Athena Kaytlen Wenzel

Athena Wenzel serves as Creative Director and Executive of Operations at Growers First, a role she has held for six months, while bringing five years of experience as a creative director. Her career began with her first entrepreneurial venture in 2020, launching a wellness jewelry brand, which led to art direction opportunities and a pivot into creative direction and brand identity work. She later co-founded a skincare company during college and gained broad experience at Guess Jeans headquarters in Los Angeles, starting as an intern in licensing and moving through product development, jewelry design, campaign support, and e-commerce. Wenzel also created murals for brands including Corona Light, the Westchester community in Los Angeles, and Intuit headquarters. She studied at Santa Barbara City College before transferring to Otis College of Art and Design, where she earned a degree in Communication Arts with an emphasis in illustration and a minor in business, and was named to the Dean's List. Wenzel is a member of the Venice Chambers of Commerce and attributes her success to her family, network, community, faith in herself, and commitment to integrity and values.