2024 Lifting Girls Up
Gala and College Shower
Thursday, May 23, 2024
6:00–9:00 p.m.
Cipriani • 25 Broadway, New York, NY
5:45 p.m. • Doors open
6:00 p.m. • Cocktail reception
7:00 p.m. • Formal program and dinner
8:45 p.m. • Dance
Text "ginyc2024" to 1 (325) 603-3395 to give
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Evening Program
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Janice Ellig • Gala Committee Chair and Girls Inc. of NYC Board Member
CEO, Ellig Group
Presentation of the 2024 Strong, Smart & Bold Leadership Awards
Priscilla Sims Brown • 2024 Honoree
President & CEO, Amalgamated Bank
Doris P. Meister • 2024 Honoree
Chairman & CEO, Wilmington Trust Company and Wilmington Trust, N.A.
Donna Vieira • 2024 Honoree
Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, Sallie Mae
Presented by
Dr. Pamela Maraldo • CEO, Girls Inc. of New York City
DINNER
Performance
Dr. Brian Stokes Mitchell • Performing “Feelin' Good”
Actor, Composer, and Singer
Presentation of the 2024 Strong, Smart & Bold Luminary Award
Annette Bening • 2024 Honoree
Academy Award Nominated Actress and Activist
Presented by
Dr. Brian Stokes Mitchell
Actor, Composer, and Singer
Janice Ellig • Gala Committee Chair and Girls Inc. of NYC Board Member
CEO, Ellig Group
Performance
Dr. Brian Stokes Mitchell • Performing “The Impossible Dream (The Quest)"
Actor, Composer, and Singer
Presentation of the 2024 College Shower Student Honorees
Film: Build Her Capital • Emily Dombroff, Filmmaker
April Caldwell • Chief Program Officer, Girls Inc. of NYC
Keynote: Sally Niu • 2024 College Shower Honoree
Live Auction
Jamie McDonald
Event Host and Auctioneer
Closing Thanks
Dr. Pamela Maraldo • CEO, Girls Inc. of New York City
Thank you for supporting Girls Inc. of New York City. All proceeds will go toward our life-transforming programs for girls and young women across New York City.
2024 Gala Honorees
Strong, Smart and Bold Luminary Award
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.
Award presented by Tony Award Winning Actor, Composer and Singer, Brian Stokes Mitchell
Strong, Smart and Bold Leadership Award
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.
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.
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.
Live Performance By
Dr. Brian Stokes Mitchell
Actor, Composer, and Singer
2024 College Shower Student Honorees
Ariyana F.
Ashley P. L.
Aubrianna P.
Crystal O.
Diana G.
Elizabeth B.
Gertrude A.
Hermary L.
Jazzmyne O.
Jennifer T.
Joann A.
Julissa T.
Kadida S.
Leslie G. V.
Malika S.
Najwa W.
Rosie C.
Sally N.
Scarlett M.
Shamima A.
Stephanie M.
Sydney R.
Vicky K.
Violetta K.
Vivian W.
2024 Gala Host Committee
Janice Ellig, Gala Host Committee Chair
Camille Mantelin
Meredith Meyer
Natalia Papowitz
Joyce Phillips
Samantha Singh
Jill Schuck Taylor
Selena Yang
2024 Gala Honorary Committee
Daughter Lessons
Angela Scott
Helen Lo
Michael Taylor
Barbara Kavovit
Emma Bredin
Carolyn Mason
Thank you to our sponsors!
Trailblazer
25th Anniversary Partners
Advocates
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Thank you to these generous individual sponsors.
Smart
Stacy Gordon
Strong
Brett Schenkman
Emma Bredin
Peter and Sally Masucci
Meredith Meyer
Cindy Mueller
Thank you to these generous in-kind donors.
ABC Languages
Aerie
Armadillo
Barry's
ChappyWrap
Corepower
Dagne Dover
Daughter Lessons
Dear Sundays
Dior
Ellig Group
Eva NYC
Five Iron Golf
Fleur du Mal
Framebridge
Harper-Lawrence
HOTWORX
Imagine it Done
Kendra Scott
L’antica Pizzeria Da Michele - NYC
League of Kitchens
Legoland
Lemlem
Lo & Sons
Luminary
M.M. LaFleur
Margaux
Melissa Joy Manning
My Jukebox
Never Fully Dressed
New York Knicks
New York Rangers
Nikki James
Parcelle Wine
Physique57
Queen Marie Candles
Second City New York
Serendipity Literary Agency
Skin Spirit
Hotel Barriere Fouquets
State Street
Sui Yoga
Tavern on the Green
Tradewind
Vital Brooklyn
Vivrelle
WhistlePig
Wine
Yves St. Laurent