Women in leadership: Brownsville chamber hosts first ATHENA awards

The Brownsville Chamber of Commerce held its Women in Leadership Luncheon at the Brownsville Events Center on Tuesday, with U.S. Border Patrol Rio Grande Valley Sector Chief Patrol Agent Gloria I. Chavez delivering the keynote address for the sold-out event.

The luncheon also featured the chamber’s first ATHENA International Award Ceremony. ATHENA’s mission is to support, develop and honor women leaders, inspiring women to achieve their full potential and “create balance in leadership worldwide,” according to the organization.

Esmeralda Villarreal, chamber president and CEO, said the ATHENA Leadership Award is a global recognition bestowed upon more than 8,000 female leaders in more than 500 regions around the world. U.S. recipients include Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Condoleezza Rice and Marlo Thomas.

“We’re the only ones south of San Antonio to have this license, so we’re making history today,” Villarreal said.

At Tuesday’s ceremony, the ATHENA Young Professional Award, which goes to nominees 40 or younger, was awarded to Dr. Dimple Desai, principle investigator and board-certified family medicine specialist with the South Texas Research Institute (STRI). Five women in all were nominated.

The ATHENA Leadership Award, which celebrates exemplary leadership, was presented to Dalilah Garcia, president of FemCity Brownsville, who was chosen out of nine nominees. Finally, the ATHENA Organizational Award went to the Brownsville Police Department. STRI and JuiceUs Craft Juices & Healthy Eats also were nominees.

In her keynote address, Chavez, a Brownsville native in her ninth month as the Border Patrol’s RGV Sector chief, described her entry into law enforcement at a young age, her nine years as a Border Patrol agent first stationed in San Diego, and how she eventually became the youngest sector chief in Border Patrol history when she was assigned to the Spokane, Wash., sector and put in charge of 300 miles of the U.S. border with Canada.

Chavez was also the first female sector chief in Border Patrol history and still today is one of just two female sector chiefs among the Border Patrol’s 20 sectors. She described a very though four and half months at Border Patrol academy in Georgia, admitting that at times she wanted to quit but stuck it out instead. She also noted that women are under-represented in law enforcement across the board.

Chavez, who was made El Paso Sector interim chief in 2019 before being assigned to the RGV, said women represent only 5 percent of Border Patrol personnel — the same percentage as when she joined in 1995.

“We haven’t moved, and it’s sad,” Chavez said. “Law enforcement is a tough duty for women.”

At the same time, that shouldn’t stop a woman from pursuing whichever career she chooses, she said.

“That doesn’t mean that you can’t go and achieve, and it doesn’t mean you can’t go into things and try your very best to excel,” Chavez said. “For me, it was exciting.”

She said she jumped at that the opportunity to lead the El Paso Sector, which was in chaos at the time, “because it was Texas.” Chavez said her plan was always to return home to Brownsville and was finally able to. She succeeded interim chief Joel Martinez, who was appointed after Chief Brian Hastings retired at the end of June 2022.

“Home is where your center is,” Chavez said. “And today I’m centered, because I’m home.”

She counseled the women in the audience at Tuesday’s luncheon to prepare for the jobs or careers they want by seriously investing in their education and training, and to do whatever is necessary to conquer fear of anything holding them back — public speaking, for instance. Also, practice leadership, part of which involves teaching and preparing the next generation of leaders, Chavez said.

“Leadership is a responsibility,” she said. “It’s a huge responsibility. It is not something that you are born with. It builds up. … Everything I did in my career prepared me for who I am today, both as a human being, as a leader, as a BP agent.”

To see more, view Brownsville Herald photojournalist Denise Cathey’s full photo gallery here:

Photo Gallery: Brownsville chamber hosts first ATHENA awards