The Board of Directors of the United Nations Association of New York invite you to celebrate
The 2024 United Nations Day
Humanitarian Awards Gala Dinner
Celebrating the 79th Anniversary of the United Nations
Monday, September 30, 2024
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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
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THE ESTÉE LAUDER COMPANIES
William P. Lauder
Executive Chairman
Honored for their deep commitment to
environmental sustainability and fierce advocacy
for the advancement of women
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CATHERINE RUSSELL
Executive Director
UNICEF
On behalf of UNICEF's efforts in supporting
the education of women and girls,
reducing gender-based violence and
defending children's rights
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SIMA BAHOUS
Executive Director
UN Women
Honored for advancing gender equality
and empowering women and girls
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O P E N I N G R E M A R K S
Stéphane Dujarric
Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General
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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
* GALA DINNER RESERVATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED *
NOTE: All reservations for the 2024 UN Day Humanitarian Awards Gala Dinner are now closed. Late requests for attendance may be sent to anicol@unanyc.org for consideration.
Honoring the Estée Lauder Companies
for Their Support of SDG 5: Gender Equality
Since the visionary Mrs. Estée Lauder founded The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) in 1946, the company has been advancing possibilities for women around the world. Today, ELC continues to honor her legacy by ensuring that the success our founder fought for is accessible to all.
ELC is committed to helping build a world where there are limitless possibilities for all women and girls. They are seeking, supporting, and scaling opportunities to champion women’s health, develop women leaders and entrepreneurs, and advocate for women's and girls’ education globally.
Click here to read more about Estée Lauder and its Contribution to Women’s Advancement
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THE ESTÉE LAUDER COMPANIES
William P. Lauder
Executive Chairman
The Estée Lauder Companies
William P. Lauder is a son of Leonard and Evelyn Lauder and a grandson of Estée and Joseph Lauder. Mr. Lauder became Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board of Directors in July 2009. He was Chief Executive Officer from July 2004 through June 2009. During his five-year tenure as Chief Executive, he expanded the company’s international presence and distribution channels and greatly strengthened the brand portfolio.
He joined the company in 1986 as Regional Marketing Director of Clinique U.S.A. in the New York metro area. In 1990 he led the creation of the Origins brand and its innovative store-within-a store concept. He subsequently was promoted to several senior leadership positions; he led the worldwide businesses for Clinique and Origins and oversaw the company’s free standing stores and Internet business. In 2003 he became Chief Operating Officer, with oversight of all the company’s global operations, as well as nine specialty brands and the retail business.
Under his leadership, Clinique’s Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion became the best-selling prestige skin care product in U.S. department stores and Clinique launched its first anti-aging product.
Prior to joining the company, Mr. Lauder completed Macy’s Executive Training Program in New York City and was Associate Merchandising Manager of the New York Division/Dallas store when it opened in 1985.
He is a member of the Boards of Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania and an Emeritus Trustee on the Trinity School Board in New York City, his alma maters. He is also Chairman of the Board of the Fresh Air Fund, a member of the Boards of Directors of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, the 92nd Street Y, the Partnership for New York City and the Advisory Board of Zelnick Media. In 2012, Mr. Lauder received a lecturer appointment to the faculty of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he teaches “Decision Making in the Leadership Chair,” a course he designed for second-year MBA students.
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William P. Lauder is honored with our 2024 Humanitarian of the Year Award for commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, advancing gender equality and the empowerment of women
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CATHERINE RUSSELL
Executive Director
UNICEF
Catherine Russell serves as UNICEF’s eighth Executive Director, overseeing the organization’s work for children in over 190 countries and territories.
Ms. Russell brings to the role decades of experience in public service, with a focus on empowering underserved communities around the world and developing high-impact policies and programmes to support women and girls, including in humanitarian crises. She has extensive experience building and managing diverse workforces, as well as mobilizing resources and political support for a broad range of initiatives.
