An EPIC Night for Women’s Leadership

On Monday night, The White House Project hosted their annual EPIC Awards ceremony at U.N. Headquarters in New York City. The EPIC Awards celebrates the voice and vision of innovators whose lives have shown other women what is possible—as well as those who use media and culture to help women see on-screen what they can’t see very often in the world: women leading at every level.

CNN anchor and Special Correspondent Soledad O’Brien hosted the night’s festivities. She remarked at the start of the night, “In my work as an anchor and correspondent at CNN, I have witnessed the powerful impact that images—on screen and in real life—can have on the ambitions and aspirations of our young people.” Award presenters included Pay Equity Pioneer Lilly Ledbetter; New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand; and Academy-Award winning actress and White House Project Board Member Geena Davis, all committed to the work of The White House Project to advance women’s leadership.

Awardees included:

--Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye (Ret.), the first woman to serve on New York State’s highest court, accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award for her visionary commitment to the courts and the people of New York State.

--Lifetime Network’s Every Woman Counts Campaign, received an EPIC Award for their pioneering public service campaign dedicated to encouraging women to speak out on the issues they care about most, vote and run for office.

--Voto Latino received an EPIC Award for the outstanding impact they have had in the last four years on the next generation of Latinas. Actress Rosario Dawson, Co-Founder and María Teresa Petersen, Executive Director accepted the award.

At the close of the evening, Atlanta City Council President and White House Project Board Member Lisa Borders said, "We know that times are tough. But we also know that tough times often offer the best opportunities to invest wisely - and investing in the future of women is among the soundest investments you can make.”