Athena Award for Next Generation Engagement with Bella Coco & Laura Hackney, CEO of AnnieCannons

Athena Award for Next Generation Engagement with Bella Coco & Laura Hackney, CEO of AnnieCannons
CITRIS

Athena Award for Next Generation Engagement
Award presented by Bella Coco, Career Development Coordinator, AnnieCannons
Award recipient: AnnieCannons accepted by Laura Hackney, CEO, AnnieCannons

The Next Generation Engagement Award recognizes organizations or programs that encourage girls or young women to pursue interests in STEM careers.

Award winners can be recognized for a wide variety of accomplishments, including:
Demonstrating innovation in expanding extracurricular opportunities for girls and young women to explore technology and science
Demonstrating impact on advancing women’s participation in technology and science
Demonstrating support for young women undertaking college-level, graduate or postgraduate studies in technology and science
Supporting and highlighting accomplishments of women and girls in technology

AnnieCannons creates opportunities for survivors of human trafficking. Based in Oakland, California, AnnieCannons is on a mission to help women break the cycle of exploitation by providing skills training, hands-on work experience, income opportunities, and a supportive work environment.

Now in its sixth year, the annual Diversity in Tech Symposium (formerly Women in Tech) highlighted the experiences of experts working to advance innovation in clean energy, water conservation, food systems, disaster prediction, coastal science, sustainable manufacturing and many other areas within their organizations. The event featured a virtual career fair company representatives and startups to help attendees discover pathways into climate tech. This event also showcased the winners of the EDGE in Tech Initiative Athena Awards which recognize those who have championed the advancement of women and people of color in technology.

The 2022 Diversity in Tech Symposium was sponsored by our champion sponsors Lam Research and Meta, our trailblazer sponsors Agilent and Siemens, and our other supporters: Sandia National Laboratories, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Intel, SAP, Berkeley Skydeck, UC Davis College of Engineering, UCSC Baskin Engineering, IoT4Ag at UC Merced, UC Berkeley Engineering, and CITRIS.