustainable, with a $100 stipend.
• Ringside with Athena A 3-session series combining boxing classes at HAVEN Boxing gym with business case study discussions for entrepreneurship-curious students.
• Laidlaw Scholars Program

Quantifiable outcome

• 300+ subscribers gained for Inmigración Descifrado podcast over one summer
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• IMATS and Vagelos Center for Computational Science (CSC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Metaverse Collaborative was created through partnership with IMATS and Barnard's Vagelos Center for Computational Science. This collaboration enabled students to explore VR/AR ethics and world-building using SPATIAL platform, combining computational science expertise with changemaking curriculum.
• LeFrak Center for Well-BeingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConscious Investing community of practice was supported by partnership with the LeFrak Center for Well-Being. The program taught students to use money to build the world they want while being conscious of structural racism and societal concerns.
• Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP) - Women in Energy InitiativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTake the Mic, Take Action! is a partnership between Athena and CGEP's Women in Energy Initiative. CGEP Program Director Jessica Weis facilitates sessions teaching public speaking and panel moderation. Participants join a pool of potential moderators for CGEP and Athena events.
• Francine A. LeFrak Foundation Center for Well-BeingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with the Francine A. LeFrak Foundation Center for Well-Being supported Ringside with Athena programming, combining entrepreneurship and wellness through boxing classes at HAVEN Boxing.
• Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLPminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLaw firm Fried, Frank donated space in the Seagram Building (36th floor) for the 2nd Annual Barnard Startup Summit, providing professional conference facilities for entrepreneurship programming.
• Barnard Entrepreneurs Network (BEnet)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBEnet co-hosts the annual Barnard Startup Summit with Athena Center, combining Barnard entrepreneurial ecosystem with alumni networks. Jennifer Perusini '10 serves as BEnet Chair and Summit co-organizer.
• House of KajaanaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFood company founded by Barnard alums Sabah Ashraf '96 and Lili Cohen '19 donated tikka masala and food for Startup Summit events. Companies provides ongoing food support for Athena office.
• Barnard CEI (Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAthena Entrepreneurs and Barnard CEI co-hosted field trip to VEGANHOOD restaurant, combining entrepreneurship community with CEI resources for student experiential learning.
• Beyond BarnardcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLaidlaw Scholars Program is a collaboration between Athena Center for Leadership and Beyond Barnard, offering a unique two-year research opportunity for Barnard students to develop research questions and apply leadership skills through Leadership in Action projects.
• HAVEN BoxingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRingside with Athena is a 3-session community of practice held at HAVEN Boxing, a radically inclusive women-, queer-, and POC-owned gym in Williamsburg. Each session combines 45-minute boxing class with 45-minute business talkback with founders Gaby, Taylor, Andrea, and Nina.
• ThirdSpace@minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStudent Advisory Board member Rachel Burns participated in BUILD, a community of practice through ThirdSpace@, a virtual co-curricular pandemic program connecting classroom learning with real-world challenges.
• The Resolution ProjectminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerAthena Advocacy Institute alumna Rachel Burns '24 interned at The Resolution Project following her Athena participation, which supports social change through entrepreneurship in NYC.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Running Start: A nonprofit that brings high school and college-aged young women into political leadership through fellowships and training. Comparable in targeting young women for leadership development with stipend-supported fellowships, similar to Athena's Williams Program and Advocacy Institute.
• Forte Foundation: A nonprofit consortium focused on launching women into business leadership, with programs for college women. Comparable in supporting college-aged women into leadership pathways, though focused on business specifically rather than broader changemaking.

Broad incumbents

• AAUW (American Association of University Women): A national nonprofit advancing equity and education for women and girls, including leadership programs and college-student fellowships. Comparable in supporting women's leadership pipelines, though operates nationally rather than at a single women's college.
• Catalyst: A global nonprofit working to advance women into leadership, with research, advisory, and leadership development programs. Comparable mission of women-in-leadership development but operating at a much larger, corporate-focused scale rather than a single-college ecosystem.
• Lean In: A widely recognized nonprofit foundation focused on women's empowerment and leadership, offering education circles, research, and community programs. Comparable women-leadership mission at significantly broader national scale, including college-aged participants.
• Stanford Clayman Institute for Gender Research: Stanford University's gender research and leadership institute, broader in scope and resources than Athena but operating in the overlapping women-leadership and gender-equity domain. Comparable as a university-based center advancing women's leadership, but at significantly larger scale.

Direct peers

• Wellesley Centers for Women: A research and action institute at Wellesley College (a peer women's liberal arts college) focused on women's leadership, gender equity, and social change. Directly comparable in mission, institutional context, and women's-college changemaking focus to the Athena Center at Barnard.
• Smith College Office of Student Leadership: Smith College's student leadership development programming at another women's liberal arts college. Directly comparable as a women's-college peer delivering structured leadership programs, fellowships, and community-engagement opportunities.
• Mount Holyoke College Leadership Programs: Leadership and changemaking programs at Mount Holyoke, another member of the Five College consortium and a women's liberal arts college. Comparable in delivering women-centered leadership development within a women's college ecosystem, similar to Athena's Barnard context.

Regional players

• Columbia University Women's Leadership Programs: Columbia University's broader set of women's-leadership initiatives through which some Athena programs (ADDA UX, Take the Mic Take Action!) are accessible. Geographically and institutionally overlapping with Athena (Barnard is Columbia-affiliated) and partially shares audience.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/barnardathenacenter
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/athena-center-for-leadership-at-barnard-college

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Athena Center for Leadership at Barnard College