2026 Lifting Girls Up Gala and College Shower

Girls Inc. of New York City’s annual gala brings together the city’s most influential thought leaders from the corporate, nonprofit, and philanthropic communities for an evening of dinner and dancing to raise critical funding for educational programs that inspire girls and young women to be strong, smart, and bold.

We will honor several distinguished leaders who have advanced equity in their industries.

The Gala and College Shower also provides the unique opportunity to witness our mission firsthand as we applaud 25 college-bound high school seniors and present them with scholarships and gifts for college.

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2026 Lifting Girls Up Gala & College Shower

About the 2026 Strong, Smart & Bold Leadership Honorees

Liz Elting

Founder & CEO, Elizabeth Elting Foundation
Founder and former co-CEO, TransPerfect

Liz Elting, Founder and CEO of the Elizabeth Elting Foundation, is an entrepreneur, business leader, bestselling author, linguaphile, philanthropist, feminist, and mother.

After living, studying, and working in five countries across the globe, Liz founded TransPerfect out of an NYU dorm room in 1992 and served as Co-CEO until 2018. TransPerfect is the world’s largest language solutions company, with over $1.2 billion in revenue and offices in more than 140 cities worldwide. Liz’s recognitions include the Trinity College Alumni Medal for Excellence, the Charles Waldo Haskins Award for business and public service from NYU’s Stern School of Business, the American Heart Association’s Health Equity Leadership Award and Woman Changing the World Award, and The Campaign Against Hunger’s Planter Award. Liz has been recognized as a NOW Woman of Power & Influence, American Express and Entrepreneur magazine’s Woman of the Year, and one of Forbes’ Richest Self-Made Women every year since the list’s inception. Elting is the bestselling author of Dream Big and Win: Translating Passion into Purpose and Creating a Billion-Dollar Business.

Michael Miebach

Chief Executive Officer & Board Member, Mastercard

Michael Miebach is Chief Executive Officer of Mastercard and a member of its board of directors. He is leading the company into a more digital world where Mastercard powers economies and empowers people by harnessing innovation and the continued application of new technologies.

Upon joining Mastercard in 2010, he helped shape the company’s financial inclusion efforts to deliver a commercially sustainable social impact.

Michael is a member of The Business Roundtable, The Business Council, the U.S.-India CEO Forum, the International Advisory Panel of the Monetary Authority of Singapore and The International Business Council of the World Economic Forum. He serves on the board of directors of IBM, the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, the Metropolitan Opera, the World Resources Institute and the American Red Cross.

Bebe Neuwirth

Emmy and Tony award-winning Actor, Singer, and Dancer

Bebe Neuwirth is an award-winning dancer, singer, and actor whose career spans Broadway, film, television, and music. She made her Broadway debut in A Chorus Line in 1980 and has since become one of the most celebrated performers in American theatre.

Bebe has appeared in numerous Broadway productions, including Sweet Charity, Damn Yankees, Fosse, The Addams Family, and Chicago. She won two Tony Awards for her performances in Sweet Charity and Chicago, along with Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Astaire, and Drama League honors. She is the only performer to have played all three leading roles in Chicago on Broadway, and her portrayal of Velma Kelly is featured on the Grammy-winning cast album. Her recent performance as Fraulein Schneider in Cabaret earned her a Drama Desk Award and a Tony Award nomination.

Bebe is also widely known for her her work in television and film, winning two Emmy Awards for her role as Lilith Sternin Crane on Cheers, with additional Emmy nominations for Frasier and Dash and Lilly. Her screen credits include Julia, The Good Fight, Blue Bloods, and films such as Say Anything, Green Card, Bugsy, and Jumanji. In 2023, she was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame and currently serves as Vice Chair of The Entertainment Community Fund, where she founded The Dancers’ Resource—a program aimed at addressing the particular emotional and physical challenges faced by professional dancers.

For additional information and sponsorship inquiries, please contact lchang@girlsincnyc.org.

Download a copy of our 2026 Lifting Girls Up Gala and College Shower Gala Deck.

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