Thank you for making the 2017 Breakthrough Inspiration Awards a success!
On Friday, November 3, 2017, Breakthrough celebrated our annual Inspiration Awards at the Edison Ballroom in New York City. The Breakthrough Inspiration Award honors pioneering leaders who show extraordinary leadership and vision in their field while channeling their influence toward concrete, sustained, positive change in the larger world. The 2017 gala was also a celebration of the 18 years of inspired leadership by Breakthrough founder Mallika Dutt, and a festive welcome of incoming president and CEO Sohini Bhattacharya. The evening included a sit-down dinner and live auction and welcomed luminaries from the business, entertainment, and philanthropic communities.
Congratulations to our Honorees:
Breakthrough Culture Change Inspiration Award
Julie Parker Benello
Co-Founder of Chicken & Egg Pictures & Gamechanger Films
Breakthrough Changemaker Inspiration Award
Krati Prakash
Manager of Implementation, Uttar Pradesh
Breakthrough Special Honor
Mallika Dutt
Breakthrough Founder
Presenters:
Marissa Wesely
CEO, Win-Win Strategies
Sunil Savkar
Gala Co-Chair, Breakthrough Board Member
Mona Sinha
Gala Co-Chair, Breakthrough Board Member
Evening Program:
Negin Farsad
Comedian, actor, writer, director
Master of Ceremonies
Aasif Mandvi
Actor, writer, and comedian
Govind Ramakrishnan
Poet, Founder of Youth Against Sexual Assault (YASA)
Donna D’Cruz
DJ’ing Meditation Guru
Co-Chairs: Stefanie Birkmann & Sunil* Savkar, Ravi* & Mona* Sinha
Sohini Bhattacharya, CEO, Breakthrough
Host Committee
Susan Adelman and Claudio Llanos
Nasser Ahmad & Romita Shetty
Maggie Bangser*
Marilia Bezerra*
Mallika Dutt*
Shruti Ganguly
Akash Goel
Michael Hirschhorn* and Jimena Martinez
Tom Johnson
Fred & Helaine Leibowitz
Camille Massey* and Gillie Holme
Shoba Pala-Krishnan and James Locke
Anupama and Guru Ramakrishnan
Zainab Salbi
Joanne Sandler* & Ray Tekosky
Leslie Sokol and Robert Detweiler
Marissa Wesely & Fred Hamerman
*Breakthrough Board Member
About the Breakthrough Inspiration Awards
What
The Breakthrough Inspiration Awards convene, inspire, engage, and enable leaders for change—from the CEO of a global corporation to young activists in Indiana—in our own worlds and beyond. You are building the Breakthrough Generation as a global movement for hope and action.
Why
We are all part of the Breakthrough Generation. Only when we all stand together to make violence against women unacceptable everywhere can we build a world where everyone lives with dignity, equality, and justice.
How
Our benefit dinner brings together more than 400 leaders and social change actors—representing global media, financial services, philanthropy, and women’s and girls’ rights—to drive and celebrate change.