Athena Polydorou is the Council Director for the Diversity & Inclusion, Internal Audit, Investor Relations & Sustainability Councils. During her 15+ years as an association executive, Athena has served as the director of over a dozen industry councils and boards, helping senior technology and manufacturing executives exchange ideas, develop best practices and forecast business trends.

Prior to joining Manufacturers Alliance, she held several roles at CTIA – The Wireless Association, including Executive Director of their Foundation, and Director of Wireless Industry Development. She has significant experience in benchmarking and best practice sharing, event management, online communities, and bringing together executives to help one another. Athena earned a B.A. from University of Maryland College Park, a Masters in Telecommunication from George Washington University, and executive education certificates in Corporate Social Responsibility from Johns Hopkins and Harvard Universities.

Cara began her career at Southwire in 2014 as a training specialist and held many roles within the company's People & Culture team before stepping into her current position. She earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of West Georgia and is committed to Giving Back by serving with organizations like Women in Manufacturing, Society for Diversity, Project GIFT, Women's Resource Center, Wounded Warrior Project, Advocates for Remarkable Citizens and All Terrain Georgia. 

In addition to volunteering with these groups, Cara is Chair of the Manufacturers Alliance® Diversity & Inclusion Council and a Board Member for the Aimee Copeland Foundation, and she previously served as Chair of the Women in Manufacturing Education Foundation Board. 

Outside of her professional and community commitments, she enjoys spending time with her family, running, hiking, exploring new places and cheering on her favorite teams: the Georgia Bulldogs and Atlanta United.

Experienced professional with demonstrated success leading organizations through cultural change management, employee engagement, leadership development, designing and executing comprehensive diversity & inclusion strategies. Experience working in highly-matrixed organizations across multiple business disciplines.