Presented By:
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2020
Welcome!
On behalf of the Board of Directors, Host Committee and the Executive Planning Committee, it is with extreme pride and pleasure that we welcome you to the Virtual Inaugural PATHMAKER ICON Awards Gala: Soul of a Woman. Thank you for joining us this evening as we celebrate exceptional women and pay tribute to their extraordinary achievements. This year’s theme, SOUL OF A WOMAN celebrates women who are empowering girls and young women and contributing to improving our communities and amplifying the voices of the voiceless. The PATHMAKER ICON Awards Gala will benefit the EmpowHer Girls Academy, the organization, and its work with middle school girls. Under normal circumstances, many of the young women faced challenging situations. In times of this pandemic and social and economic instability, these challenges are exacerbated. We are all in this together. We have a wonderful evening planned for you. It is our honor to celebrate our 2020 Honorees: Dawnn Lewis, Award Winning Singer, Songwriter, Actor, Producer; Monique W. Morris ED.D, Award-Winning Author, Social Justice Scholar, Executive Director, Grantmakers for Girls of Color and Ledisi, Twelve-time Grammy Nominated Singer/Songwriter, Author, Playwright, and Film Producer. We want to thank the many supporters and team members who made this evening possible. Your continued support makes EmpowHer programs possible. We are proud to have JP Morgan Chase, UPS, US Bank, Tyler Perry Foundation, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Pacific Premier Bank, Verizon, CBS Entertainment Diversity and Inclusion, as our top sponsors this year. We thank all of our sponsors, L’ANZA, Frontier Communications, IMRI, Sempra Utilities, City National Bank, and Bank of the West. There is no way to measure the gratitude we have for all our distinguished corporate sponsors. Thank you and enjoy!
Joslyn Osborn Betty LaMarr Founder/CEO EmpowHer Institute
Joslyn Osborn Board Chair EmpowHer Institute
Dear Friends,
INAMARIE JOHNSON Advisory Board Member
CECILIA OWENS Board Member
We’re so grateful for everyone who helped make this evening a success. We are thrilled to be here celebrating three phenomenal women. None of this would have been possible without the help of our sponsors whose generous support allows us to continue our impactful gender equity and social justice work with girls in the year ahead. With your support, we will be able to sustain our enrollment in 2021 for girls in EmpowHer Institute programs. The heart of what we do is our students. These students embrace challenges, see mistakes as opportunities to learn, and persist in the face of setbacks. EmpowHer is a collective of 'sisterhood' and a passion to “pay it forward”. It takes us all to help build a future for our girls as leaders of tomorrow. We must express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone for joining us virtually tonight and consistently supporting the mission. Your help contributes to the continuation of this important work.
LASHAWN STANFORD Board Member
Enjoy your evening!
Host Committee
STACI N. FREEMAN Board Member
We are proud to serve as the Host Committee for the Inaugural PATHMAKER ICON Awards Gala: Soul of a Woman. We would like to thank you for your support. On behalf of EmpowHer Institute, the over 4000 middle school and high school students who have benefited from EmpowHer educational support and our volunteer mentors, we extend to you a warm welcome.
TYLER ARCHER
TONI ENSLEY
MESLYN GALEANA
DENVER HENDRICKS
PROGRAM WELCOME REMARKS | Tyler Archer EMCEE | :Suzanne Marques ACKNOWLEDGEMENT | Ella Wood, JP Morgan Chase
STUDENT PANEL |Wintor McNeel, Moderator Toni Ensley, Meslyn Galeana, Denver Hendricks FUND THE NEED | Cecilia Owens MUSICAL PERFORMANCE | Sheléa HONOREE FIRESIDE CHAT | Dawnn Lewis, Monique W. Morris. ED.D, Ledisi CLOSING REMARKS | Host Committee INTRODUCTION | Joslyn Osborn EmpowHer Board Chair MUSIC PERFORMANCE | Ledisi PROGRAM EVENT ENDS SILENT AUCTION CLOSES 1 Hours After Event
SUZANNE MARQUES co-anchors CBS2 This Morning, weekdays at 4:30am, 5am, 6am and 11am.
