Join us on Tuesday, September 24th to celebrate Girls Leadership’s 15th Anniversary!
This milestone Power of Voice Benefit will honor 15 years of uplifting the power of girls and also look forward to our next 15 years as we embark on a national expansion and work to dismantle gender and racial inequities for all youth.
Tuesday, September 24, 2024
Tribeca 360°
10 Desbrosses St., New York City
6:30–9:30 PM
Cocktails, Program & Dinner
Dress Code: Cocktail attire with your own flair
If you’d like to become a sponsor, please find more information here or email dillan@girlsleadership.org
If you are unable to join us, please consider donating here.
HONOREES
Versha Sharma, Teen Vogue Editor-In-Chief
Sarah LaFleur, CEO of M.M.LaFleur
Danyale Price, Paul, Weiss Chief Inclusion Officer
AUCTIONEER
Sarah Grace Welbourn, Actor / Comedian
MC
Alicia Menendez, Co-host of MSNBC’s ‘The Weekend’ and author
VISIONARY CIRCLE
Alicia Menendez, Co-host of MSNBC’s ‘The Weekend,’ Author
Billie Jean King, Tennis Champion
Cristina Jones, Black Girls Code
Justina Blakeney, Jungalow
Meena Harris, Phenomenal
Qian Julie Wang, Writer, Civil Rights Lawyer
Samhita Mukhopadhyay, Writer, Editorial Director
Shanique Bonelli-Moore, Clorox
Shanti Brien, Author
Sheetal Sheth, Actress
BENEFIT COMMITTEE
Callan Blount Fleming
Coni Frezzo
David Schleifer-Lee
Devon McAllister Rothwell
Emily Kelly
Kristi Rowe
Krystal Folk
Renae Griffin
Sarah Wendt
Wendy Lee Haines
SPONSORS
Power
Advocacy
Coni Frezzo & Ed Sannini
Belonging
Kim Davis
John & Anne Herrmann
Pinar & Kursad Ilgar
Sarah Wendt
Wellbeing
Callan Blount Fleming
Laurie and Jeff Franz
Michael & Jenny Glassman
Pillars Family
MEET OUR HONOREES
Versha Sharma
Versha Sharma is the Editor-in-Chief of Teen Vogue, where she is focused on covering social justice, culture, fashion and politics through the lens of young people. Previously, she was Managing Editor and Senior Correspondent at NowThis, where she interviewed high-profile newsmakers like President Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Oprah, Amanda Gorman, and many more. Versha led audience growth on new platforms from Instagram and Facebook to YouTube and Snapchat, working at the social video-first company since 2014. She has produced several short documentaries and filed dispatches on immigration from the U.S.-Mexico border, reported from mass protests in St. Louis and New York, and traveled to Moscow, Russia for the show she hosted and produced, The Russia Desk.
Versha won an Edward R. Murrow award with the NowThis Reports team for a short doc about the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. She has long been an enthusiastic voice for the most innovative models in digital journalism. Prior to NowThis, she worked as a reporter and editor for Vocativ, where she managed a team of international reporters. She covered the 2012 presidential election for MSNBC and got her start in journalism with an internship at Talking Points Memo in 2009.
Sarah LaFleur
Sarah LaFleur is the Founder & CEO of M.M. LaFleur. Sarah founded M.M. LaFleur in 2013 with a mission to help women take the work out of getting dressed so women can focus on what matters to them. M.M. LaFleur is named after her mother, whom she calls her biggest inspiration. Prior to founding M.M.LaFleur, she worked in the luxury goods group of Starwood Capital in New York and Paris and as a management consultant at Bain & Co in New York.
Outside of M.M. LaFleur, Sarah’s passion is in international development issues. She spent time volunteering at a refugee camp in Zambia and also spent a year in South Africa working with the nonprofit TechnoServe, where she assessed agribusiness opportunities for the rural poor. Currently, she sits on the board of the International Rescue Committee’s Airbel Impact Lab.
Sarah also sits on the Advisory Council of the New York Federal Reserve and is a board member of the Downtown Alliance of New York City. Most recently, she is a Henry Crown Fellow within the Aspen Global Leadership Network at the Aspen Institute.
