The New York Women’s Foundation Honors DeAnna Hoskins, President & CEO of JustLeadershipUSA, and Bryan Stevenson, Founder & Executive Director of The Equal Justice Initiative, at 2019 Radical Generosity Dinner
(New York, NY - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE) –The New York Women’s Foundation (The Foundation) honored two of the nation’s leading champions of social justice, DeAnna Hoskins, President & CEO of JustLeadershipUSA (JLUSA), and Bryan Stevenson, Founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), on October 7 at its 2019 Radical Generosity Dinner (#RadicalGenerosity) at The Essex House on Central Park West.
Also honored at the event were grantee partners of the Justice Initiative Fund, The Foundation’s first-of-its-kind, collaborative grantmaking and philanthropic mobilization effort that introduced a family-centered paradigm to help dismantle mass incarceration in New York City and supports organizations working to create new paths for socioeconomic stability and justice in the lives of women, families and communities.
Among the evening’s highlights was an inspiring “fireside chat” between Ms. Hoskins, Mr. Stevenson and award-winning journalist Bill Moyers about bringing justice to the justice system.
A nationally recognized leader, DeAnna Hoskins is President & CEO of JustLeadershipUSA (JLUSA), an organization empowering people most affected by incarceration to drive policy reform, with a focus on cutting the U.S. correctional population in #halfby2030. Her career path spans from grassroots organizations to the federal government, including the role of Senior Policy Advisor (Corrections/Reentry) for the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance Division. She was the Founding Director of Reentry for Ohio’s Hamilton County Board of County Commissioners, where she worked to reduce recidivism by addressing individual and family needs.
Acclaimed public interest lawyer Bryan Stevenson is the founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) in Alabama. Under his leadership, EJI has won major legal challenges eliminating excessive and unfair sentencing, exonerating innocent people on death row, confronting abuse of incarcerated individuals and people suffering from mental illness and aiding children prosecuted as adults.
EJI’s new anti-poverty and anti-discrimination efforts challenge the legacy of racial inequality in America, with projects that educate communities about slavery, lynching and racial segregation. Mr. Stevenson is the author of the New York Times bestseller Just Mercy, named by Time magazine as one of the 10 Best Books of Nonfiction for 2014.
Ana Oliveira, President & CEO of The New York Women’s Foundation, said, “It was a privilege to recognize DeAnna Hoskins and Bryan Stevenson with the 2019 Radical Generosity Awards. DeAnna and Bryan are among the driving forces behind the dismantling of an unjust system that criminalizes black and brown people. They are transformational leaders who have dedicated their lives to the fight for social justice and their efforts should inspire us all.”
Co-chaired by Karen Choi, Jean Shafiroff and Lola C. West, the at-capacity crowd of more than 300 guests at the 2019 Radical Generosity Dinner included Hyatt Bass; Me Too Movement Founder Tarana Burke; Hon. Judy Harris Kluger, Executive Director of Sanctuary for Families; Commissioner Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez, NYC Department for the Aging; Hon. Jonathan Lippman, former Chief Judge of New York and Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals and Chair of the Independent Commission on New York City Criminal Justice and Incarceration Reform; author and activist Ellen Bravo; Anne Delaney; and Gloria Steinem.
Proceeds from the fundraiser will enable The Foundation to invest an unprecedented $11 million in organizations engaged in advancing the economic advancement, health and safety of women and families in New York City through community-led solutions.
Event photos may be viewed and downloaded here. Photo credit: Patrick McMullan via Getty Images.
About The New York Women’s Foundation
Since 1987, The New York Women’s Foundation has advanced a dynamic philanthropic strategy based on the fundamental reality that, when women thrive, their families and communities also thrive. The Foundation’s grantmaking places it at the top of public women’s foundations in the United States, and in the top two in the world. We invest in women-led, community-based solutions that promote the economic security, safety, and health of women and families in New York City. We foster women’s leadership, create partnerships that spark catalytic change, exchange insights with experts across sectors, and empower women by training them in activism and philanthropy to accelerate and sustain forward progress. Visit http://www.nywf.org to learn more about our work to transform lives, families, and communities – and create a better New York City for all.