Suzanne has been working for CBS2 since 2011. An Emmy-award winning reporter, she loved journalism at an early age. Suzanne was Editor in Chief of her elementary school newspaper, at Rio San Gabriel in Downey. She hosted Downey High School’s assemblies and pep rallies, and won the speech portion of the Miss Downey pageant. Suzanne graduated from USC, and started blogging while attending the University. She interned at nbc.com and nbcla.com. She was hired as web producer at KNBC after graduation. She started anchoring and reporting in 2003, in Eureka, California. She also worked in Bakersfield and Atlanta before returning to Los Angeles, where she reported and anchored for Good Day LA. When Suzanne is not checking her phone for the latest news updates, she loves spending time at home with her husband, Robert and son, Austin. They are often cooking, or playing in the backyard, when they are not exploring LA. When she gets time to herself, Suzanne is usually reading, writing, or snacking on sweets she has hidden from Austin. Facebook: Suzanne Marques | Twitter: @suzmarques | Instagram: @suzmarques
With widespread comparison to the vocal expertise of legendary Whitney Houston, and the piano prowess of Alicia Keys, it’s no surprise that artist and actress, Sheléa, has garnered co-signs from the likes of Stevie Wonder, Mary J.Blige, Missy Elliott, David Foster, Queen Latifah, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Hudson, Quincy Jones, and more. Blending traditional pop, jazz, R&B and soul, Sheléa brings a contemporary edge to classics, and a classic touch to contemporary pop standards. With years of making a name for herself as a vocal powerhouse, having performed twice at the White House; Library of Congress; Carnegie Hall; the Kennedy Center; and more, 2020 marked her acting debut as Dorinda Clark in The Clark Sisters: The First Ladies of Gospel. The Lifetime biopic drew 2.7 million viewers and "was the strongest original movie for all television for 2020 across key demos including both broadcast and cable." With the film as the top social trend across all television, Sheléa’s name was prominently found leading the charge.
Dawnn Lewis is a multitalented and multifaceted Award-winning singer, songwriter, film/TV/stage actor, composer and a Series TV creator/producer. She is best known for her roles in A Different World and Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper. President & CEO of Morning Jewel Inc. – a multi-platform production company of film, television, animation, music / music publishing projects. She is also the Founder & CEO of the A New Day Foundation – a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization, that provides financial & programmatic support to underprivileged youth and grassroots community organizations. In 2019, Dawnn received an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters for her more than 35 years of unwavering service and support to underserved youth and communities across the county and abroad. Her commitment to the community includes service on several boards and as a spokesperson for a variety of organizations. The National Advisory Board of the NATIONAL CENTER FOR CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS, the SAG and SAG-AFTRA National Board of Directors, the K.I.S. Foundation For Sickle Cell Disease, UNCF, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society and EMPOWHER Institute. Dawnn coproduced with the Los Angeles Urban League the A NEW DAY: Concert For A Cause – “The Entertainment Family Gives Back”, a unique concert event featuring 40 celebrity Musicians, Artists & Performers raising awareness & financial support for community based non-profit organizations.
Twelve-time Grammy nominated powerhouse vocalist with a career spanning almost two decades/ Songwriter, Author, Playwright, and Film Producer. 1990’s, she's garnered three Soul Train Music awards, an NAACP Theater Award and 6 NAACP Image Award nominations. Most recently, Ledisi received two LA Alliance Ovation Award nominations one for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. in 2019, she co-wrote and co-produced her one woman show, “The Legend of Little Girl Blue.” The show premiered at the Wallis Theatre in Beverly Hills to rave reviews with 19-sold out shows. Ledisi is extremely passionate about being an advocate for the Arts. Lobbying for young musicians and protecting the rights of creatives. She is an author, releasing her first book Better Than Alright: Finding Peace, Love and Power , a collaboration with Essence Magazine. Her latest book, Don’t Ever Lose Your Walk: How to Embrace Your Journey is released through her own Chinweya Publishing Company.