Sarah and M.M. LaFleur have been recognized on Forbes’s CircleUp25 list of the most innovative brands (2018), WWD’s 40 of Tomorrow list (2018), and Crain’s 40 under 40 (2017) and have received Fashion Group International’s Rising Star Award (2017), Inc.‘s Design Awards (2017), and Bottomless Closet’s Fashion Award (2019). Sarah is a member of the Fast Company Impact Council (2019-) and was a presenter at the 2019 US Congressional Future Forum.
Sarah graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Studies. Sarah lives in New York City with her husband, their three babies, and their 85-lb pup, Ruggles.
Danyale Price
Since Danyale joined Paul, Weiss in January 2006 as its first full-time DEI professional, the firm has consistently surpassed many industry benchmarks for diversity, receiving high rankings from The American Lawyer, Chambers USA, Law360, Vault, Diversity Lab, the New York City Bar Association and WILEF (Women in Law Empowerment Forum) and many others. In January 2018, Danyale became the firm’s first Chief Inclusion Officer.
Prior to joining Paul, Weiss, Danyale was Director of Career Planning and Personal Development at the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), where she designed career transition and educational programs for members of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Earlier in her career, she managed diversity recruiting programs and initiatives for Goldman Sachs. Danyale began her career as a litigation attorney in Atlanta. She also was a facilitator of a leadership development class at her alma mater, Spelman College.
Beyond her role as the firm’s trusted Inclusion Officer, Danyale is actively involved in organizations that promote diversity, equity and inclusion. She is a national co-chair for WILEF’s Diversity Council, and previously served as membership co-chair and strategic planning co-chair for the Association of Law Firm Diversity Professionals (ALFDP). She is a former board member of the Association of Black Women Attorneys (ABWA) and the Council of Urban Professionals (CUP) Executive Leadership Program.
Additionally, Danyale has presented at numerous diversity and inclusion conferences. She has been a guest lecturer at New York University School of Law and also volunteers with several community and philanthropic organizations.
In 2023, Danyale was recognized by Savoy Magazine as one of 2023’s “Most Influential Executives in Diversity & Inclusion,” which highlights DEI professionals who have driven positive change within their organizations and the corporate world. In 2022, Danyale was named to Crain’s New York Business’s “Notable Black Leaders” list, which recognizes accomplished professionals elevating the Black community in the New York City area. She was honored by the Association of Black Women Attorneys (ABWA) with a 2020 Ruth Whitehead Whaley Professional Achievement Award, in recognition of her DEI contributions to the legal profession. She was named to the 2018 EBONY Power 100 list of most inspiring African-Americans, and to The Network Journal’s 2017 “Most Influential Women in Business” list.
MEET OUR MC
Alicia Menendez
Alicia Menendez co-hosts MSNBC’s “The Weekend” Saturday and Sunday from 8 to 10 a.m. ET. She is also the author of “The Likeability Trap” and host of the “Latina to Latina” podcast.
Menendez joined MSNBC in October 2019 and previously anchored “American Voices with Alicia Menendez.” Prior to joining the network, Menendez served as a correspondent on “Amanpour & Company” on PBS and formerly hosted a nightly news and pop culture show on Fusion called “Alicia Menendez Tonight.” Her reporting and interviews have appeared on ABC News, Bustle, FusionTV, PBS and Vice News.
Born and raised in New Jersey, Menendez has been called “Ms. Millennial” by The Washington Post, “journalism’s new gladiator” by Elle, and a “content queen” by Marie Claire.
Menendez is on Twitter at @AliciaMenendez.
MEET OUR AUCTIONEER
Sarah Grace Welbourn
Sarah Grace is an actor with credits in Quiz Lady (Hulu),The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon), and Bull (CBS), as well as over thirty commercials. She performs and teaches improv comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. She’s also the Communications Manager of The New York City Debate League and proud mom to a baby named Simon. sarahgracewelbourn.com
See the power of voice in action! Watch the video above to see our Girl Advisory Board members speak about what voice means to them.
