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Join our Team!

Meet Aby Ryan, CEO & Founder

Aby, CEO & Founder

Aby Ryan founded Athena Camps after a successful career as a professional tennis player, collegiate coach, and non-profit executive. With 30 years of experience coaching and developing programs for girl-serving organizations, Aby specializes in youth program development, curriculum design, and innovative strategies to grow strong, expressive, confident young women.

When her daughter started kindergarten, Aby Ryan saw a need for a special environment where girls could navigate social pressures, build character, and support each other. She realized the time had come to realize her dream of creating a unique girls’ sports camp. So on June 11, 2011, she launched the first Athena Camp with 27 girls. Athena Camps’ attendance quadrupled in our first full year. Since then, Athena Camps continues to grow each year and hopes to serve 5,000 girls by 2025.

Meet the team

Marissa

Director, Los Altos

Marissa Pule joined the Athena Team in 2013. Now entering her 6th season as a Director of Athena Camps, Marissa is our head trainer of Coaches and our camp operations expert.  In the off season, Marissa is a regional manager with Recess 101, training new coaches while continuing to coach PE to Kindergarten through 5th grade students all over the South Bay.  Marissa grew up in a large family (10 siblings) playing softball, volleyball, swimming and her favorite, soccer. Through her years of playing team sports, Marissa learned how to be a leader and more confident, and she hopes to instill those qualities in her Athena campers.

Julianne

Director, San Jose

Julianne Taylor joined the Athena Team in 2016 as a Coach, was promoted to an Assistant Director, and is excited to expand her role this summer as a Director. Sports have helped shape her. Competitive soccer, cross country and swim teams taught her the importance of teamwork and dedication, as well as brought her lifelong friendships. A recent graduate Santa Clara University with her Master in Education, Julianne will start her teaching career at John Muir Middle School in the Fall.  At Gonzaga University, Julianne participated in the intramural department as a supervisor and also worked in local middle schools as a mentoring program student leader. She is so excited to be at Athena Camps and empower young girls.

Abby

Director, San Jose

Abby Walsh began her Athena Camps journey back in 2011 as one of the first ever Athena Camps campers. She later joined the Athena Team as a coach in 2018, was promoted to Assistant Director in 2020 and is now Director of our San Jose site.

Growing up in a family of seven siblings, she found a way to stand out through her passion for basketball and volleyball. After graduating from Notre Dame High School, Abby now plays NCAA Division 3 basketball in Edgewood College in Madison, WI and plans to graduate with her Communications Major in 2022. Being a student-athlete, Abby learned the value of teamwork, leadership, and self-confidence. With these qualities, she is ready to help contribute to the Athena camps vision.

Join the team


We are looking for Directors and Coaches to join our team!

Want to make a difference in the lives of girls around the south bay? If you have experience playing sports or a love for the arts and want to help young girls build self-confidence, we would love to hear from you.

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