500+ strong: Empowering Orlando’s emerging women leaders

05/15/25 • 31 min

ATHENA NextGen Orlando empowers professional women to level up through masterclasses facilitated by top female executives. To date, there are over 500 alumnae of the program, according to the founder, Karen Keene who brought the program to Central Florida 11 years ago.

“We have such a unique community — so many women leaders who really want to give out as much advice and guidance and mentorship as they possibly can,” Keene said.

In this episode of the Inspiring Wholeness podcast, presented by AdventHealth in partnership with the Orlando Business Journal, Keene joins Karen Corbin, Ph.D., associate investigator at the AdventHealth Translational Research Institute, to talk about empowering the next generation of women leaders. Corbin received the ATHENA Orlando Emerging Leader Award last year.

Tune in to this episode to hear about:

How the ATHENA Leadership model works (3:02)
Why the program was important to Corbin’s career (4:10)
The challenges Corbin has faced as a woman in science (7:18)
The impact of partnerships like the one with AdventHealth for Women, from reducing costs to delivering “top value programming” (9:00)
How Corbin’s Geeks That Speak initiative is part of her journey as an ATHENA NextGen graduate (12:25)
The future of women’s leadership and ATHENA NextGen’s role (27:23)

AdventHealth has provided whole-person care for 115 years. Today, our services, including cancer, cardiac, neurosurgery, orthopedics and a dedicated women’s and children’s hospital are rated among the nation’s best. Learn more at feelhealthyfeelwhole.com.
Disclaimer
AdventHealth and the Orlando Business Journal are providing this podcast as a public benefit. This podcast is not intended to be a substitute for any professional advice or medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. It is neither a legal interpretation nor a statement of AdventHealth or the Orlando Business Journal policy. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by AdventHealth or the Orlando Business Journal. The views expressed by our guests are their own. Their participation in the podcast does not imply an endorsement by them or any entity they represent. AdventHealth and the Orlando Business Journal hereby disclaim any and all liability to any party for any direct, indirect, implied, punitive, special, incidental or other consequence of damages, arising directly or indirectly from any use of the content in this podcast, which is provided, as is, and without warranties.

“We have such a unique community — so many women leaders who really want to give out as much advice and guidance and mentorship as they possibly can,” Keene said.

Tune in to this episode to hear about:

How the ATHENA Leadership model works (3:02)
Why the program was important to Corbin’s career (4:10)
The challenges Corbin has faced as a woman in science (7:18)
The impact of partnerships like the one with AdventHealth for Women, from reducing costs to delivering “top value programming” (9:00)
How Corbin’s Geeks That Speak initiative is part of her journey as an ATHENA NextGen graduate (12:25)
The future of women’s leadership and ATHENA NextGen’s role (27:23)

Previous Episode

The record need for organ donations and transplants — With AdventHealth’s Dr. Bobby Nibhanupudy and OurLegacy’s Ginny McBride

More than 100,000 people are currently waiting for an organ transplant in the United States, according to Dr. Bobby Nibhanupudy, medical director of Abdominal Transplant at AdventHealth Transplant Institute and medical director at organ procurement organization OurLegacy.

“In 2024, there were more than 48,000 organ transplants performed. Despite that record, the wait list continues to grow,” Nibhanupudy says.

In this episode of the Inspiring Wholeness podcast, presented by AdventHealth in partnership with the Orlando Business Journal, Nibhanupudy and Ginny McBride, executive director of OurLegacy, talk about the importance of organ donation and transplants.

“Our role with each of these hospitals is to ensure that when there is a potential donor hero at the time of their death, we are there to work with the hospital team and support the family to help them walk through the donation journey in whatever way is appropriate,” McBride says.

Tune in to this episode to hear about: