Athena Cote has over 20 years of human services experience which began at NH's North Country Area Agency. Athena joined NH’s DHHS in 2004 as a direct service professional, eventually becoming a supervisor in 2009 for the Laconia & Conway offices and later the Statewide Assessment Team. She played a critical role in the development of DCYF’s 24/7 emergency response which created infrastructure for crisis response after normal business hours. Athena has experience as a teaching adjunct at NH’s Plymouth State University providing instruction for the undergraduate course on Child Welfare and Family Services and has presented at a number of regional and national conferences.

Athena has excitement about her current role as an Administrator for NH's DHHS Division of Public Health where she has the opportunity to focus on early childhood systems. Athena works to enhance early childhood primary prevention programs so that all families can thrive and achieve positive health outcomes. This includes program coordination and strong collaboration with partners across our early childhood system. Athena serves as the DHHS Early Childhood Integration Team lead and is a member of NH’s Whole Families Approach to Jobs Charter and Integration teams.

She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from the City University of New York and a Master of Social Work degree from the University of New Hampshire. Athena enjoys spending time with her family where they reside in NH’s beautiful Seacoast Region.