Monique W. Morris, Ed.D. is an award -winning author and social justice scholar with three decades of experience in the areas of education, civil rights, juvenile and social justice. In April 2020, Dr. Morris became the inaugural Executive Director of Grantmakers for Girls of Color, a philanthropic collaborative that supports a world in which all girls and young women of color are healthy, safe, thriving, and fully empowered to dream and shape their desired reality on their terms, while dismantling structural barriers created by racism, sexism and ageism and other forms of oppression that prevent their full participation in our country’s future. Dr. Morris is an Executive Producer and co-writer of the documentary film currently airing on PBS, PUSHOUT: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools, which is based upon two of her books, Sing A Rhythm, Dance A Blues: Education for the Liberation of Black and Brown Girls (The New Press, 2019) and Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools (The New Press, 2016). She is also the author of Black Stats: African Americans by the Numbers in the Twenty-First Century (The New Press, 2014), Too Beautiful for Words (MWM Books, 2012), and she worked with Kemba Smith on her book, Poster Child: The Kemba Smith Story (IBJ Book Publishing, 2011). Dr. Morris has written dozens of articles, book chapters, and other publications on social justice issues and lectured widely on research, policies, And practices associated with improving juvenile justice, educational, and socioeconomic conditions for girls and women of color. Her 2018 TED talk on how to stop the criminalization of Black girls in Schools has received more than 1.7 million views and been Translated into 18 languages.
Dawn has 20+ years of nonprofit management and consulting experience. She has served as the Executive Director of three well-respected nonprofit organizations and in each role, she successfully launched fundraising and marketing strategies that increased company revenue, improved program delivery, and expanded advocacy for youth of color. Ms. Brown led advocacy initiatives that successfully became California legislation and/or established best practices for eliminating gender bias within the juvenile justice system, decriminalizing sex trafficked girls and implementing communitybased gang intervention strategies. As a Performing Artist, Dawn created Stiletto Revolution, a podcast that examines issues impacting Black women, through a social justice lens. She has also performed on stage, television, and film. She helped to develop educational theater curriculum for schools in New York City and was an Acting Instructor at Atlantic Theater Company in NYC. Dawn graduated from the prestigious Duke Ellington High School of the Arts in DC, received her BFA in Acting from New York University’s renowned Tisch School of the Arts and a MA in Drama Therapy from New York University’s School of Education. In her spare time, Dawn enjoys laughing with her godson, mentoring young women, traveling to new adventures, wine tasting, and shoe shopping. Her favorite color is rose gold and she loves things that sparkle.
Bank of the West is proud to support EmpowHer Institute and congratulates the 2020 PATHMAKER ICON Award Honorees
EmpowHer Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 2003. Vision The EmpowHer Institute’s vision is to empower girls to design a future that prepares them for tomorrow’s careers. Our approach is based on positive youth development to nurture their interests and values and connect them to positive adults to become leaders of tomorrow. Mission EmpowHer Institute’s mission is to empower teen girls and young women by teaching them the skills necessary through education, training, and mentorship to enable them to become confident, college and career ready. For More Information contact Betty LaMarr betty@empowher.org | 424-702-5509 | 6820 La Tijera Blvd., Suite 108 Los Angeles, CA 90045 Stay Social (FB, TW, IN, Youtube) @empowHer
WE SALUTE OUR PATHMAKER HONOREES SPECIAL RECOGNITION TO THE TOP 3 STEM PROJECTS JOSLYN OSBORN Chair of the Board
CECILIA OWENS Treasurer
BETTY LAMARR President/Founder
ROSA CARRILLO Secretary
RIBKA FOX Vice President
RUTH SIMEON Emeritus Board Chair
Board Members VELONNE ATKINS
Advisory Board Member JULIA COOKSEY
DR. CLAUDIA ALLEYNE
MARTHA DANIEL
STACI N. FREEMAN TONY BAYLIS
NIKKOLE DENSON-RANDOLPH
LORI HEFFELFINGER
INAMARIE JOHNSON
DIEDRA PORCHE’
TENIEL JONES
LA SHAWN STANFORD
HELEN NORRIS RENE’ NOURSE DR. MARY SADEGHI
EmpowHer Institute Board expresses our special gratitude to the following sponsors for their support of our mission
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to thank all of our Generous Sponsors, Donors and Contributors, Honorary Host Committee Members, Board of Directors of EmpowHer Institute, Advisory Board Members, Staff and Volunteers of EmpowHer Institute
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Thank You. When you invest in our girls. You invest in our future.
EmpowHer Institute 6820 La Tijera Blvd. Suite 108, Los Angeles, CA 90045 PH: 424-702-5509 www.empowher.org EmpowherOrg