Lori Sokol, Executive Director of Women’s eNews, today announced the Host, Honorary Gala Chair, and Honorary Gala Co-Chairs for the 19th annual ‘21 Leaders for the 21st Century’ Awards gala, which will take place on May 6th at Club 101 in New York City.
Tamsen Fadal, PIX 11 News Anchor, author and producer, will host the gala for the first time. Loreen Arbus, president of The Loreen Arbus Foundation, The Goldenson-Arbus Foundation, and Loreen Arbus Productions, Inc., is Honorary Gala Chair. Honorary Gala Co-Chairs include Abigail Disney, documentary filmmaker and co-founder, Level Forward; Lauren Embrey, president, Embrey Family Foundation; and Suzanne Lerner, co-founder and president, Michael Stars.
“All of these outstanding women have worked tirelessly for many years to make a difference in the lives of women and girls. Essentially, they have committed their work, and their lives, to advancing gender equality throughout the world,” says Lori Sokol, Ph.D. “They truly speak truth to power.”
Tamsen Fadal is an eleven-time Emmy award-winning journalist and anchor of PIX 11 News in New York at 5pm, 6pm and 10 pm. She is the executive producer and host of Broadway Profiles for The Broadway Channel.
With more than two decades of experience, she has covered local, national, and international stories including Hurricane Sandy, the Metro North train derailment, the Columbia Shuttle crash, the London bombings, and the war on terror. In 2002, she traveled to Afghanistan and was embedded with the American troops during the war. Additionally, Tamsen reported during Operation Enduring Freedom from Air Force bases in London and Germany.
A longtime theater fan, Fadal made her Broadway debut in Chicago in January 2010, followed by In the Heights and Rock of Ages.
In 2017, Tamsen received an Emmy Award for Best On-Camera Achievement and Best Host for Broadway Profiles. In 2014, Tamsen was honored with an Emmy Award for Best On-Camera Achievement as a News Anchor/Host and, in 2016, received the Emmy Award a second time. She has also garnered Emmy Awards for her Political News Special Remembering Ed Koch and Arts Programming for her Backstage on Broadway theater series. In 2005 she was honored with an Emmy Award for her work as an investigative reporter.
In 2016, Tamsen received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor from the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO). In 2015, she was named a “Power Woman” by Moves Magazine for her work on-air and in the community. In 2014, she was selected to receive the Soldiers’, Sailors’, Marines’, Coast Guard, and Airmen’s Club Media Award for her work overseas with our troops.
Tamsen, a Lebanese-American, is passionate about empowering women and has appeared on The Talk, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Lifetime, A&E, and The CBS Early Show in support of this mission. She has co-authored three self-help books; her latest, The New Single: Finding, Fixing, and Falling Back In Love With Yourself (St. Martin’s Press), seeks to help women emerge from a big life change with confidence, grace, and a recipe for self-care.
She is the Honorary Vice Chair of the ADAPT Community Network Board of Directors, Board member of Best Buddies New York, and spokesperson for SHARE Cancer Support and North Shore Animal League. Tamsen lost her mother to breast cancer in 1990 and has been a long-time advocate of educating women and their families about this devastating disease and the necessity for early detection. In 2011, she co-founded Shansen Jewelry, alongside her cousin, actress Shannon Elizabeth, with a portion of all proceeds going to animal rescue and breast cancer charities.
The 2019 Women’s eNews’ ‘21 Leaders for the 21st Century’ honorees will be announced over the next two months leading up to the awards gala.
Two key awards will be presented:
· The Loreen Arbus Champion for Disabilities Award – This award pays tribute to a true pioneer in the disabilities community, in honor of humanitarian and activist Loreen Arbus.
· The Rita Henley Jensen Investigative Journalism Award –This award pays tribute to an outstanding female journalist in honor to Women’s eNews founder, Rita Henley Jensen. A portion of the event’s proceeds will go to funding the Women’s eNews Rita Henley Jensen Internship Program to train the next generation of female journalists.
For tickets or more information about the 2019 Women’s eNews ‘21 Leaders for the 21st Century’ Gala contact: angie@womensenews.org.
