The Women’s Forum of New York hosted the 9th Annual Elly Awards Luncheon benefiting The Education Fund of the Women’s Forum on Monday, June 17th, at The Plaza Hotel in New York City.
The awards, named for the Women’s Forum founder Elinor Guggenheimer, honor outstanding women leaders. This year marked the 32nd anniversary of the Education Fund of the Women’s Forum, which has helped over 260 women, age 35 and over, whose lives have been disrupted by extreme adversity, complete their college degrees.
The 2019 Elly Award Recipients were:
· Katie Couric, award winning journalist, producer, New York Times bestselling author, cancer advocate, podcast host, documentary filmmaker, and former co-anchor of the Today Show on NBC.
· Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, representative for the District of Columbia and former Professor of Law at Georgetown University.
· Muriel Fox, Board Chair of Veteran Feminists of America and former Executive Vice-President of Carl Byoir & Associates.
Linda A. Willett, President of the Women’s Forum of New York, gave opening remarks and introduced Barbara Marcus, President of the Education Fund, who discussed the Education Fund and introduced this year’s Education Fellows.
Mika Brzezinski, MSNBC Co-Host of Morning Joe and Founder, Know Your Value, gave keynote remarks.
This year’s Elly Award presenters were Linda A. Willett, who presented the Icon Award to Katie Couric in absentia; Marcy Syms, Vice President of the Women’s Forum, who presented the Elly Award to Muriel Fox; and Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney who presented the Elly Award to Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton.
Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney and Daryl Roth were Co-Chairs of the 2019 Elly Awards. Both women are past honorees of the Elly Award.
Cheryl Wills, Emmy Award winning anchor for Spectrum News NY1 Live at Ten and host of the public affairs talk show In Focus with Cheryl Wills, moderated a conversation on leadership with honoree Eleanor Holmes Norton following the presentation of the awards.
“The Women’s Forum of New York is comprised of the most accomplished and successful women in the city from every professional sector,” said Linda A. Willett, President of the Women’s Forum of New York. “We know from our own success how critical education is, so our Education Fund is one way we ‘give back’ – helping women age 35 and over whose lives have been disrupted by extreme adversity complete their education and get their lives back on track. We hope we inspire them, because their dreams, drive, and determination certainly inspire us.”
“The Education Fund of the Women’s Forum has transformed lives, influenced families, and improved communities,” added Barbara Marcus, President, The Education Fund of the Women’s Forum. “Launched thirty-two years ago to help other women realize their dream of a college education, The Education Fund has awarded over $1.8 million in financial awards to over 260 women to help them return to school, earn their degree, and take their place in the professional work world. Many of these women have overcome very difficult circumstances to realize their dream of a college education. We are proud to support their efforts.”
VIPs who attended the event included: New York Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney, Liz Neumark, Joan Haffenreffer, Daisey Holmes, Rikki Klieman, Doris Meister, Jonelle Procope, Deirdre Quinn, Ann Sarnoff, Marcy Syms, and Deborah Trudeau.
