Ms. Rossanna Gabriel, Executive Director of the Hazleton Integration Project (H.I.P. Center), has been selected to receive the 2025 Greater Hazleton Chamber of Commerce Athena Award, sponsored by Lehigh Valley Hospital - Hazleton.

Ms. Gabriel started as a H.I.P. volunteer in 2013, was hired full-time in 2014, was promoted to Assistant shortly thereafter, and then promoted to Executive Director in 2020. She directs the work of five key programs and a multitude of community initiatives at the center. Her team consists of twenty full-time and part-time employees and 200+ volunteers.

Ms. Gabriel’s impact work includes: over 600 new American Citizens, over 150 English as a second language students per semester, and 700,000 meals served as part of the Food Insecurity Project, which started in May of 2023. These are just a few highlights of Ms. Gabriel’s work environment, where her creative thinking has provided pragmatic solutions to a variety of challenges in a rapidly changing work environment.

Community service is a key component of the Athena Award. Ms. Gabriel serves on many local boards and advisory committees. Her board appointments include: Greater Hazleton Chamber of Commerce, CAN DO, Inc., Luzerne County Health Advisory Committee, Luzerne County Community College Hazleton Center, Lehigh Valley Health Network Advisory Council, Vision for Equality, Hazleton Area Public Library, and Johnson College Advisory Board. She is also part of the Latino Empower Women’s Group, Latino Professional & Business Owners Society, and the Latino Sports Corp. She has participated in annual events such as Read Across America, Hazleton Helps Holiday Meal Distribution, Red Cross Sound the Alarm, PTPA fundraising events, and Downtown Hazleton Alliance for Progress First Fridays. She has been a Hazleton Rotarian for four years and serves as chair for both the Kids for Coats drive and the Annual Beer and Wine Festival. She is the first person to step forward and bring along other bilingual volunteers to continue the integration in our community, where all feel welcome.

An internationally recognized award, The ATHENA FOUNDATION and the awardees are invested in the work of mentoring the next generation of leaders. To that point, Ms. Gabriel has been key in developing the HIP Corp United group of dedicated high school students who do volunteer work and become positive role models for the younger children at the center. In 2024, she was recognized by her native country and received the Dominican Excellence Award for the work she has done for individuals and the community. In addition, she has initiated and developed a program where the HIP Center hosts a University of Chicago intern each summer.

Ms. Gabriel and her son, Cesar, live in Hazleton. If she is not at the HIP Center, you can find her dining at one of our fine Dominican restaurants or dancing the night away here in Greater Hazleton. She also recently took up skiing and enjoys traveling and new adventures.

The Athena Award, presented each year to a Hazleton Area businesswoman for "outstanding professional achievement," will be presented at the Greater Hazleton Chamber of Commerce 133^rd Annual Meeting and Executive Business Expo on Thursday, May 15^th, at Capriott's at 5 p.m. Lehigh Valley Hospital - Hazleton sponsors the award.

Tammy Torres, LVHN-Hazleton President, noted, “The hospital is proud to continue the sponsorship of the Chamber’s Athena award that recognizes female leaders making a difference in their profession and the Greater Hazleton area.” Torres also appreciates that mentorship is a key component of the award criteria. “Building the next generation of leaders in our area is critical for success,” she noted. “Rossana has been a leader in the Latino community and is involved and dedicated to many community organizations. Her work ethic, kindness and role as a bilingual ambassador and her impact work is the epitome of what the Athena Award stands for.”

The presentation of the award began in 1988. Ms. Gabriel joins a long list of distinguished women who have won the Athena Award in its thirty-seven year history. Past winners include: Lillian Paternoster (1986); Lorraine Piehota (1987); Donna Jean Yannuzzi (1988); Mary Bollman (1989); Patricia Werner-Savage (1990); Theresa Raffety (1991); Martha Herron (1992); Jo-Ann Yannuzzi (1994); Ruth Wimsat (1996); Molly Blasko (1997); Bettie Sitoski (1998); Linda Schreiber (1999); Cathy Gallagher (2000); Mary Jane Saras (2001); Attorney Sharon Evans (2002); Dr. Geraldine Shepperson (2003); Mary R. Malone (2004); Attorney Elizabeth Maguschak (2005); Jennifer Sloot (2006);Paula Sagan Hahn (2007); Lonnie Polli (2008); Terry Moran Bauder (2009), Dr. Deb Carr (2010); Nancy Stasko (2011); Jeannine Lesante Mazurkiwecz (2012); Kathleen Benyo (2013); Donna Palermo (2014); Elaine Judd (2015); Jane Danish (2016); Carla M. Thaller (2017), Krista L. Schneider (2018); Donna M. Barna (2019) Represenative Tarah Toohil ( 2020) ; Kelly King ( 2021) Miss Faberge (2022) Elizabeth Tolan ( 2023) and Lisa-Marie Halekcy (2024) There were no recipients chosen in 1993 and 1995.

If you would like to make a reservation for the event, please contact Leann Fallabel, Chamber Vice President of Marketing, at or 570-455-1509. Reservations can be made online at www.hazletonchamber.org, and the deadline for reservations is Friday, May 9^th.