The Latino Commission on AIDS will pay tribute and recognize the following leaders during the annual Cielo benefit gala:
• Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, Assistant Commissioner of the Bureau of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene -Esperanza Award
• Victor Martinez, Program Manager, Long Beach Center of Bienestar -Dennis de León Voz de Compromiso Award
Miss Universe 2015 Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach will be announced as the newest Madrina of the Latino Commission on AIDS.
International plus-size model, Denise Bidot will present the Dennis de León Voz de Compromiso Award.
Live entertainment will be provided by the Grammy-winning Spanish Harlem Orchestra led by Oscar Hernandez, as well as the renowned Mariachi Band “Flor de Toloache.” Special performances by Swiss singer, songwriter and performer Bastian Baker and TommY BoY recording artist Jamar Rogers, who was a finalist on season 2 of The Voice and is living with HIV, will also be part of the gala program.
Actor J.W Cortes, best known for his role as Detective Carlos Alvarez in “GOTHAM” and NBC 4 New York news anchor Sibila Vargas will co-host the evening. Other special appearances: actress April Lee Hernandez and fashion shoe designer Brian Atwood.
The Cielo Gala raises funds in support of the Latino Commission on AIDS to create and promote HIV and AIDS service programs and initiatives aimed at increased awareness, prevention, and treatment education for Hispanic/Latinos, as well as to build capacity among other HIV/AIDS organizations serving Latino communities throughout the U.S. and the Territories. The evening will consist of a cocktail reception and silent auction, followed by dinner and an awards presentation. Macy’s, the presenting sponsor of the silent auction, has teamed up with Bobbi Brown to bring Cielo guests’ make-up touch-ups during the Silent Auction followed by pictures at their photo station.
Keynotes from the Leaders of FitBit, NBCUniversal, Samsung and YouTube Plus Tech Policy Sessions and Best of CES Awards Highlight Day Two and Three of CES 2016
Las Vegas, NV – 01/09/2016 – Dynamic keynotes from the top executives at FitBit, NBCUniversal, Samsung and YouTube, along with tech policy sessions and top product awards rounded out Day Two and Three of CES® 2016. The future of technology innovation stood center stage this week, with more than 3,600 companies launching products across more than 2.4 million net square feet of exhibits – the largest show floor in CES history. Owned and produced by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)TM, formerly the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)®, CES 2016, the world’s gathering place for all who thrive on the business of consumer technologies, concludes today in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The annual Leaders in Technology (LIT) Dinner took place Thursday evening, honoring the policymakers and technologists that are instrumental in furthering tech innovation. Honored guests and speakers included Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval and French Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry Emmanuel Macron, who noted that France brought a delegation of 190 entrepreneurs and 127 startups to CES 2016, calling them “the face of France.”
Fitbit CEO and Co-Founder James Park delivered the evening’s keynote address as a discussion with CTA President and CEO Gary Shapiro. Now a global brand providing fitness solutions to consumers around the world, Park noted how far Fitbit and fitness tech have come. “We essentially had to create the health and fitness category in 2009,” said Park. “I remember talking to Best Buy, and they didn’t even have a section to display it.” Fitbit unveiled its Fitbit Blaze at CES Press Day on Tuesday. The smart fitness watch creates a digital health platform – hardware and software – to help people reach their health goals. “People really want to work for a company that is mission-oriented,” Park noted. “And they want to work for a company that has profound benefits in society.”
World Liberty TV, Tech and Tech Review Teams were on hand, to Cover many aspects of CES 2016, right here in our World Liberty TV, Technology and Technology Review Channels.
The Celebrating Women Breakfast is the Foundation’s premiere fundraising event, attended by 2,200 people. The event raises over $2M each year, a substantial portion of the $5.5 million in grants we distribute each year.
At the Breakfast, NYWF pays tribute to remarkable and dynamic women leaders while spotlighting the incredible and vital work being done in the communities by our grantees partners. We hope you will join us in celebrating our honorees and our 80 grantee partners. Your support will enable us to continue to promote long-term economic security, sexual health, and safety for women and their families here in New York.
