2026 ATHENA Awards Reception

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2026 ATHENA Awards Presented by KPMG

The ATHENA Leadership Award is inspired by the goddess of Greek mythology known for her strength, courage, wisdom, and enlightenment. The ATHENA Leadership Award is presented to individuals honored for professional excellence, community service, and for actively assisting women in their attainment of professional excellence and leadership skills. The ATHENA Young Professional Leadership Award is a natural extension of the ATHENA Leadership Award and is presented to emerging leaders across professional sectors for exemplary leadership. The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce is honored to continue presenting the ATHENA Awards in Greater Kansas City.

We will be joined by ATHENA International President & CEO, Traci Costa. 

Traci first joined the ATHENA community as a passionate advocate for women and girls, earning the prestigious ATHENA Leadership Award in 2018. Her unwavering dedication led her to serve on the ATHENA International Board of Directors, where she helped guide the organization’s strategic growth before being appointed to the helm. Traci’s wide-ranging experiences—spanning athletics, education, fundraising, and executive leadership—inform her powerful vision for ATHENA: to inspire a more balanced, inclusive, and conscious model of leadership worldwide. A native Californian with a global heart, Traci is deeply passionate about helping individuals awaken their unique leadership strengths and lead lives of impact, integrity, and purpose.

Congratulations to the 2026 ATHENA Leadership Awardee

Angie Long

Angie Long, CIO – Palmer Square Capital Management, Co-Founder and Owner – Kansas City Current, and Owner – HB Koge Women. Angie Long is Chief Investment Officer and one of two Principal Owners for Palmer Square Capital Management, where she has key responsibilities for all investment-related activities. Most recently, Angie has added the title of Professional Sports Team Owner to her long list of accomplishments, as she joined Co-Founder and Owner Chris Long and Co-Owner Brittany Matthews in bringing a National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) franchise to Kansas City.  In 2025, Angie and Chris Long expanded their sports and entertainment portfolio by buying HB Koge Women, a top women’s team in Denmark taking their sports interests globally. In 2026, Angie and Chris Long further grew their sports platform by launching Teal Rising Academy Brazil in Sao Paulo focused on investing in U-15 and U-17 athletes and providing a clear pathway to professional soccer.  Angie serves on the Board of Directors of Union Station as well as the KC 2026 World Cup Board. She has been recognized for her work being named to the 2022 Women's International Champions Cup Best XI, 2022 Sports Business Journal Power Player, 2023 Business Journal's Bizwomen 100, University of Missouri - Kansas City's 2023 Entrepreneur of the Year, Ingram's 2023 class of WeKC - Women Executives Kansas City, Kansas City Magazine’s 2023 Power List: The 50 Top Power People in KC. Angie is a recipient of The W.F. Yates Medallion for Distinguished Service from The Trustees of William Jewel College. In November 2023, Angie was inducted into the Junior Achievement of Greater Kansas City Business Hall of Fame. Angie is also a member of the National Advisory Council for Women Leaders in Sports. For Harvard Business School, Angie is a member of the Harvard Business School Board of Dean’s Advisors.  

Congratulations to the 2026 Young Professional Leadership Awardee 

Elaina Paige Thomas

Elaina Paige Thomas is a Kansas City, Mo native. Mrs. Thomas is trained in Modern, Ballet, Jazz, Hip Hop, Tap, African and certified in Yoga. Elaina worked as Master Teaching Artist at Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey for 7 years. Mrs. Thomas has international credentials from a 4 month 15 city tour in China, with the international girl group FEME, and toured Italy, with the Clubesque superstar Sunni Stephens. Elaina had the great opportunity of performing on stage at the Chicago Theatre for “America’s Got Talent” in 2011 and graced the stage with international superstar Beyoncé, for the debut of “Run the World'' on “Oprah’s Surprise Spectacular”, in Chicago, IL. She has worked with HipHop and R&B artists including Bobby Valentino, Tyrese, Jeremiah, Black Eye Peas, Twista, Ginuwine and Tech 9. She was also a principal dancer for the 2013 IMAX feature film “Dhoom3”. Thomas choreographed for brands including the NFL Draft, Nelson Atkins Muesum, and more. Mrs. Thomas has choreographed/ directed versatile works for 2015 Super Bowl Denver Broncos Champion Shane Ray’s awareness foundation, Liberian Entertainment Awards with Kansas City Chiefs Tamba Hali and also Money Bowe formerly known as Kansas City Chief wide receiver Dwayne Bowe, Redmoon Theatre (Sam Zell), Columbia College Chicago Manifest of 2011, Bookaflashmob.com, Zuma Records, and Delta Sigma Theta Cotillion. Thomas has done commercial work for Diamond Direct imports, Brown Mackie College, Sprint, and co-starred on season 2 of Bravo’s “Chicagolicious” and MTV’s Unlocking The Truth. Mrs. Thomas has been featured in Forbes magazine and was named a Next Gen Leader from The Kansas City Business Journal. She is a proud owner of two businesses, The Next Paige Talent Agency and Next Paige Foundation. The Next Paige serves as Kansas City’s first female black owned Talent Management Agency where they help creatives pursue their dreams by providing resources, opportunities and training. They also received the Kansas City Chamber Top 10 Business award (2024) and Equity Award (2022)