New York, NY - Celebrities and leaders from the entertainment, philanthropic, and business communities will gather at the Mandarin Orient Hotel in New York City on Wednesday, May 21, 2008, to honor the Ms. Foundation's 20th Annual Gloria Award winners and celebrate the Ms. Foundation's 35th Anniversary. Gloria Award winners are selected by the Ms. Foundation for their commitment to and achievements in the areas of social justice and women's leadership.

The 20th Annual Gloria Awards: A National Salute to Women of Vision will be co-hosted by Gloria Steinem, author, activist and co-founder of the Ms. Foundation for Women, and Sara K. Gould, Ms. Foundation President & CEO.

"On the occasion of two special Ms. Foundation anniversaries, we are deeply honored to recognize grassroots women activists whose strength, courage and leadership help us realize our shared vision for a just and inclusive democracy," said Ms. Gould. "Their work, which ranges from advocating for reproductive justice for migrant women farmworkers in South Texas to economic security for Native American women on the Gulf Coast demonstrates to all of us what is possible when vision is realized through concrete action.

In addition, the great scope of the Ms. Foundation and our grantees' work would not be possible without the visionary support of corporate and individual donors who form part of the Ms. Foundation community,continued Ms. Gould. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to recognize key philanthropists for their remarkable commitment to ensuring women's and girls' full participation in all aspects of society.

Awards will be presented by Emmy and Tony award-winning actress, Blythe Danner; author and host of national award-winning news program Democracy Now!, Amy Goodman; President of the Dolores Huerta Foundation and Co-Founder of the United Farm Workers, Dolores Huerta; Spelman College President, Beverly Tatum; and former Ms. Foundation for Women President and current President of The White House Project, Marie C. Wilson. Singer/songwriter Paula Cole and rock-pop band BETTY will perform.

The event is supported by a host of businesses, organizations, and individuals, including the chair of this year's Gloria Awards, Loreen Arbus; honorary co-chairs, Bonnie Schaefer and Marla Schaefer; New York Life; Laura Baudo Sillerman; CIT; Anne Delaney; Helen LaKelly Hunt; The Sister Fund and the Dobkin Family Foundation.

The 2008 Women of Vision Awardees are:

Lucy Felix, Lead Trainer & Community Organizer for Migrant Health Promotion's La Voz Latina Program: In migrant farmworking communities in South Texas, Felix promotes awareness about reproductive health and works with migrant women to advocate for the elimination of barriers to health care some as basic as transportation.

Brenda Dardar Robichaux, the Principal Chief of the United Houma Nation and founder of the United Houma Nation Relief Fund: After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated her tribe in Southeastern Louisiana, displacing more than 6,000 of their 17,000 members, Robichaux quickly mobilized to meet the immediate needs of the Houma Nation and established training in non-traditional jobs for women and leadership programming for girls.

The Marie C. Wilson Young Woman's Leadership Award goes to 21 year-old Yunuen Rodriguez, the first youth co-president of the board of Chicago-based Women & Girls Collective Action Network and a member of its youth-led initiative, Females United for Action. An advocate for media justice, violence prevention and culture change that respects women and girls, she successfully led negotiations with a Chicago radio station to drop a sexually exploitive ad campaign and testified before the Federal Communications Commission about how women of color are portrayed in the media.

The 2008 Philanthropic Leadership Awards will go to:

Jean J. Beard, recipient of the Women of Vision and Action Award, will be honored for her outstanding commitment to the creation of a more just world through her generous support of women and girls' leadership development, economic empowerment, education and mental health programs.

New York Life Insurance Company and Chairman & CEO Sy Sternberg will be honored with the Corporate Philanthropy Award. New York Life has been instrumental to the success of the Ms. Foundation. Under Mr. Sternberg's leadership, New York Life's philanthropic arm has provided nearly $30 million in support of organizations and programs offering mentoring, educational enhancement and safe places to learn and grow in particular, for young women.

Over the years, the Women of Vision Awards gala has become the Ms. Foundation's primary fundraising event. It is open to the public, though the event is now at capacity. For information about tickets and to place your name on our waiting list, contact Janis Yoss at 212-709-4443 or jyoss@ms.foundation.org.

For more information on the event, including images, bios and profiles of the awardees, click here.