Ally Isom Receives 2025 ATHENA Leadership Award

Business executive and former U.S. Senate Republican candidate to be honored with prestigious national award in recognition of business leadership and community service

The Salt Lake Chamber has announced that Ally Isom, chief marketing and external affairs officer for Clyde Companies, Inc. will receive the 2025 ATHENA Leadership Award. This award is the organization’s highest recognition for women in business, and presented annually to an active member of the Salt Lake Chamber who demonstrates excellence, creativity and initiative in business. Each recipient must also provide valuable service by devoting time and energy to improve the quality of life for others in the community and assist women in reaching their full leadership potential.

“I’m honored to announce that Ally Isom will receive this year’s ATHENA Leadership Award,” shared Derek Miller, president and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber. “I had the privilege of seeing her talents on display when we served together in the Governor’s Office for Governor Herbert, and I can attest that she exemplifies the very essence of this award – dedication, stewardship and impact. From her service on boards including the Utah Behavioral Health Commission and Primary Children’s Hospital, to her unwavering commitment to making a positive difference, Ally inspires us all to lead with vision and purpose.” 

In addition to the ATHENA Leadership Award, five women will receive Pathfinder Awards at the conference. The Pathfinder Awards are presented annually to community leaders who create new paths promoting the development and recognition of women in business. The Pathfinder recipients this year include:

The ATHENA Leadership Award will officially be presented to Isom at the 49th Annual Women & Business Conference and ATHENA Awards Luncheon on November 10, 2025, at the Grand America Hotel. This year’s theme, “Believe. Become. Build.,” reflects the powerful journey of growth. We invite attendees to believe in their own potential, become the leaders they’re meant to be and build pathways for others to thrive. 

The conference is sponsored by Enbridge and WCF Insurance. Wells Fargo is the sponsor of the ATHENA Awards Luncheon. The event sponsor is BW Productions and the morning keynote sponsor is the University of Utah. Mountain America Credit Union and Select Health are breakout sponsors. The exhibit hall sponsor is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Foundation. For more information: click here.

Honoree Bios Below:

ATHENA Leadership Award: 

Ally Isom, Chief Marketing and External Affairs Officer, Clyde Companies, Inc.

Ally Isom is passionate about bringing people together and tackling tough issues. She is a community leader and strategist where brand, policy, communication and public engagement intersect. With an inclusive and affirming leadership style, she is uniquely skilled at fostering gender intelligent teams and building capacity in future leaders.

Isom is the chief marketing and external affairs officer for Clyde Companies, a century-old, privately held enterprise, with seven subsidiaries spanning the construction, building materials, insurance and land development sectors across fifteen states with more than 6,000 employees. In 2022, Isom left an executive role in nanotech to run as a Republican candidate for the United States Senate. She previously headed up global branding and messaging for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; served as the Utah Governor’s deputy chief of staff, communication director and spokesperson and spent several years in state agency leadership, with extensive experience as a political, legislative and campaign consultant.

Highlights from Isom’s extensive civic contributions and community involvement include service as chair of the Utah Behavioral Health Commission, the Kaysville City Council and boards for the Women’s Leadership Institute, Primary Children’s Hospital, Utah Valley University and Enbridge. She was also recently confirmed by the Utah State Senate to Weber State University’s Board of Trustees.

A testament to the power of education as a portal out of poverty, Ally has a Bachelor of Arts from Brigham Young University. Isom and her husband, Eric, have four children and six grandchildren. When she finds free time, she relishes historical fiction and biographies, preferably on a beach, personal silent retreats in Utah’s breathtaking mountains and mole poblano, pretty much anywhere.

Pathfinder Awards:

Melanie Bowen, Community Relations Director, Orrin G. Hatch Foundation

Melanie Bowen is a consummate government affairs professional, having worked in this arena for close to four decades, most of that time with U.S. Senator Orrin G. Hatch. In addition, she served in the offices for U.S. Sens. S. I. Hayakawa and Pete Wilson of California, where she directed their constituent service casework.  For the last twenty years of Sen. Hatch’s Senate service, Bowen served as his State Director. Anyone in Utah who knew Sen. Hatch likely knew Bowen as well. 

