Maria Cuomo Cole & Pat Mitchell Honored at 3rd Annual Elly Awards Today

The Women's Forum of New York will present The 3rd Annual Elly Awards Luncheon benefitting The Education Fund of the Women's Forum today, June 25 at The Plaza Hotel in New York City. The awards, named for Women's Forum founder Elinor "Elly" Guggenheimer, will honor outstanding women leaders.

The Elly Award Recipients (both in attendance) will be:
- Maria Cuomo Cole, advocate, activist, filmmaker and Chair of HELP USA
- Pat Mitchell, President and CEO of the Paley Center for Media

The Elly Award Celebrity Presenters (both in attendance) will be:
- Glenn Close, award winning actress
- Matilda Raffa Cuomo, former New York State First Lady and Founder, Mentoring USA

Eve Ensler, Tony award-winning playwright, activist and author of Emotional Creature and The Vagina Monologues, will lead a conversation on leadership with the honorees following the awards presentation.

"The Women's Forum of New York is comprised of the most successful women in the city in every professional sector from finance to fine arts. We all know that education is key to success in any field. We are proud to help high-potential women over 35 whose education has been postponed or disrupted because of extreme adversity in their lives. Putting these women back on track to realize their potential is our way of giving back," said Doris P. Meister, President of the Women's Forum of New York."The change that Education Fund grants have on women and their families is truly inspirational. Our awardees redefine for themselves what's possible and become great role models for their daughters. We believe if you educate a woman you impact generations. Twenty-six years ago we started out small but now, because of the Elly Awards, our education grants are significant and make a real difference. They can truly help high-potential women who have overcome serious hardships realize their dreams," said Beverly Beaudoin, President, The Education Fund of the Women's Forum of New York.

The Elly Awards will begin at 11:30 a.m. at The Plaza Hotel with a reception & VIP arrivals. The Luncheon and Presentation will be from 12:15 to 2:00 p.m.

The 2013 Elly Awards Chairs, Committee and Sponsors are comprised of:
Legendary Chairs: Lucy Jarvis, Muriel Siebert
Honorary Chairs: Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel, Arianna Huffington
Chairs: Carolyn Carter, Jane Chesnutt
Committee: Beverly Beaudoin, Irene Cohen, Suzanne Dowling, Barbara J. Friedman, Emita Hill, Amy Kopelan, Doris P. Meister, Liz Neumark, Denise V. Seegal, Ilene Wachs, Linda A. Willett
Silver Anniversary Sponsor: BNY Mellon
Benefactor Sponsors: AECOM Technology Corporation, Dede Thompson Bartlett, The Blackstone Charitable Foundation, The Estée Lauder Companies Inc., Macy's and Bloomingdale's, Omgeo
Patron Sponsors: A+E Networks, Accenture, The Loreen Arbus Foundation, Dr. Georgette F. Bennett, Bloomberg, Anne Donovan Bodnar, BoomBox, Inc., Burberry, Chadick Ellig, Con Edison, Deloitte, Ernst & Young LLP, Fulbright & Jaworski LLP, Great Performances and CPS Events at The Plaza, Greenberg Traurig LLP, J.P. Morgan, Lucy Jarvis, Ann Kaplan, Karen Katen Foundation, Barbara Novick, Pershing LLC, a BNY Mellon company, Scotiabank, Muriel Siebert, Sy Syms Foundation, Tiffany & Co., Lulu C. Wang, Marissa C. Wesely, Linda A. Willett