The following were honored :
Patrisse Cullors, Co-Founder of #BlackLivesMatter
Patrisse Cullors is an artist, organizer and freedom fighter living and working in Los Angeles. As founder of Dignity and Power Now and co-founder of BlackLivesMatter, she has worked tirelessly promoting law enforcement accountability across the nation.Dignity and Power Now is dedicated to protecting incarcerated people and their families in Los Angeles. As executive director, Ms. Cullors has undertaken several projects ranging from the Coalition to End Sheriff Violence, Freedom Harvest artist collective, a bi-annual publication, the Dandelion Rising Leadership Institute and Building Resilience. In August of this year, the organization issued a report in collaboration with the UCLA Human Rights Clinic on the high percentage of black, mentally ill inmates. The report received coverage from multiple media outlets.
Alicia Garza, Co-Founder of #BlackLivesMatter
In 2013, Alicia co-founded #BlackLivesMatter, an online platform developed after the murder of Trayvon Martin, designed to connect people interested in learning more about and fighting back against anti-Black racism.
Opal Tometi, Co-Founder of #BlackLivesMatter
Opal Tometi is a Black feminist writer, communications strategist and cultural organizer. She is a co-founder of #BlackLivesMatter. The historic political project and leader-full network was launched in the wake of the murder of Trayvon Martin in order to explicitly combat implicit bias and anti-black racism and to protect and affirm the beauty and dignity of all Black lives.
Catherine Gund, Documentary Filmmaker and Social Justice Activist
Catherine Gund is an Emmy-nominated producer, director, writer and organizer. In 1996, Gund founded Aubin Pictures, a nonprofit documentary media production company that promotes cultural and social awareness and change. Her films, which focus on arts and culture, HIV/AIDS and reproductive health, the environment and other social justice issues, have screened around the world in festivals, theaters, museums and schools; on PBS, Discovery’s Planet Green and the Sundance Channel.
Roberta Kaplan, Supreme Court Litigator, U.S. vs Windsor
A partner in the Litigation Department, Roberta (Robbie) Kaplan has been described as a “litigation superstar,” a “powerhouse corporate litigator” and a “pressure junkie” who “thrives on looking at the big picture” whether “in the gay-marriage legal fight or high-profile corporate scandals.”
Robbie successfully argued before the United States Supreme Court on behalf of her client Edith Windsor in United States v. Windsor, the landmark Supreme Court case. In Windsor, the nation’s highest court ruled that a key provision of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) violated the U.S. Constitution by barring legally married same-sex couples from enjoying the wide-ranging benefits of marriage conferred under federal law. The consequences of the Windsor decision have been both rapid and profound. Literally dozens of courts throughout the United States have explicitly relied on Windsor to extend equal rights to gay people under the law. Professor Lawrence Tribe of Harvard Law School has observed that he cannot “think of any Supreme Court decision in history that has ever created so rapid and broad a lower-court groundswell in a single direction as Windsor.”
With a special performance by Element:
ll-female a cappella powerhouse Element calls New York City home. With a repertoire of contemporary and classic pop and rock, Element has lent its vocal stylings to a wide range of venues. Since being featured on Season 4 of NBC’s The Sing-Off, the group has entertained crowds at Fashion Week, The Sing-Off Tour, the Dominique Ansel Bakery, and high end private events. They have also appeared on New York Live and as a repeat opening act for Jay Leno.
Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Katherine of Serbia and her Foundation have inspired the work of Lifeline New York.
When HRH Crown Princess Katherine was in exile with her husband HRH Crown Prince Alexander, she always had her country in her heart. During those difficult years, Crown Princess Katherine worked hard to provide humanitarian aid to Serbia. Among Crown Princess Katherine’s many initiatives, she provided caravans of food, medicines and other necessities to refugees, regardless of ethnicity or country of origin. The Crown Princess has always believed that there are no borders in suffering.
Their Royal Highnesses returned to Belgrade in 2001 after the October 2000 revolution. Shortly thereafter, the HRH Crown Princess Katherine Foundation was established with the aim of helping disadvantaged people including children, the sick, refugees, internally displaced peoples and the elderly.
The HRH Crown Princess Katherine Foundation provides aid for medical institutions in the form of: medicine and medical equipment; medical training; implementation of reconstruction projects and extension of capacities. In addition, the Foundation addresses needs of children with mental and physical disabilities, children with special needs, and orphans. Recent efforts have been expanded to support schools and universities, by providing scholarships and improving communication between students and educational experts from foreign countries.
