Directors
Nora Sun | Email
Co-Director of ATHENA
Walter Payton College Prep Chapter
Nora Sun is passionate about biomedical research and aspires to become a doctor. She co-founded ATHENA her freshman year to help support Asian American girls such as herself pursue STEM. She also founded the ENVISION research competition under WiSTEM to help members strengthen their proposal writing skills and is the Relations Director of GenSheDoctors. Outside of WiSTEM, Nora is involved in Science Olympiad, math team, and PALM, her school’s art and literature magazine. She is also a proud vegan and graphic designer.
Ana Cucalon | Email
Co-Director of ATHENA
University of Chicago Laboratory Schools Chapter
Ana Sofia Cucalon is a high-school student at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. Passionate about social justice, she first got involved with WiSTEM because of her interest in bridging social gaps between girls and academic fields. She co-founded ATHENA during her freshmen year with the objective to help minority high-school girls, much like herself, achieve their career goals. Outside of ATHENA, Ana is the Outreach Coordinator of WiSTEM and a member of her school’s Model UN team. She has a passion for politics and literature, as well as an obsession for lime and tomatoes.
Featured Members
Arya Kalathil
Lake Braddock Secondary School Chapter
Future medical doctor
"The initiative that ATHENA has taken on to help minority girls reach their goals was astoundingly necessary, and the opportunities that ATHENA provides are uniquely tailored to help you succeed in your dreams.
Zora Beaty
Jones College Prep Chapter
Future biologist
“Through Athena, I have met an incredible community of minority girls and women professionals excelling in STEM.”
Evangeline Liao
Ontario, Canada
Future math professor or sports researcher
"My favourite part about ATHENA is the community of girls that I got the opportunity to meet! We all share an interest in STEM and it’s nice to be able to share resources and ideas that would have otherwise been limited to us by our locations, ages, or race."

Dr. Montserrat Anguera
Department of Biomedicial Sciences
University of Pennsylvania

Dr. Christopher Schmitt
Department of Anthropology and Biology
Boston University

Dr. Teri Odom
Department of Chemistry, Chair
Northwestern University
Featured Collaborators

Dr. Eric Chan-Tin
Department of Computer Science
Loyola University

Dr. Marshini Chetty
Department of Computer Science
University of Chicago

Dr. Horacio Frydman
Department of Biology
University of Boston

Dr. Walter Fischler
Neuroscience Postdoctoral Scholar
Axel Lab, Columbia University

Dr. Patricia Lang
Plant Biology Postdoctoral Scholar
Bergmann Lab, Stanford

Dr. Andrew Finks
Neuroscience Postdoctoral Scholar
Axel Lab, Columbia University