On January 21, 2010, the 4th Annual Women’s Award was held at the infamous Stonewall Inn located in Greenwich Village, N.Y.
The event was hosted by the Stonewall Democratic Club of New York City, with the evening led by Women’s’ Awards founder, civil rights attorney, and Stonewall Democratic Club Vice President Yetta Kurland. Recognition was given to the pioneering women and organizations that have lent much needed strength and advocacy toward fighting for civil rights in the LGBT community.
Several elected officials were present at the awards, namely Governer David Paterson, NYC Public Advocate Bill DeBlasio and NYC Comptroller John Liu. Also in attendance was event co-sponsor Broadway Speaks OUT, an organization that rallies support from Broadway performers and the entertainment world to speak on civil rights for the queer community. There were a bevy of celebrity appearances including Alan Cummings, gender theorist Kate Bornstein, Boston Legal’s Meredith Patterson, as well as Broadway stars Brian Charles Rooney, Nick Adams, Kate Pazakis, and Marti Gould Cummings.
The honorees for the awards for 2010 were:
Cathy Marino-Thomas, communications director and board president for the grassroots completely volunteer run organization, Marriage Equality New York.
Joanne Smith, executive director of Girls for Gender Equity, an organization that focuses on academic and social well being as well as education in career choices.
Janet Weinberg, Chief Operating Officer at Gay Men’s Health Crisis and was formerly its Senior Managing Director.
The National Center for Lesbian Rights, an organization of national legal precedence dedicated to advocating for the LGBT community through public education, public policy and litigation.
*Snapshot*, a queer mixer held weekly in NYC featuring various forms of artistic medium such as photography, film, music, and exposure.
The Awards were also co-sponsored by GO! Magazine and Stonewall Inn. Video media interviewing honoree Cathy Marino-Thomas and some of the celebrity attendees mentioned above can be found on YouTube, courtesy of GayLifeNYC.