Over 400 Attend The Women's Forum of New York's 2014 Elly Awards

The Women's Forum of New York hosted The 4th Annual Elly Awards Luncheon yesterday, November 17, benefitting The Education Fund of the Women's Forum at The Plaza Hotel in New York City. The awards, named for Women's Forum founder Elinor "Elly" Guggenheimer, were presented to outstanding women leaders, Billie Jean King, 39-time Grand Slam winning tennis player and champion of social change and equality, and Sallie Krawcheck, Chair, Ellevate Network and Ellevate Asset Management, and staunch supporter of women in the financial industry.

Over 400 people attended the awards luncheon raising $200,000 for The Education Fund of the Women's Forum. On hand to bestow the key awards were celebrity presenters The Honorable David N. Dinkins, 106th Mayor of the City of New York,; and Karen Finerman, CEO of Metropolitan Capital Advisors, and panelist on CNBC's Fast Money.

"The Women's Forum is a leadership organization of New York's preeminent female leaders in every professional sector, from finance to fine arts. Appreciating that education is the key to success in every industry, we pride ourselves in helping high potential women over the age of 35 return to college after their education has been disrupted by life's adversities. Giving these women a second chance to realize their potential is our way of giving back and building new leaders," said Ami Kaplan, 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 is possible and become great role models for their daughters. We believe if you educate a woman you impact generations. Twenty-seven years ago we started out small but now, because of the Elly Awards, our education grants are significant and make a real difference. Fifteen fellowships were awarded to help women overcome obstacles and hardship in returning to their higher education to help realize their dreams," said Beverly Beaudoin, President, The Education Fund of the Women's Forum of New York.

Following the awards presentations, Rikki Klieman, attorney, best-selling author, television anchor, and CBS News legal analyst, led an in-depth conversation with the honorees that revolved around leadership, covering a wide range of issues facing women in the workforce today.

VIPs who attended the event included: Ami Kaplan, President of the Women's Forum of New York; Beverly Beaudoin, President of the Education Fund of the Women's Forum of New York; Lucy Jarvis, television producer and Legendary Chair of The Elly Awards; Anne Donovan Bodnar, Co-Chair, the 2014 Elly Awards; Eugenia Ulasewicz, Co-Chair, the 2014 Elly Awards; Carolyn Jane Maloney, U.S. Representative for New York's 12th congressional district; Mary Harney, the former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health in Ireland, and member of the Irish International Women's Forum; and Bill Bratton, New York City Police Commissioner.

The Women's Forum of New York:

The Women's Forum of New York is New York's premier organization of women leaders comprised of the highest women achievers across all professional sectors from finance to fine arts.

They advance women's leadership three ways:

• through core programing which provides personal and professional enrichment to their members
• through the Education Fund which provides education awards to high potential women whose careers have been derailed by adversity
• through the Corporate Board Initiative which expands and extends the contribution of women leaders through participation on corporate and civic boa

The Education Fund is an educational and charitable arm of The Women's Forum of New York, established under a separate corporate governance as a 501(c)3 tax deductible organization. Since 1987, the Fund has helped mature women pursue educational goals and enhance their capacities to provide productive and supportive service to their communities. The Award recognizes extraordinary and often heroic effort in overcoming adversity and the most daunting of odds in restructuring lives for success.

Grants are awarded to women over the age of 35 who, after suffering great adversity and an interruption in their education, are now pursuing undergraduate college degrees. Students in this population are often single parents, economically disadvantaged and struggling with the rising costs of a college education. Over the past 27 years, 156 women have been honored by The Education Fund.

About The 2014 Elly Honorees:

Billie Jean King, longtime champion for social change and equality, created new inroads for men and women in sports and beyond during her legendary tennis career. Growing up playing tennis in California public parks, she won her first of a record 20 Wimbledon titles in 1961 and went on to win 39 Grand Slam singles, doubles and mixed doubles titles. She empowered women and educated men with her 1973 defeat of Bobby Riggs in the Battle of the Sexes, which has been regarded as one of the greatest moments in sports history. Ms. King was named one of the '100 Most Important Americans of the 20th Century' by Life Magazine and, in 2009, President Obama awarded her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. She founded the Women's Tennis Association (1973), the Women's Sports Foundation (1974) and co-founded World Team Tennis (1974). Ms. King sits on the boards of the Elton John AIDS Foundation, the Andy Roddick Foundation and was appointed to the President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition. In 2014 she will launch the Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative, which will address inclusion and diversity in the workplace and beyond.

Sallie Krawcheck, recently named number 9 on Fast Company's list of the "100 Most Creative People 2014," has built a successful career as a senior corporate executive, as a research analyst and now as an entrepreneur. From her turnaround and subsequent nurturing of troubled wealth management businesses, to eliminating Wall Street conflicts of interest and advocating a true client-centered business model, Ms. Krawcheck has been referred to as one of the most successful and influential executives in financial services, having spent years as the guardian of such brands at Smith Barney, Merrill Lynch and US Trust. She often notes that "Investing in women is simply smart business" and is expressing this view through her ownership in the Ellevate companies. The Ellevate network, a global professional women's network of over 34,000 members, is the most expansive and diverse of its kind. Ellevate Asset Management has partnered with Pax World to recently launch the Pax Ellevate Global Woman's Index Fund, which invests in the highest-rated 400 companies in the world for advancing women, the first and only fund of its kind. She continues to advise start-up companies, focuses on education-oriented philanthropy and serves on a variety of boards.

About The Presenters:

David Dinkins served as NYS Assemblyman, president of the NYC Board of Elections, City Clerk and President of the Borough of Manhattan before being elected the 106th Mayor of the City of New York in 1989. Among his major successes, he instituted "Safe Streets, Safe City: Cops and Kids," launched the revitalization of Times Square, and brokered a deal that kept the US Open Tennis Championships in New York. A professor at Columbia University, and a member, chair or trustee of innumerable boards, Mayor Dinkins recently penned A Mayor's Life: Governing New York's Gorgeous Mosaic, a revealing look at a devoted public servant and a New Yorker in love with his city.

Karen Finerman is a permanent panelist on CNBC's Fast Money, one of the most watched business programs in America. She began her career as a trader at First City Capital, a risk arbitrage fund, and later joined Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette where she became Lead Research Analyst for the Risk Arbitrage department. Ms. Finerman co-founded New York-based hedge fund Metropolitan Capital Advisors in 1992, where she currently serves as CEO. She is proud to serve on the Board of The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. Her first book, Finerman's Rules: Secrets I'd Only Tell My Daughters About Business and Life, was released in June 2013.

About The Moderator:

CBS News Legal Analyst Rikki Klieman is a television anchor, trial attorney, actor, professor and best-selling author who has earned a sterling reputation as one of the nation's most celebrated lawyers and legal authorities. The recipient of various public service awards, she continues to inspire the lives of others with her autobiography, Fairy Tales Can Come True - How a Driven Woman Changed Her Destiny, which reached the L.A. Times Best Seller List. Named one of the five most outstanding women trial lawyers in the country by TIME magazine, Ms. Klieman remains Of Counsel to the Boston law firm of Klieman & Lyons, where she specializes in criminal trial and appellate practice as well as civil litigation.

Pictured: Ami Kaplan, President of The Women's Forum of New York; honoree Billie Jean King; former New York City mayor David N. Dinkins; Rikki Klieman; Elly Awards honoree Sallie Krawcheck; Beverly Beaudoin, President of the Education Fund of the Women's Forum; Karen Finerman. Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty.