The New York Women’s Foundation 2024 Celebrating Women® Breakfast Honors Leading Change-Makers
By W.A. Muller
This Year’s New York Women’s Foundation Celebrating Women® Breakfast awards honored leading change-making organizations and individuals at a celebration in New York City. Since 1987, The Foundation has invested $125 million in 500+ organizations, creating a vibrant community of grantees, philanthropists, advocates, innovators, and change-makers.
The Celebrating Women® Breakfast opened with a rousing performance by Fogo Azul NYC, New York City’s most powerful women, trans, and non-binary community drumline. A fitting start for an event that embodies the spirit, strength, and resilience of The New York Women’s Foundation’s community and brings together thousands of people from all walks of life together to honor exceptional women leaders whose vision, tenacity and wisdom have transformed our communities and our nation for the better. The event serves as a key fundraiser for the Foundation, whose grantmaking places it at the top of public women’s funds in the United States and in the top two in the world.
The New York Women’s Foundation’s signature event was held at the New York Marriott Marquis Hotel, paying tribute to these extraordinary honorees and The Foundation’s grantee partners who are advancing innovative and bold solutions to create an equitable and just future for women and families in the New York City metro area and beyond.
The 2024 Celebrating Women® Breakfast recognized Fondation CHANEL with the Vision Award for the organization’s courageous efforts in creating a world where women and girls are free to shape their own destiny. The following changemakers were awarded with Celebrating Women® Awards: Andrea Arroyo, an award-winning visual artist, New York Liberty, an original WNBA team who embraces its role to elevate and embrace women while building community, Cynthia Nixon, Emmy and Tony award winning actress, activist, and theater director, Toshi Reagon, a singer song-writer who knows the power of song to unite and mobilize people for justice, and S. Mona Sinha, Global Executive Director of Equality Now.
The awards were presented by Jacqueline Woodson, MacArthur Fellow and National Book Award-winner for her children’s and adult books, Ana Maria Archilla, immigrant rights, worker justice, LGBTQ rights, and women’s rights advocate, and Foundation Board Members Anne Delaney, Helene Banks, Lola C. West and Karen Choi.
The celebration closed with a special performance by New York Liberty’s Timeless Torches, a 40-and-over dance team, and their mascot Ellie the Elephant, ending the program on the perfect high note, capturing the inspiration and motivation of the event.
Notable attendees included; Fogo Azul NYC, Andrea Arroyo, Cynthia Nixon, Toshi Reagon, S. Mona Sinha, Jacqueline Woodson, Ana Maria Archilla, Anne Delaney, Helene Banks, Lola C. West, Karen Choi, Ana L. Olivieri, Jean Shafiroff, Maribel Lieberman and Melissa Polo Landau.
