Sisters who recycle military surplus into civilian treasures to keynote ATHENA Award Luncheon
Emily Núñez Cavness and Betsy Núñez, Forbes 30 under 30 Fellows, White House Champions of Change and sisters and co-founders of Sword & Plough, a socially conscious company that has captured the world, will serve as keynote speakers for the April 5 ATHENA Award Luncheon.
Emily and Betsy were born into military life, often sharing holiday dinners with hundreds of soldiers in mess halls and preparing for their father’s deployments. As adults, they were inspired and motivated to strengthen civilian-military understanding, empower veteran employment and reduce waste. In 2012, they founded Sword & Plough, a veteran-owned, socially conscious fashion company that repurposes thousands of pounds of military surplus into stylish bag and accessories designs.
Sword & Plough works with U.S. manufacturers that are owned or partially operated by veterans and donates 10% of profits to veteran initiatives. Business Insider named Sword & Plough one of the Top 20 Most Inspiring Companies of 2014 and one of the 50 Coolest New Businesses in America in 2015. The social enterprise has been featured in over 200 media outlets including Good Morning America, the Today Show, Fox & Friends, Esquire, Oprah Magazine, PBS, Martha Stewart and Bloomberg Businessweek.
During her military service, Emily graduated from Airborne School, served in the 4th Engineer Battalion, deployed to Afghanistan, was the first female intelligence officer to serve in 10th Special Forces Group, and was one of the first 100 women to try out for the U.S. Army’s Ranger Training Assessment Course.
On stage, Emily and Betsy draw on their unique entrepreneurial and military leadership experiences to inspire, inform, and empower diverse audiences. Their expertise is sought after by Fortune 500 companies, as well as educational, government, and community organizations. Recent engagements include speaking at Oprah Magazine, Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce, Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, Middlebury College, Texas Women’s Conference, The Mission Continues, Got Your 6, World Innovation Forum, Forbes 30 Under 30 Summit, and Student Veterans of America.
Registration is now open for the 2018 ATHENA Award Luncheon, which will be hosted at The Antlers, A Wyndham Hotel on Thursday, April 5. The Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC will honor the challenges women often face in today’s marketplace and name one of seven women the 2018 ATHENA award recipient.
Reserve your spot today and learn more about our 2018 ATHENA award nominees.