2024 Gala and College Shower

Lifting Girls Up
2024 Gala and College Shower
Celebrating 25 Years

Thursday, May 23, 2024 • 6:00–9:00 p.m.

Cipriani • 25 Broadway, New York, NY
Dinner, dance, and awards
Cocktail attire

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If you would like to donate items to our silent auction or to our College Shower student honorees, please contact development@girlsincnyc.org.

For more information on corporate sponsorships, please contact Anuja Khemka at akhemka@girlsincnyc.org.

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 from underserved communities to be strong, smart, and bold.

We will honor five trailblazing leaders for their achievements in advancing gender equity in their industries.

We will also celebrate 25 exceptional students, college-bound high school seniors from our College Shower program, which prepares girls to get into and navigate college. Student honorees will announce their college acceptances and receive scholarships and supplies

All proceeds will support our life-transforming programs for girls and young women across New York City.

2024 Gala Honorees

Annette Bening

Academy Award Nominated Actress and Activist

Annette Bening is a celebrated actor across the stage and screen. She most recently starred in Nyad, directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, and Poolman, alongside Danny DeVito and directed by/co-starring Chris Pine. Bening will soon be seen in Peacock's mini series, Apples Never Fall.

A five-time Oscar nominee, her past film credits include Jerry and Marge Go Large, Death on the Nile, 20th Century Women, The Kids Are Alright, American Beauty, The American President, the Grifters, and Bugsy.

On stage, Bening was last seen in Jack O’Brien’s Broadway revival of Arthur Miller’s classic All My Sons, alongside Tracy Letts, for which she earned a Tony Award nomination. Past theatre credits include King Lear, Ruth Draper Monologues, The Cherry Orchard, Talking Heads, Hedda Gabler, and Medea.

Bening received a Tony Award nomination and won the Clarence Derwent Award for Outstanding Debut Performance of the Season for her role in Coastal Disturbances.

Read Annette Bening's biography

Award presented by Tony Award Winning Actor, Composer and Singer, Brian Stokes Mitchell

Donna Vieira

Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, Sallie Mae

Donna oversees Sallie Mae’s top line revenue growth, product, and pricing as well as distribution, marketing, customer and digital experience, and brand. Prior to joining Sallie Mae in 2019, Donna served as chief marketing officer for consumer banking and wealth management at JPMorgan Chase. There, she led the development of strategic marketing and brand initiatives to grow deposit and investment balances and customer relationships. Prior to that, Donna served as product and marketing chief for Chase business banking, where she focused on product and innovation development. She has also held executive leadership roles at Dun & Bradstreet, Merrill Lynch, and American Express.

Donna earned a Bachelor of Commerce from Mount Allison University, Canada, and a Master of Business Administration from Pace University.

Read Donna Vieira's biography

Doris P. Meister

Chairman & CEO, Wilmington Trust Company and Wilmington Trust, N.A.

A financial services executive with four decades of experience, Doris P. Meister oversees M&T Bank’s wealth management business and is Chairman and CEO of Wilmington Trust Company and Wilmington Trust, N.A. She is also Senior Executive Vice President of M&T Bank Corporation and a member of its Management Committee. Since joining the firm, Ms. Meister has driven significant transformational change, spearheaded growth initiatives, and ultimately positioned Wilmington Trust as one of the country's leading wealth management firms and a company of choice for corporate transactions and structures.

Barron's recently recognized Ms. Meister as one of the Top 10 Women in Wealth Management and a Top 100 Most Influential Women in U.S. Finance (2023)*. She holds a master’s degree in finance and marketing from The University of Chicago Booth Graduate School of Business and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Smith College.

Read Doris P. Meister's biography

Priscilla Sims Brown

President & CEO, Amalgamated Bank

Priscilla Sims Brown is a multi-national board director and C-suite executive with 30 years of financial services experience. Prior to joining Amalgamated Bank, she was the Group Executive for Marketing and Corporate Affairs at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, where she focused on rebuilding trust and pride in the bank with direct responsibility for end-to-end marketing, branding, stakeholder insights, government and public affairs, and environment and social policy.

For the past three years, she served as a member of the Board of Trustees of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (‘TIAA’), a US Fortune 100 financial services firm with over $1.2 trillion in assets under management. She served on the TIAA Investment, Nominating and Governance, and Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility committees, as well as Trustee and CEO selection subcommittees.

Read Priscilla Sims Brown's biography