NEW YORK, Nov 05, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Women for Women International [WfWI] announced today that actress and humanitarian Lucy Liu will be the honored recipient of the organization’s 2012 Champion of Peace Award. The award ceremony is the highlight of WfWI’s Annual Gala, to take place at Lincoln Center in New York City on November 8th, 2012. Joining Ms. Liu, who follows President Bill Clinton as last year’s honoree, is Mistress of Ceremonies Gayle King, co-host of “CBS This Morning” and Editor-at-Large of the award-winning O, The Oprah Magazine. Longtime supporter and advocate for WfWI Ashley Judd is the Honorary Chair, and there will be a special performance by four-time Grammy Award-winning artist Roberta Flack.

“This is such a special night for everyone at WfWI, and we are delighted to have the support of so many constituents of our cause, especially as we reflect on 2012 and prepare for our upcoming 20th year in global service,” said Afshan Khan, CEO, WfWI. “The participation of Lucy Liu, Gayle King, and Ashley Judd is a wonderful complement to the tireless efforts of WfWI’s board, personnel, and thousands of gracious donors. Their dedication drives our programs, which give women access to the resources and knowledge they need to work toward a stable and self-sufficient future.”

Founder of WfWI, activist, and social entrepreneur Zainab Salbi will present the 2012 Champion of Peace Award to Lucy Liu, star of the CBS hit television drama series “Elementary.”

“The 2012 Champion of Peace Award acknowledges a member of the humanitarian community who has an unyielding commitment to promote peace, justice, and human rights,” said Ms. Khan. “Ms. Liu’s work as an Ambassador to UNICEF raising awareness of the plight of women and children in some of the world’s most impoverished countries and her efforts to draw attention to the horrors of the international child-trafficking industry make her an ideal recipient of this year’s award.”

The Gala will also feature the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Excellence in Entrepreneurship Award winner, Francoise Tumukunde of Rwanda. Ms. Tumukunde, a joint graduate of the WfWI and Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women program, is a self-employed tailor and mother of three who is the only surviving family member of that country’s 1994 genocide.

Since graduating from the 10,000 Women program, Ms. Tumukunde has developed a new confidence enabling her to penetrate new markets and implement systems to more efficiently manage her customer’s orders. Ms. Tumukunde will accept the award in celebration of her ongoing achievements as a mother, business-owner, and community member.

All proceeds raised at the event will benefit WfWI, whose yearlong program provides women survivors of war, civil strife, and other conflicts with the tools and resources needed to move from crisis and poverty to stability and self-sufficiency.

About Women for Women International

Since 1993, Women for Women International (WfWI) has worked to provide women survivors of war, civil strife, and other conflicts with resources to move from crisis and poverty into stability and self-sufficiency. WfWI delivers these resources through a tiered, yearlong program that begins with a training stipend and emotional support. Participants also gain business and vocational skills, rights awareness, health education, social support networks, and access to income-generating activities where they can apply those skills and begin moving towards economic stability. Along with helping more than 351,000 women in the past 20 years to rebuild their own lives and those of their families and communities after war, WfWI uses its voice to call global attention to the unique role that women play in advancing peace throughout society. WfWI works in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Kosovo, Nigeria, Rwanda, and South Sudan.

For more information please visit Women for Women International’s website: http://www.womenforwomen.org

About Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women

10,000 Women is a five-year, global initiative to drive economic growth and opportunity by providing 10,000 underserved women with a business and management education. The program operates through a network of more than 80 academic and non-profit partners, and has reached nearly 7,500 women across 42 countries. Women for Women International and 10,000 Women have partnered together since 2008 to empower women as business owners and entrepreneurs in the countries where Women for Women International works. 10,000 Women has been a key supporter of WfWI’s Annual Awards Gala, presenting the Goldman Sachs, 10,000 Women Excellence in Entrepreneurship Award each year to recognize an outstanding joint graduate of the 10,000 Women training and the core WfWI program.

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Also on tap: Fergie, Zooey Deschanel, Kevin and Danielle Jonas, Jeff Probst, Jamie Lee Curtis, Wyclef Jean, Lucy Liu and Mindy Kaling.

[via press release from CBS Television Distribution]

“RACHAEL RAY” KICKS OFF SEASON 7 IN A BRAND NEW STUDIO WITH SPECIAL GUEST FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA

NEW YORK, NY – August 23rd, 2012 – CBS Television Distribution’s two-time Emmy(R) Award-winning RACHAEL RAY returns on September 17 with its season seven premiere featuring First Lady Michelle Obama. In a day of firsts, Rachael will give the First Lady the first tour of her new daytime home and state of the art kitchen. The First Lady will then join Rachael for an exciting chat at the kitchen table to discuss her Let’s Move! initiative and more.

Season seven will feature more of RACHAEL RAY’s favorite guests including Fergie, Zooey Deschanel, Kevin and Danielle Jonas, Jeff Probst, Jamie Lee Curtis, Wyclef Jean, Lucy Liu, Mindy Kaling, Valerie Bertinelli, Tyra Banks, Emeril and Donnie Wahlberg.

The season seven premiere episode of RACHAEL RAY is scheduled to air on September 17, 2012. Please check local listings at www.rachaelrayshow.com.

RACHAEL RAY, the 2008 and 2009 Emmy(R) Award-winning Outstanding Talk Show, is distributed and produced by CBS Television Distribution in association with Harpo Productions, Scripps Networks and Watch Entertainment. Janet Annino is the Executive Producer. CBS Television Distribution is a unit of CBS Corp.

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Actors Ethan Hawke, Lucy Liu and Whoopi Goldberg are among the celebrities featured in the final Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) New Yorkers for Marriage Equality campaign.

“Everyone should have the right to marry the person they love,” says hip-hop mogul and gay rights ally Russell Simmons in the one-minute-thirty-nine-second video released Tuesday.

“Fair is fair,” comedian Joan Rivers says.

“I treat everyone the way I expect to be treated and that includes marriage,” says New York Rangers winger Sean Avery, the first professional athlete to join the campaign. Avery was later joined by Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash and former New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan.

“Come on, I’m a New Yorker, you’re a New Yorker, I support marriage equality, where are you?” Goldberg says.

“Because government shouldn’t tell you who to love or who to marry,” says New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, one of the many prominent politicians to record a video for the campaign.

“We are so close to equal marriage rights in New York,” adds actress Julianne Moore, “but we need your help. Please join us.” (The video is embedded in the right panel of this page.)

HRC produced 51 videos for the campaign that began last year.

Leaders in the New York Senate continued their foot-dragging on Wednesday, a week after the Assembly approved Governor Andrew Cuomo’s plan to make New York the sixth state to legalize gay marriage. Passage in the Senate, where the bill faces its final hurdle, remains one vote shy.

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