Athena Entrepreneurs | Athena Center for Leadership

At Athena, we see entrepreneurship as a powerful way to build the world we want to inhabit. We take an approach to entrepreneurship that’s creative, collaborative, and conscious of impact, on others as well as on ourselves.

Through our offerings, aspiring and emerging women and nonbinary entrepreneurs at Barnard and Columbia can find community with other women and nonbinary entrepreneurs, mentorship from experts at the Center and in our broader network, and the guidance they need to navigate the many resources at the university, in New York City, and beyond.

We're Hiring: Athena Entrepreneurs Student Lead

Weekly Meetups

Need space to work? Want to meet other women and nonbinary entrepreneurs? Get advice from experts?

Drop by on a Thursday evening from 6:30-8 pm at the Athena Center and you’ll find your people and the help you need. These meetups are a forum for collaboration, peer support, and mentorship from experts, including Athena’s Director of Applied Learning and Athena’s Entrepreneur-In-Residence. Guest experts regularly drop in to share wisdom and insights, sticking around for one-on-one conversations with student entrepreneurs.

Come to one or come every week - it’s up to you! No signup or registration required. To see our confirmed speakers click here.

1:1 Advice & Guidance

Sometimes you just need to talk to someone 1:1. Our Entrepreneur-in-Residence is available to talk to you. Sign up here. We can also connect you with other experts in our extensive network, so don’t hesitate to ask for exactly what you need.

Meet with Deepti Sharma

10 Things Deepti Can Help You Do Now!

Access to Resources at Columbia and in NYC

We’re not the only source of support at the university, of course — Columbia Entrepreneurship, of which we are a part, has tons of resources for you. Need help navigating those? Or help navigating what else you might access in NYC? Schedule time to talk to us and we’ll help you figure out the right next steps.

Meet with Umbreen Bhatti '00

Startup Summit

Barnard Entrepreneurs Network (BEnet) and Athena Center for Leadership at Barnard College hosted its 2nd annual Startup Summit on June 17, 2022. This one-day in-person event allows students and recent alumni to work with a successful group of Barnard alumnae entrepreneurs to develop their for-profit business ideas. This program takes participants through the key concepts needed to build a business while forming solid ties to the Barnard entrepreneur network. Watch this space for how you can get involved in spring 2023!

Startup Summer

If you’re interested in committing your summer to your startup, consider applying for a spot in Startup Summer. We’ll spend 10 weeks with up to 10 students, helping them turn a nascent idea into a business.

The program will take place in Summer 2023

Columbia Startup Lab

We’re proud to partner with the Columbia Startup Lab! Each year, we provide support for a Barnard alum in the CSL. Read more about Samantha Greenspan '21 below — she loves helping Barnard student entrepreneurs and regularly drops by to share her experiences with us.

Our Team

Umbreen Bhatti '00

Constance Hess Williams ’66 Director of the Athena Center for Leadership

Chriss Sneed

Director of Applied Learning

Deepti Sharma

Entrepreneur in Residence

Our Partners