From 2020 to 2022, Ms. Russell served under President Joe Biden as Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel. She previously served from 2013 to 2017 as Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues at the U.S. Department of State, where she integrated women’s issues across all elements of U.S. foreign policy, represented the United States in more than 45 countries, and worked in partnership with other governments, multilateral organizations, and civil society. She was the principal architect of the groundbreaking “U.S. Global Strategy to Empower Adolescent Girls.”
Previously, Ms. Russell served as Deputy Assistant to the President in the White House administration of President Barack Obama, Senior Advisor on International Women’s Issues on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Associate Deputy Attorney General at the Department of Justice, and Staff Director of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Before re-entering government service in 2020, she taught at the Harvard Kennedy School as an Institute of Politics Fellow. She also served as the board co-chair of the Women’s Foreign Policy Group, and as a board member of Women for Women International, the Sesame Street Advisory Board, the KIVA Advisory Council, and the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s Trust Women initiative.
Ms. Russell was appointed Executive Director by the UN Secretary General on February 1, 2022.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, magna cum laude, from Boston College and a Juris Doctor degree from the George Washington University Law School.
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SIMA BAHOUS
Executive Director
UN Women
Ms. Sima Sami Bahous became UN Women’s third Executive Director on 30 September 2021. A champion for women and girls, gender equality, and youth empowerment, as well as a keen advocate for quality education, poverty alleviation, and inclusive governance, Ms. Bahous brings to the position more than 35 years of leadership experience at the grassroots, national, regional, and international levels, coupled with expertise in advancing women’s empowerment and rights, addressing discrimination and violence, and promoting sustainable socio-economic development towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Ms. Bahous most recently served as Permanent Representative of Jordan to the United Nations in New York. Prior to this position, she served as Assistant Administrator and Director of the Regional Bureau for Arab States at the United Nations Development Programme from 2012 to 2016 and Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the Social Development Sector at the League of Arab States, from 2008 to 2012.
She has also served in two ministerial posts in Jordan as President of the Higher Media Council from 2005 to 2008 and as Adviser to King Abdullah II from 2003 to 2005. She was Media Adviser and Director of Communication for the Royal Hashemite Court from 2001 to 2003, Acting Executive Director for the King Hussein Foundation from 2000 to 2001 and Executive Director of the Noor Al Hussein Foundation from 1998 to 2001. She also worked for UNICEF and with a number of United Nations and civil society organizations, and taught development and communication studies at different universities in Jordan.
Ms. Bahous holds a PhD in mass communication and development from Indiana University, United States, a Master of Arts in literature and drama from Essex University, United Kingdom, and a Bachelor of Arts in English literature from Jordan University. She is fluent in Arabic and English, and proficient in French.
O P E N I N G R E M A R K S
STÉPHANE DUJARRIC
Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General
Stéphane Dujarric is the Spokesman for the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres. He was appointed to this position in February 2014 by the previous Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon.
As Spokesman, Mr. Dujarric provides information to the global media on the activities of the Secretary-General and the entire United Nations system, through daily live-streamed briefings, official statements, media interviews and off-the-record conversations. He and his team advise the Secretary-General and other senior UN officials on their media interactions, and coordinate interviews and briefings with media outlets around the world.
Mr. Dujarric began his career with the United Nations 22 years ago as an Associate Spokesman. After serving as chief spokesperson for former Secretary-General Kofi Annan from 2005 to 2006, he led communications teams in senior roles across the UN system. As Director of News and Media, he oversaw the UN's television, radio and photo operations, and as Director of Communications for the United Nations Development Programme, he helped to tell the UN’s story around the world.
Prior to joining the United Nations, Mr. Dujarric worked for ABC television news for almost ten years as a journalist and producer in New York, London and Paris.
Born in France, Mr. Dujarric is a graduate of Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service in Washington DC.
M A S T E R O F C E R E M O N I E S
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 is also 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 2022 Humanitarian Awards Dinner
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