As state director, she provided daily leadership and management of Sen. Hatch’s Utah staff, outreach efforts and constituent services. She also supervised the resolution of federal agency casework and, most notably, was instrumental in overseeing the release of Josh Holt from a Venezuelan prison. Over the course of her career, she represented the U.S. Senate in official delegations to the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of China and Switzerland. In 2002, she was awarded the Phoenix Award for Recovery from the U.S. Small Business Administration and was honored to be part of the U.S. Delegation Olympic Torch Lighting Ceremony for the Salt Lake Olympic Games held in Athens, Greece.  

Since Sen. Hatch’s retirement in 2019, Bowen has worked as the community relations director for the Orrin G. Hatch Foundation. The Foundation has been honored to host U.S. Senators, Representatives, Cabinet Officials, Ambassadors and Supreme Court Justices at its various events and webinars. In collaboration with the Kennedy Institute, the Orrin G. Hatch Foundation aims to foster civility through its nationally broadcast of The Senate Project debate series. Outside of her Foundation responsibilities, Bowen utilizes her Senate experience in privately consulting on federal legislative issues. 

A graduate from Brigham Young University, Bowen has been actively involved in civic and charitable organizations, including the Women’s State Legislative Council of Women, Salt Lake Council of Women and Caring Foundation for Children. She serves as a volunteer at the Utah State Prison. Bowen is married to Dr. Ron Bowen, DDS, has two married daughters, Elysa Dishman and Lindsey Williams, and five grandchildren, and is an avid world traveler.

Jenny Groberg, CEO and Founder, BookSmarts Accounting and Bookkeeping

Jenny Groberg is a wife, mother, champion of women and the visionary CEO and founder of BookSmarts Accounting and Bookkeeping. Committed to empowering women at every life stage, she has brought together a dynamic, all-female team offering a fully customizable suite of services that gives clients full confidence in their financial data. Groberg’s work has been recognized across the world — with four International Stevie Awards, one of Utah’s Top 100 Companies Dedicated to Championing Women, Utah Business CEO of the Year and, most recently, when she was named to the prestigious Inc. Female Founders 500. Groberg’s financial expertise has been cited in Forbes, Entrepreneur, Accounting Today, Nasdaq, Yahoo Finance, SUCCESS, U.S. News World Report and more. She holds a degree in finance from the University of Utah.

Lauren Gustus, CEO and Executive Editor, The Salt Lake Tribune

Lauren Gustus is CEO and executive editor of The Salt Lake Tribune, which was the first major metro news organization to become a nonprofit. It achieved sustainability in 2021 under Gustus’s leadership. The Tribune shares its daily reporting with journalism partners across the state through the Utah News Collaborative. In 2023, The Moab Times-Independent donated itself to The Tribune, which oversees its operations. Moab retains independence with respect to newsgathering. Gustus also helped incubate the Great Salt Lake Collaborative, a group of 17 organizations focused on elevating solutions to the lake’s challenges that has spurred hundreds of millions in support for the lake. Under her stewardship, The Tribune is working to transition from subscribership to membership in 2026, opening up the nonprofit’s reporting online and making it free to read. Gustus previously worked for McClatchy as West Region Editor, overseeing 10 news organizations in Idaho, Washington and California, including the flagship Sacramento Bee. Gustus has also served as an editor in Colorado, where her work on transparency contributed to a new law that facilitated greater access to public records, and in Reno, where her team’s work on the housing crisis was recognized nationally. She is a coach in the Media Transformation Challenge at The Poynter Institute, supporting news leaders across the country as they look to make performance-driven change.

Sara Jones, CEO, InclusionPro

Sara Jones is CEO of InclusionPro, a business strategy consulting firm. For the past nine years, she has earned the trust of corporate boards and executive teams in co-creating transformative strategies. She brings over 25 years of executive and leadership experience spanning business, technology, content, revenue and legal strategy. Featured by TED, NPR and other international media, Jones is regularly invited as a keynote speaker. Her TED Talk on the intricacies of international adoption has garnered over 2 million views (go.ted.com/sarajones). She is an executive coach and serves as a speaker coach for TEDxSaltLakeCity.

