Youth INC is proud to honor Sister Tesa Fitzgerald, CSJ, founder and executive director emeritus, Hour Children, with its inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award at its 27th Annual Celebration Gala on Monday, November 8, 2021. 

“Youth INC’s Lifetime Achievement Award was designed to recognize exceptional leaders in the nonprofit sector for their uncompromising devotion and lifelong contributions to the youth of New York City,” said Wray Thorn, founder and CEO, Clear Heights Capital and Youth INC board co-chair. Sister Tesa, who founded Hour Children, a longstanding Youth INC nonprofit partner and a leading provider of prison- and community-based family services, has spent her career championing life-changing services offered with dignity and compassion to incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women and their children in New York. “I’ve witnessed firsthand the life changing impact that ‘Sister T,’ as she’s affectionately known, has had for countless women and youth through Hour Children over many years and I can’t think of anyone more deserving of this award,” said Thorn.

“I am humbled to receive Youth INC’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Thirty-five years is a long time to give to one cause - a lifetime, in fact,” said Sister Tesa. “I have been blessed with many partners along the way, not the least of which has been Youth INC which challenged us, supported us, and shared many moments of success and joy. I am grateful for all of it.”

Sister Tesa is also the recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including the 2014 Opus Prize, 2013 White House Champion of Change and 2012 CNN Hero.

“Youth INC exists to deepen the impact of our powerful network of nonprofit partners so that all young people in New York City can thrive,” said Rehana Farrell, executive director, Youth INC. “Under the direction of Sister Tesa, Hour Children has achieved a historic five percent recidivism rate for participants in its community-based program, compared to a 29 percent statewide rate for women, exemplifying the extraordinary impact Hour Children has had on our community.”

Alongside Sister Tesa, Youth INC will also recognize Adena Friedman, president and CEO, Nasdaq, at its Celebration Gala, with the John C. Whitehead Leadership Award for her distinguished leadership in advancing diversity, social responsibility, and inclusive board governance. Prior honoree, Roger Ferguson, former president and CEO, TIAA and former vice chairman, Board of Governors to the US Federal Reserve System, and Annette Nazareth, senior counsel, Davis Polk & Wardwell and former commissioner, US Securities and Exchange Commission, will be presenting this year’s award to Friedman. During the event, Friedman will join Youth INC’s National Advisory Board member, John Waldron, president and COO, Goldman Sachs, in a fireside chat on current issues in business and philanthropy.Youth INC’s Celebration Gala is the organization’s signature event through which it raises over $2 million annually to provide its network of more than 75 nonprofit partners with the tools and resources they need to help over 200,000 New York City youth achieve their full potential. The event will also bring together a slate of influential business leaders who will serve as vice chairs to help Youth INC reach its most ambitious fundraising goal yet, including:

  • Stephanie Cohen, global co-head of Consumer and Wealth Management, Goldman Sachs
  • Carmine Di Sibio, global chairman and CEO, EY
  • Jeff Holzschuh, chair of the Institutional Securities Group, Morgan Stanley and Youth INC National Advisory Board Member
  • Kristin Lemkau, CEO, J.P. Morgan Wealth Management
  • Dan Lovinger, executive vice president, advertising, sales and sponsorship, NBC Sports Group
  • Alison Mass, co-head of Financial Sponsors, Goldman Sachs
  • Steve Orr, co-founder and managing partner, Orr Group and Youth INC Founder and National Advisory Board Member 
  • Dhananjay Pai, president and COO, P. Schoenfeld Asset Management
  • Richard Schifter, senior advisor, TPG Capital and Youth INC National Advisory Board Member
  • Alan Schwartz, executive chairman, Guggenheim Partners and Youth INC National Advisory Board Member
  • George Stamas, partner, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher and Youth INC National Advisory Board Member
  • Paul J. Taubman, founder, chairman and CEO, PJT Partners and Youth INC National Advisory Board Member
  • Janet Truncale, vice chair and regional managing partner, EY Americas Financial Services Organization (FSO) 
  • Ted Virtue, founder and CEO, MidOcean Partners and Youth INC National Advisory Board Member
  • John Waldron, president and COO, Goldman Sachs and Youth INC National Advisory Board Member
  • Jonathan Weiss, CEO of Corporate and Investment Banking, Wells Fargo and Youth INC National Advisory Board Member
  • Mrs. John C. Whitehead

 Event Co-Chairs include:

  • Anu Aiyengar, co-head of Global M&A, JP Morgan Chase & Co.
  • William Derrough, managing director and co-head of Recapitalization and Restructuring Group, Moelis & Company
  • Stratton Heath, partner, Oak Hill Capital
  • Douglas Kaden, managing partner, SDC Capital Partners
  • Barbara Marcin, board vice president, Youth INC
  • Kathleen McCabe, partner, PJT Partners
  • Emmett McCann, managing director, Oaktree Capital Management
  • Robert McCooey, senior vice president, Nasdaq
  • Amy Miller, managing director and global head of Loan Syndications, Scotiabank
  • Daniel Pine, managing principal, CS Capital Advisors
  • Kenneth Prince, head of capital markets, Advent International Corporation 
  • Adrianne Shapira, managing director, Eurazeo
  • Mai Shiver, chief compliance officer, AIG
  • Wray Thorn, founder and CEO, Clear Heights Capital
  • Evan Wildstein, partner, Kohlberg & Company

Celebration Gala is made possible through the generous support of Youth INC sponsors, including:

Premier Sponsors – Corporate: Canaccord Genuity; EY; Goldman Sachs Gives; Nasdaq; RBC Capital Markets. Personal: Barbara Marcin and Orin Kramer; Nancy and Alan Schwartz.

Titanium Sponsor – Personal: Stratton and Rhonda Heath.

Diamond Sponsors – Corporate: Antares Capital, L.P.; Citi; Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP; Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP; JPMorgan Chase & Co; News Corp; Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison; PayPal; Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP. Personal: Barbara Asch and Jonathan Weiss.

Platinum Sponsors – Corporate: Alcentra; Alvarez & Marsal; American Airlines; Bank of America; Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP; Dow Inc.; Freshfields; Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver, & Jacobson LLP; Gladstone Place Partners; The Gray Foundation; Kirkland & Ellis LLP; Latham & Watkins LLP; Milbank LLP; P. Schoenfeld Asset Management LP; Perella Weinberg Partners; RelPro; Silver Lake Partners; Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP; Sullivan & Cromwell; United Airlines; Verizon Foundation. Personal: Joseph Baratta; Kelvin L. Davis; Judy and Jamie Dimon; FX and Natasha de Mallmann; William Q. Derrough; Daniel S. Evans; Mark Gallogly and Lise Strickler; Jeffrey and Mary Helen Holzschuh; Douglas M. Kaden; Brian and Beth Levine; Steve Lipin; Kathleen McCabe and Dana LaForge; Emmett McCann; Stephen and Carol Orr; Heena and Dhananjay M. Pai; Daniel Pine and Lindsey Acree; Ken Prince; Wray Thorn and Melissa Francis; Ted and Dani Virtue; Timothy and Mary Walsh; Amy and Evan Wildstein.

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/630d6eb0-8998-43a7-b5a8-2230ba8448e4

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ee2d025e-be19-476b-a2e3-6817b0c5aea8

Media Contacts:
Paul Irwin-Dudek
Chief Development & Marketing Officer
pirwindudek@youthinc-usa.org

Krystalle Shoy
Director, Marketing and Communications
kshoy@youthinc-usa.org