Joliet Junior College employee is 2024 recipient of the ATHENA Award

Kelly Rohder-Tonelli, a longtime Joliet Junior College employee, learned after a leadership meeting that she would receive the 2024 ATHENA Award.

She will be honored at the 37th ATHENA luncheon at 11:30 a.m. Sept. 18 at the Jacob Henry Mansion Estate’s Victorian Ballroom in Joliet. Tickets are $40 and can be reserved by Sept. 13 by calling 815-727-5371 or visiting jolietchamber.com.

Rohder-Tonelli, JJCs executive director of strategic engagement, said she was thrilled to be nominated and never expected to win.

“To actually be the recipient on an award like this and what it stands for, and to walk into this circle of women – many of whom I know and respect greatly – is an unbelievable honor,” Rohder-Tonelli said. “I’m overwhelmed by the support and the message of encouragement, the message of, ‘You deserve this,’ and ‘Congratulations! Well done.’ And it honestly made me free really good.”

I’ve grown up at JJC. And if it weren’t for women – particularly Dr. Gena Proulx – who said to me, ‘You can do this,’ I don’t know if I’d be where I am.”

—  Kelly Rohder-Tonelli, Joliet Junior College executive director of strategic engagement and recipient of the 2024 ATHENA Award

Martha Mayhood Mertz founded the Athena Award in 1982 in Lansing, Michigan, after she was told “women are not leaders,” according to the Athena International website.

The Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce & Industry presents the ATHENA award each year to an individual who demonstrated “outstanding commitment to their profession, their community and the advancement of women,” according to a news release from the Joliet chamber.

Jen Howard, president of the Joliet chamber, said Rohder-Tonelli is a “successful, talented professional in the community” who has positively influenced many young adults, especially women.

“The way she gives back to the community is something that comes very naturally for her,” Howard said. “She’s true-blue Joliet and a very community-minded person.”

From journalism to JJC

Rohder-Tonelli earned bachelor’s degrees in journalism and mass communication and also in English and literature from the University of Iowa. She worked in the journalism field in Iowa for several years, until she became homesick and returned to Joliet.

“I was 25,” Rohder-Tonelli said. “So it made it seem a lot easier to quit my job and move back here until I figured something out.”

When Rohder-Tonelli learned that JJC needed someone to do press releases and interact with the media, she thought, “Well, I could do that.”

Rohder-Tonelli became a communications and media relations specialist at JJC in 2007 and served in that position until 2011, when she became director of communications and external relations – and then executive director in the same role in 2017. Rohder-Tonelli moved into her current role in 2022.

She hadn’t expected building her career at JJC, but Rohder-Tonelli said she liked the school’s service to students and influence in the community and decided she wanted to stay.

“I’m 42 now,” Rohder-Tonelli said. “I’ve grown up at JJC. And if it weren’t for women – particularly Dr. Gena Proulx – who said to me, ‘You can do this,’ I don’t know if I’d be where I am.”

Proulx was JJC’s first female president. She came to JJC in 2006 and died from cancer three years later. Rohder-Tonelli said Proulx “recognized qualities in me I didn’t see for myself.”

“She saw I could be a leader,” Rohder-Tonelli said. “And by telling me I could do that, [she] ultimately helped me do that. [Her death] was a sad moment in my life because I got my first leadership role at JJC right after she passed away. I never got a chance to truly thank her for what she had done.”

Rohder-Tonelli said if she were “taking her last breath” and reflecting on this time in her life, the significance of the award goes beyond the actual award.

“It’s more about the fact that I can help illuminate the way for others,” Rohder-Tonelli said. “And that there’s something to be said about living where you work and working where you live – and investing of yourself in that place. And as long as you’re doing that, you can bring people along. That’s what people have done for me and what I’ve tried to do for others. And what a beautiful thing that is.”

About Kelly Rohder-Tonelli

In addition to serving as JJCs executive director of strategic engagement, Rohder-Tonelli is

• board president of the Boys and Girls Club of Joliet

• chair of the Will County Center for Economic Development Higher Education Committee

• co-chair of the Rialto Theatre Marquee Advisory Committee

• a Joliet Public Library trustee

• membership chair for the Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce & Industry Board of Directors

• a member of the executive committee for the Joliet chamber

• a member of the Legislative Affairs Committee for the Joliet chamber

• a founding member of the Community Foundation of Will County Women’s Leadership Fund

• a founding member of the Women’s History Month Luncheon Series

• a keynote speaker for the National Society of Leadership and Success

• a mentor with the Big Brothers/Big Sisters Mentor 2.0 Program

• co-author of a chapter in the book “Narratives and Strategies of Effective Leadership in Community Colleges: How Joliet Junior College Leaders Use Design-Thinking to Create and Implement Major Initiatives,” published in June

• on the executive committee of the Illinois Community College Presidents Council Marketing Collaborative since 2020

• the appointed legislative liaison for 30-plus colleges across Illinois to support a statewide, strategic marketing plan for Illinois community colleges

Rohder-Tonelli also previously was a

• speaker at the American Association of Community Colleges National Conference in New York in 2022. Presentation: “Assess and Address: Marketing through an Equitable Lens.”

• speaker at the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations National Conference in Orlando, Florida in 2023.

• scheduled speaker on productive partnerships for Chamber Leadership 2.0 in 2023.

In addition, Rohder-Tonelli has received

• the Reverend James E. Allen Award for Service to the Community by Project Acclaim, 2021

• Illinois General Assembly State Senate recognition by Sen. John Connor, 2021

• state of Illinois recognition for service and commitment to the community for the presentation of the Allen Award

• Award of Service and Appreciation, Joliet Junior College Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, 2023

Rohder-Tonelli’s Joliet Chamber involvement also includes

• supporting development and communications strategy of new membership structure in 2022

• Community Leadership School Special Assignment Committee to revamp CLS programming in 2018

• serving as a New Orleans North event volunteer in 2018, 2019 and 2024

• being a Community Leadership School graduate in 2017.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: ATHENA Award luncheon

WHEN: 11 a.m. Sept. 18

WHERE: Jacob Henry Mansion Estate’s Victorian Ballroom, Joliet

TICKETS: $40. Reserve by Sept. 13 by calling 815-727-5371 or visiting jolietchamber.com.