In the aftermath of the L.A. wildfires, the ATHENA Women’s Entrepreneurship Summit, themed “LA 2025 and Beyond | Resilience,” brought together industry leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, faculty, and students for a conference on Los Angeles’ future and a celebration of women founders.

“We’ve worked hard to develop a series of panels whose inspiration was to be candid, fundamentally altered by the fires that have affected so many directly and indirectly,” said Elissa Grossman, director of the Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. “We asked ourselves what the future not just might but must bring, given the changes that we’re experiencing in the world. We asked ourselves how those could or will change the landscape for those who invest, those who found, and those who are a part of what is created.”

Now in the summit’s ninth year, Grossman reflected on the mission of the conference: encouraging entrepreneurs, making connections, and building a new vision.

“ATHENA is hopefully not just a moment, but a catalyst for real discussions about how we can generate new and positive outcomes for the issues and for the people who matter most to us every year,” Grossman said. “As I’ve stood on the stage [every year], I’ve said the same thing: Women’s entrepreneurship is not just a single day of the year; it’s every day of the year.”

ATHENA’s keynote speaker was Maria Molland, former CEO of Thinx — a company specializing in feminine hygiene products — and current executive-in-residence at Frazier Healthcare Partners. Molland joined Geraldine Martin-Coppola, adjunct professor of entrepreneurship, for a fireside chat on the importance of women’s health and the economic benefits of investing in the sector.

“I believe that if we could close this gap between men and women when it comes to their health, we would solve a lot of society’s problems,” Molland said. “McKinsey just did a study that stated that if we could close that gap, we would add $1 trillion to the global economy.”

During her time at Thinx, Molland revitalized the company’s culture, grew the business into a global brand, and led its sale to Kimberly-Clark in 2022. In her discussion with Martin-Coppola, Molland highlighted the importance of hiring, planning, brand awareness, and customer service, while also reflecting on less tangible assets, such as self-belief, patience, and support.

“It sounds easy, but it wasn’t,” Molland said, reflecting on her time as CEO. “There was a lot of failures along the way that were disappointing, but you just see the ultimate goal and you keep going. We all believe so much in what we are doing.”

Other panels reinforced Molland’s message of perseverance. In “Envision the Future: Reacting, Responding, and Reimagining,” Christine Robert ’84, president of the Robert Group, reflected on the radical changes Los Angeles has undergone and will continue to undergo in the wake of the L.A. wildfires.

“There’s a tendency to think about resilience as holding the line, but we’re not trying to hold the line at this moment. We are actually trying to hold and move forward,” Robert said. “Some of us are old enough to remember that Los Angeles has often gone through big events — earthquakes to floods to civil disturbances. And each and every time, the city has come back, and it’s come back better.”

According to the panelists, entrepreneurs, and investors at ATHENA, small business owners and founders will play a key role rebuilding Los Angeles. In the panel “Investing in Our Future: Reengineering and Rebuilding,” Valeria Martinez ’13, an investor at VamosVentures, spoke to the need for policy collaboration with founders, as well as a sustained sense of community in L.A.’s affected areas.

“I’ve seen community come together in a beautiful way in Los Angeles to support one another,” Martinez said. “In order to rebuild this city, yes, we need policy. Yes, we need capital. But I think also we need to keep community at the center of it because we need to keep the small business owners in the conversation so that they’re proactively part of the solution versus just reactively receiving whatever the solution is.”

Much of that ongoing collaboration and innovation will come through thoughtful investment. In a room full of young and aspiring founders, industry insiders shared words of support and inspiration, pushing the audience to be resilient, even if one venture fails.

During the panel “Creating our Future: Reshaping, Reinventing, and Just Doing It Differently,” Talitha Watkins, president and head of ColorCreative Management, offered her thoughts on the value of innovators.

“Founders are the most important piece of the puzzle,” Watkins said. “That ‘aha’ moment that then turns into a plan that then turns into communications and messaging and inspiring others is lightning in a bottle. I don’t think anyone should ever be diminished for being a dreamer in that way.”

Monica Dean, managing director of the Greif Center, used her closing remarks to encourage networking about conference attendees while reflecting on the larger role of the Women’s Entrepreneurship Summit.

“It’s fitting for us to host ATHENA during Women’s History month, but again, we should be highlighting women, supporting women who are entrepreneurs every day of the year. That’s what we aim to do at the Greif Center.” Dean said. “Please be supportive of women either as mentors or investors or making connections.”