Women Making History Awards Gala 2023

Washington, DC

Join Us! The Women Making History Awards returns March 2023!

Mark your calendars! We are thrilled to gather again on Friday, March 31, 2023, to celebrate women's contributions—past, present and future—during the Women Making History Awards Gala held in Washington, DC. We invite you to join us for an elegant, empowering, and inspiring evening. Guests will enjoy cocktails, a formal seated dinner, live entertainment, and much, much more.

Where:
The Schuyler at the Hamilton Hotel | 1001 14th Street NW | Washington, DC 20005

When:
Friday, March 31, 2023 | 7:00pm to 11:00pm

Honorary Co-Chairs:
Meryl Streep & Viola Davis

Event Chair:
Cheri Kaufman

Host Committee:
Laura Bell Bundy, Sharon Bush, Cathleen Civale Fisher, Ann Dexter-Jones, Donna Karan, Eleanora Kennedy, Sandra Lee, Dr. Ainsley MacLean, Stephanie Mineo, Lee Murphy, Kara Ross, Donna Woolf

Honorees

Ashley Graham, Pioneering Supermodel, Designer, Entrepreneur

Ashley Graham is an American supermodel, designer, author, and entrepreneur whose influence has reshaped the fashion and media industries and redefined traditional beauty standards. Ashley has worked in numerous areas of the fashion industry including editorial, catalogue, runway, commercial, television and film. In February 2016, Ashley made history as the first size 14 model to ever be featured on the cover ofSports Illustrated Swim. In January 2018, she became a brand ambassador for Revlon, making her the first curvy model of her generation to receive a major beauty contract.

Ashley has been featured on the covers of Vogue, British Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar UK, Cosmopolitan,SELF, New York Magazine, Maxim and many more. She has received numerous accolades for her work, including Forbes’ coveted “30 Under 30” list and cover feature; Glamour’s “Woman of the Year,” with Mattel simultaneously creating a one-of-a-kind Barbie in her likeness; People’s “25 Most Intriguing People of the Year”; Time’s “100 Most Influential People in the Word”; The Daily Front Row’s “Fashion Force of the Year,” and is the United Nations’ Women for Peace Association’s first “Women Empowerment Award'' recipient.

Ashley is a sought-after television personality and has hosted internationally televised programs such as Miss Universe, Miss USA and Lifetime's Fearless, a competition series to find the next best hair or makeup artist. She also hosts her podcast Pretty Big Deal.

Ashley is regularly invited to speak about body image, self-acceptance and female empowerment. Her first TEDx talk “Plus Size? More Like My Size” given at TedxBerleeValencia was viewed over 4.3 million times.

Willie Pearl Mackey King, Civil Rights Activist

From February 1962 to February 1966, Willie Pearl MackeyKing worked for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference under the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as a member of his executive staff. King performed a variety of administrative duties and traveled with Dr. King. While in Birmingham, Alabama with Dr. King, she typed his famous Letter from Birmingham Jail. She and Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker transcribed the letter, which was written on newspaper edges, table napkins, toilet paper, and whatever scraps of paper that Dr. King could find to write on.

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton

A third generation Washingtonian, Congresswoman Norton is Washington, DC's longest serving Congressional representative and a Black feminist lawyer. During Mississippi Freedom Summer in 1964, she worked with SNCC to register Black voters. In public office and the courtroom, Holmes Norton has advanced the rights of Black communities and all women.

Tickets

Reserve your seat to join influencers from the world of politics, business, and finance, young movers and shakers, as we honor extraordinary women and celebrate women's history. By purchasing tickets here, you make it possible for NWHM to provide free, accessible public programing to educators and learners of all ages nationwide!

Sponsorships

The Women Making History Awards gala serves as our biggest annual fundraiser. Sponsorships are critical to NWHM’s ability to create and provide invaluable, inclusive programming used by educators, scholars, students and learners of all ages across the country. Your support will help us continue our important work to integrate women’s contributions into the fabric of our national narrative through pioneering research, innovative and accessible programming, and free resources for educators and learners of all ages.

For more information about sponsorship opportunities, please contact Leah Craft, NWHM's vice president of development.