The Greater Stockton Chamber of Commerce presented the 2023 ATHENA Leadership Award to Leticia Robles and 2023 ATHENA Young Professional Leadership Award to Erika Hermosillo, on Tuesday, November 28, 2023 at the historic Stockton Golf & Country Club.
The annual ATHENA Leadership Award honors individuals who strive toward the highest levels of accomplishment, excel in their chosen business or profession, have demonstrated support for the advancement of business and professional women, have devoted time and energy to their community, and have actively mentored others.
The annual ATHENA Young Professional Leadership Award honors emerging leaders who demonstrate excellence, creativity, and initiative in their profession. Provide valuable service by contributing time and energy to improve the quality of life for others in the community and serve as a role model or young women both personally and professionally.
After accepting their awards, both honorees shared insight into their backgrounds and words of wisdom. All the guests left inspired by our two amazing recipients and hopeful to be able to go out into the community and make a positive change.
At the event this year we also remembered our first Stockton ATHENA Award recipient Judy Chambers who passed away in July. She was awarded the first Stockton ATHENA Award in 1986 and was a great supporter and mentor to all the ATHENA’s since. Judy was one of a kind, a true trailblazer and will be missed greatly by the community.
To view a recording of the event please visit: https://www.youtube.com/live/iYpPrtLtUZg
Please see the short bios below to learn a little more about each honoree.
Leticia Robles:
Leticia Robles was born to immigrant parents from Mexico and is the youngest of nine children. She attended University of the Pacific as a first-generation student and earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration. After graduating she spent 12 years with Junior Achievement, a nonprofit that teaches young people career readiness as well as financial literacy, six of those years she was the organization’s Vice President for development. Later, she moved on to become an interpreter for Valley Mountain Regional Center.
In 2005, while working as an interpreter, Leticia noticed the difficulties that many Spanish-speaking families faced while navigating their loved ones’ care. She took action and founded Pacific Homecare Services, an organization that provides in-home care for seniors and developmentally disable patients. Leticia has served as President for nearly 20 years and has created an uplifting work environment, where employees are empowered to grow personally and professionally. With seven locations and more than 6,000 employees serving thousands of Northern California families, Pacific Homecare Services is a leader in the home care industry and in the Stockton community. Even with a growing business, Leticia has found time to start two more businesses that provide transportation and fingerprinting services. She also serves on the boards of the Children’s Home of Stockton, United Way of San Joaquin County, and Sutter Health Valley Area. In the past, she has also served as board member of the Haggin Museum and the Red Rhino Outreach Project. Many describe her as an empowering, inspiring, and generous leader.
Erika Hermosillo:
Erika Hermosillo is an educator, activist, parent, and wife; born and raised in the Central Valley of California. She is a first-generation college graduate and has earned a B.A. in Psychology at the University of the Pacific and M.Ed. in Elementary Education and Teaching at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. After graduating, she completed two service terms as an AmeriCorps member, through Teach for America (TFA), serving as a teacher. She even spent 10+ years in education in various capacities as an educator, program provider, and school district staff to help coach future educators in managing classroom settings with at risk youth. From a young age she understood that the health of a person is inextricably linked with community. This is why she is a Steering Committee Member for Alternatives to Violence Prevention (AVP), and she specifically conducts AVP workshops at Mule Creek State Prison in Ione, California, 1-2x per month.
Erika is currently the Chief Program Officer for two programs at Reinvent Stockton Foundation – Stockton Service Corps (SSC) and Stockton Scholars (SS). Due to the impacts of COVID-19, she recognized the need for SS students and SSC members to have access to free and consistent mental health support. Thus, initiating a partnership with Tbh, a virtual program focused on offering individual and group counseling to students. Erika has had many achievements, one of them being awarded the “Outstanding Service Program Staff Member Award” for America’s Service Commissions (ASC)’s Innovation and Leadership Awards in 2022 for her work in establishing an Emergency Fund for service fellows in SSC. Throughout her career we can see that service has always been at the core.