About

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.

 

Luehrsen has held the post of founder and CEO of August Moon Consulting, LLC since 2020.
Prior to, she held the post as CEO of Leadership Buffalo from January 2012 until December
2023. 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. She spent 15
years in the hotel industry, as director of corporate sales.

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 Vice Chair of SUNY Empire State
University 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 past 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 an advisory board member of FeedMore WNY
Community Advocate Counsel. She is a 2010 graduate of Leadership Buffalo.

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 a number of 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 2023. In addition, she was named Women of Influence for Nonprofit Leadership in
2015 by Business First Newspapers.

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.