The Board of Directors of the United Nations Association of New York invite you to celebrate
The 2018 United Nations Day
Humanitarian Awards Gala Dinner
Celebrating the 73rd Anniversary of the United Nations
Tuesday, October 2, 2018
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The Metropolitan Club
1 East 60th Street and Fifth Avenue
New York City
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Cocktail Hour | 6:30 p.m.
Dinner Program | 7:30 p.m.
Black Tie or National Dress
2 0 1 8 H O N O R E E S
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SOPHIE GRÉGOIRE TRUDEAU
Spouse of the Prime Minister of Canada
Honored for her tireless dedication to end
discrimination against women and girls worldwide
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BILL McDERMOTT
Chief Executive Officer
SAP
Honored for advancing gender equality through
innovation and technology
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MADAME ELLEN JOHNSON SIRLEAF
Former President of the Republic of Liberia
Honored for her unwavering commitment to
peace and development, and to advancing the
rights of women and girls
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M A S T E R O F C E R E M O N I E S
Richard Lui
Anchor, MSNBC
2018 HUMANITARIAN AWARD HONOREE
SOPHIE GRÉGOIRE TRUDEAU
Spouse of the Prime Minister of Canada
Sophie Grégoire Trudeau is an engaged advocate for gender equality and a mother of three young children. Over the past 15 years, she has been involved with a variety of causes as a speaker and mentor, including teenage self-esteem, women and girls’ rights and freedoms, eating disorders and mental health.
As part of her advocacy, she works as an official spokesperson for Plan Canada’s “Because I am a Girl” initiative and the FitSpirit Foundation. In 2013, Sophie received the UN Women National Committee Canada Recognition Award for her contribution to human rights and in 2017, she was named as an influencer for the Deliver for Good campaign of Women Deliver.
As a mother, Sophie’s outdoorsy and energetic personality translates into lots of active family time in nature practicing a multitude of sports. She was honoured as the 100th member of Nature Canada’s Women for Nature initiative for her support for nature and the outdoors and continues to be committed to sharing her passion for nature with Canadians as Honourary Guide for Families for Parks Canada.
Fully bilingual, Sophie studied Commerce at McGill University, and finished her B.A. in Communications at the Université de Montréal. She completed another degree at the École de radio et de télévision Promédia in Montreal. After her studies, she worked in sales and advertising before becoming a television and radio reporter.
Her intrinsic curiosity and her willingness to explore spirituality motivated Sophie to study hatha yoga and attain her certification. She has also completed her “Radiant Child” kundalini yoga teacher training, a practice specifically for children, and has taught classes on a volunteer basis at a public school close to her home.
2018 HUMANITARIAN AWARD HONOREE
BILL McDERMOTT
Chief Executive Officer, SAP
Bill McDermott is chief executive officer of SAP, the world’s business software market leader. He leads the company’s more than 93,800 employees and 2+ million-person ecosystem in executing SAP’s vision to help the world run better and improve peoples’ lives.
Since becoming CEO in 2010, Bill’s innovation-led strategy for SAP has resulted in expansive increases in customers, total revenue, market value and profitable growth. One of the most popular leaders in business, Bill’s approval rating from employees on website Glassdoor hovers around 99%. As the only American in history to lead Europe’s most valuable technology company, Bill advises world leaders and policymakers on issues including youth unemployment, digital government and international trade policy. He is a member of the European Roundtable of Industrialists and the U.S. Business Council.
Bill also serves on the boards of directors for performance apparel maker Under Armour, engineering software maker ANSYS, Inc. and security solutions leader Dell SecureWorks. He has received numerous awards for his civic leadership, including GENYOUth’s Vanguard Award, City Year’s Idealist of the Year, the We Are Family Foundation’s Visionary Award and the Children’s Aid Society’s Promise Award. He is a proud supporter of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and Jefferson Health.
His life stories and leadership lessons are shared in Bill’s worldwide best-selling autobiography, Winners Dream: A Journey from Corner Store to Corner Office. The book is now in its 12th printing and was awarded the gold medal for business memoir of the year in 2014. It has been published in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and China.
Bill resides in Germany, the United States and, most frequently, at 39,000 feet.
2018 HUMANITARIAN AWARD HONOREE
MADAME ELLEN JOHNSON SIRLEAF
Former President of the Republic of Liberia
Nobel Laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf a leading promoter of freedom, peace, justice, and democratic rule. Africa’s first democratically-elected female head of state, she led Liberia through reconciliation and recovery following the nation’s decade-long civil war, and the Ebola Crisis, winning international acclaim for achieving economic, social, and political change. President Sirleaf was awarded the prestigious Nobel Prize for Peace in 2011. She is the recipient of The Presidential Medal of Freedom—the United States’ highest civilian award—for her personal courage and unwavering commitment to freedom for Africans.
In 2017, former President Sirleaf was awarded the Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership, which celebrates excellence in African leadership. Sirleaf was the first female recipient.
MASTER OF CEREMONIES
RICHARD LUI
Anchor
MSNBC News
Richard Lui is an American journalist and news anchor for MSNBC and NBC News. Previously, he anchored at CNN Worldwide. Lui focuses on stories related to humanitarian issues, and his enterprise reporting has included topics of gender/racial equality, affordable housing, and human trafficking.
Because of his work in these areas, NGOs have invited Lui to help their organizations. Along with Freida Pinto and Marcia Cross, Lui is ambassador for Plan International USA, part of a 70-country federation working for child gender equality. He also is an ambassador for the Epilepsy Foundation, and the anti-slavery organization Not For Sale. Lui is a UN Foundation Fellow, and sits on the President's council for America's largest food source to the poor, Food Bank for New York City. His community work spans 30 years and six continents. He has received civil rights awards from several national organizations, including AAAJ (the equivalent of the NAACP for AAPIs), AAJA, WWAAC, and OCA.
Lui is an active columnist, contributing to publications. Most of his writing, speaking, and social media activity involve issues related to his charitable and humanitarian work. In the last several years, Lui spoke at over 200 events, and twittercounter.com has him in the top 1%.
He anchors the Western edition of Early Today on NBC and various programs on MSNBC from 30 Rockefeller Plaza. At CNN Worldwide, he became the first Asian American male to solo-anchor a daily, national cable news show in the U.S.
Before journalism, Lui spent 15 years in business with Fortune 500 and tech companies. He patented a global payment system and co-founded a Citibank carve-out. Business Insider recognized Lui as one of 21 dynamic careers to watch alongside Mark Cuban and Warren Buffett.
Read about and see photos from
The 2017 Humanitarian Awards Dinner
2018 DINNER INVITATIONS
Download the Dinner Invitation here
Download the Dinner Reply Card here
2018 DINNER SPONSORSHIP
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