About

Luehrsen has held the post of founder and CEO of August Moon Consulting, LLC since 2020.

She has held the post as CEO of Leadership Buffalo since January 2012 where she still remains.

Prior to her appointment to Leadership Buffalo, she was at the University at Buffalo for over ten

years holding the positions of the Executive Director of UB’s Center for Entrepreneurial

Leadership and Assistant Vice President for Corporate and Foundation Relations.

With over forty years of work experience, her expertise encompasses sales, marketing, strategic

planning, fundraising, nonprofit management, and entrepreneurship with the latter being gained

through directing the center and as the owner of several Western New York businesses.

Althea is a graduate of the SUNY Empire (Empire University) where she received both her BA

and MA and is an adjunct faculty.

Althea currently holds several board and committee positions including United Way’s Women

United, Secretary of the SUNY Erie Foundation, and board member of SUNY Empire State

College Foundation. She is also an advisory board member for the University at Buffalo’s

Center for Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness (CLOE) and Hilbert College’s

Leadership Council. Luehrsen is also the co-founder and vice chair of the Women Who Lead

(WWL) organization whose mission is to match women with mentors to advance their careers.

In addition, she is the chair of WNY BoardSTRONG Advisory Council and Vice Chair for NYS.

She is an Honorary Lifetime Member of the University at Buffalo Alumni Association and UB’s

Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership Alumni Association, where she also serves as a mentor

and reactor in their Core Program. She is also a member of the WNY Healthy Food Access

Coalition and an advisory board member of FeedMore WNY Community Advocate Counsel.

She is a 2010 graduate of Leadership Buffalo.

Ms. Luehrsen has participated as a State and National Judge for DECA (Distributive Education

Clubs of America) for the past 13 years and serves annually as a judge for the Buffalo Niagara

Ethics Award.

Luehrsen received her certification in Executive Coaching from the University at Buffalo School

of Management and is in Hogan Personality Assessments by the Hogan Organization.

Ms. Luehrsen is the recipient of number awards throughout her career, most notably, she was

recognized as one of the 250 Most Powerful People in Western New York in 2023. She has also

been recognized as one of the 100 Top Powerful Women of Buffalo by Business First in from

2016 to 2022. In addition, she was named Women of Influence for Nonprofit Leadership in

2015 by Business First Newspapers. In 2017, she received the Community Service Award from

the Eyes on America Foundation and in 2018, was honored for her leadership by the Partners for

a Shared Vision organization.

In 2013, she was named Executive of the Year by the Sales and Marketing Executives

organization; the first women named in 12 years. In October of 2014, she received the

Outstanding Women of the Year from the NYS Women, Inc. WNY Chapter. In addition, she was

named the Women in Leadership Honoree by the National Association of Women Business

Owners in June 2012; she was honored by her high school alma mater in 2010 (Sweet Home

Central) with the first Wall of Fame Distinguished Alumni Award; in 2009 as a Distinguished

Alumni by SUNY Erie and the 2014 Distinguished Alumni Recipient for SUNY Empire.

Luehrsen was a 2006, 2007 and 2011, 2016 and 2018 nominee for the Athena Awards by the

Buffalo Niagara Partnership. She was the 2006 Recipient of the Women Who Mean Business

Awards in Western New York and in June of 2012, NAWBO (National Association of Women

Business Owners) honored Ms. Luehrsen with their Women in Leadership Award.