Athena Uslander is the President and Founder of Silverland Bakery, a Chicago-based wholesaler and retailer of baked goods. Silverland supplies all natural, hand-crafted brownies, cookies, food bars and other baked goods to more than 500 stores nationwide. Clients include Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Ghirardelli Chocolate Shops, Nordstrom and Argo Tea.

Soon after receiving BS and MS Engineering Degrees in Mechanics and Materials from Southern Illinois University, Athena realized that she had a passion for entrepreneurship and baking, not structural engineering. Today, Silverland produces in excess of 25,000 brownies and 12,000 cookies per day.

Athena’s Caramel Pecan brownies received the Outstanding Food Award from the National Food Association. FINE LIVING listed her Brownies in the “Top Ten Mail Order Desserts”. She has been featured on Oprah, The Food Network, The Travel Channel, ABC, The Today Show, and USA Today. In 2007, Athena appeared in the Dove Pro-Age Campaign, shot by Annie Leibovitz. This international TV, print and Internet campaign featured women ages 47-62 naked, promoting confidence in the 50+ set.
Athena is a philanthropist, having sponsored a Cambodian village through World Vision and developed the Athena Fund to help local women in need. She has three children and speaks Persian, English and Spanish.