Previously, Jones was CEO of ApplicantPro, an HR technology company where she accelerated revenue by 63%. She served as VP of strategic development at Patent Law Works, an IP firm in Silicon Valley recognized for its diversity. She was a director at School Improvement Network, where she spearheaded product development and business development, sourcing the largest deal in company history. Jones began her career as a patent attorney, leading diversity efforts and becoming a partner at Workman Nydegger.

For over two decades, Jones has championed underrepresented voices. She was co-founder, COO and board member of Women Tech Council for 13 years. She was co-chair of the Salt Lake Chamber Diversity and Inclusion Committee and was a founding board member of the Women’s Leadership Institute. She also served on Congressman Curtis’s Women’s Advisory Council. She currently volunteers to advocate for the passage of the Adoptee Citizenship Act. In 2022, she led the unanimous passage of a Concurrent Resolution to support international adoptees, signed by Gov. Spencer Cox.

She promotes board governance and workforce strategy, serving on the Utah State Workforce Development Board and the National Association of Corporate Directors Utah Chapter Board. She was a core member of the Talent Ready Utah initiative, a trustee for the Intermountain Healthcare Salt Lake Valley Hospitals Board, and served on commissions for former Utah State Auditor John Dougall and former Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox. 

Jones’s recognitions include the Women’s Leadership Award from Sundance Institute and Zions Bank (2025), the Kirk R. Englehardt Business Ethics Award from Utah Valley University (2024), Distinguished Alumni from the University of Utah (2021) and Utah Business Magazine CEO of the Year (2019). She holds a J.D. from Brigham Young University and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Utah.

Monnica Manuel, President and Co-Founder, RSG Performance

As president and co-founder of RSG Performance, Monnica Manuel brings over 20 years of global corporate leadership and coaching experience, paired with an unwavering commitment to her family and community. She has been married to her husband, Brad, for 28 years, and together they have raised three children and now delight in the joy of two grandchildren.

Professionally, Manuel has held senior executive roles including SVP of operations, head of sales and SVP of human resources, where she built a reputation for driving organizational growth, empowering teams and leading with integrity. She holds degrees in Psychology and Economics from the University of Utah and is a trained mindfulness coach through UC San Diego’s School of Medicine. Her work blends strategic insight with a people-first approach, bringing clarity, compassion and meaningful results to the leaders and organizations she serves.

In 2024, Manuel extended her leadership journey into the public arena as a candidate for the Utah State Senate. Her campaign was rooted in community advocacy, inclusive leadership and courageous decision-making — values that continue to guide her work and inspire those around her.

Beyond her professional endeavors, Manuel is deeply engaged in service. She serves on the boards of the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Salt Lake and Trauma-Informed Utah, championing initiatives that strengthen youth development, mental health awareness and resilient communities.

Manuel’s life reflects the spirit of a Pathfinder: she forges new paths with courage, uplifts those around her and leads with a vision grounded in purpose and possibility.

ABOUT THE SALT LAKE CHAMBER

The Salt Lake Chamber is Utah’s largest and longest-standing business association. A statewide chamber of commerce with members in all 29 Utah counties, the Chamber represents the broad interests of the state’s 63,000-plus employers, which employ more than 1.4 million Utahns. This includes thousands of Chamber members and their employees. With roots that date back to 1887, the Chamber stands as the voice of business, supports its members’ success and champions community prosperity.

ABOUT THE ATHENA LEADERSHIP AWARD

The ATHENA Leadership Award is a prestigious national award presented annually to an active member of the Salt Lake Chamber who demonstrates excellence, creativity and initiative in business, provides valuable service by devoting time and energy to improve the quality of life for others in the community, and assists women in reaching their full leadership potential.

Established in 1982 in Lansing, Michigan, the ATHENA Award ®Program is now administered from its Chicago, Illinois headquarters and boasts over 300 active communities in the United States, Canada, China, Russia and the United Kingdom. More than 5,000 individuals representing a wide variety of professions and businesses have received the ATHENA Award. Presented by local host organizations in partnership with ATHENA’s national underwriters, local businesses and individual sponsors, the award practically demonstrates the quote from Plato, “What is honored in a country will be cultivated there.” The award takes the form of a hand-cast bronze sculpture symbolizing the strength, courage and wisdom of the recipient.

ABOUT THE PATHFINDER AWARD

The Pathfinder Awards are presented annually to community leaders who create new paths promoting the development and recognition of women in business.

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