The Foundation’s daily activities include working with the following ministries that have a crucial role in the development of its projects: Ministry of Health, Ministry of Social Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Economy and Regional Development, Ministry of Labor and Employment and Ministry of Trade and Tourism.
Eric T. Schneiderman was elected the 65th Attorney General of New York State on November 2, 2010. As Attorney General, Schneiderman is the highest ranking law enforcement officer for the State, responsible for representing New York and its residents in legal matters. Schneiderman has worked to restore the public’s faith in its public and private sector institutions by focusing on areas including public integrity, economic justice, social justice and environmental protection.
Most recently, on June 13, 2013, Attorney General Schneiderman and San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón announced the formation of a nationwide Secure Our Smartphones (S.O.S) Initiative aimed at encouraging the cell phone industry to adopt technologies to deter the rising epidemic of violent incidents of smartphone theft by drying up the secondary market on which stolen devices are sold. As part of the launch of the S.O.S. Initiative, Schneiderman and Gascón commended New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli for urging the four leaders of the smartphone industry to protect consumers, and shareholder value, by working with law enforcement agencies and government officials to pursue a meaningful solution to the spike in smartphone thefts.
The Attorney General has taken a leading role in the national fight for a comprehensive investigation of misconduct in the mortgage market, and for a fair settlement for homeowners that holds banks accountable for their role in the foreclosure crisis, provides meaningful relief to homeowners and investors, and allows a full airing out of the facts to ensure that abuses of this scale never happen again. On June 4th, 2013, the Attorney General filed a lawsuit against HSBC Bank USA and HSBC Mortgage Corporation (USA) for failing to follow state law related to foreclosure actions, putting homeowners at greater risk of losing their homes. Attorney General Schneiderman is committed to bringing similar actions against other mortgage lenders who hold borrowers in the shadow docket in defiance of state law.
As part of a groundbreaking effort to bring transparency to the political process and protect donors to nonprofits, Attorney General Schneiderman adopted new regulations requiring nonprofit groups, including 501(c)(4) “social welfare” organizations that are registered with the state, to report the percentage of their expenditures that go to federal, state and local electioneering. Additionally, against a backdrop of an escalating drug abuse crisis, Attorney General Schneiderman proposed the “Internet System for Tracking Over-Prescribing Act,” or I-STOP. The I-STOP legislation creates a real-time, online database for doctors and pharmacists to report and track the prescribing and the dispensing of certain controlled substances.
In his first weeks in office, Attorney General Schneiderman launched a new “Taxpayer Protection Bureau” to root out fraud and return money illegally stolen from New York taxpayers at no additional cost to the state. He also bolstered the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, which has already recovered tens of millions of dollars for taxpayers on his watch. As part of his effort to crack down on corruption and restore the public’s trust in government, Schneiderman launched a groundbreaking initiative expanding his office’s authority to investigate public corruption involving taxpayer funds by partnering with the state Comptroller.
Also during his first year in office, Attorney General Schneiderman filed a legal challenge to the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) to compel the federal government to treat all New York State marriages equally; sued federal regulators to force a health and environmental impact review of proposed gas drilling in the Delaware River Basin; and challenged the Indian Point nuclear power plant’s practices related to high-level radioactive waste storage, earthquake preparedness and fire safety.
As the state’s top law enforcement officer, Attorney General Schneiderman brings with him a wealth of experience, in both the public and private sectors. Attorney General Schneiderman previously spent 15 years in private practice as an attorney, and later as a partner, at the firm of Kirkpatrick and Lockhart, where he handled complex litigation. He was also a public interest lawyer for many years, representing taxpayers in historic lawsuits against the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), tenants trying to evict drug dealers from their buildings, and women seeking access to health clinics.
Before becoming Attorney General, Schneiderman was praised as a leading reformer in the State Senate by numerous editorial pages and good government organizations across New York. Among his many legislative accomplishments, Schneiderman passed sweeping ethics reforms, chaired the committee to expel a corrupt senator for the first time in modern history, led the effort to reform the draconian Rockefeller drug laws, cracked down on health insurance companies seeking to deny coverage to vulnerable New Yorkers, and enacted the toughest law in the nation to root out fraud against taxpayers.
Attorney General Schneiderman graduated from Amherst College in 1977 and Harvard Law School in 1982. He is the proud father of a daughter, Catherine.
