The 2013 DVF Awards Honorees
The following extraordinary women were honored at the 4th annual DVF Awards in New York on April 5, 2013:
The Lifetime Leadership DVF Award
Robin Roberts
Ms. Roberts is the anchor of NBC’s Good Morning America. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2007. Her courageous and public battle has been recognized with awards and honors from organizations around the country. In June 2012, she was diagnosed with MDS or myelodsyplastic syndrome, a disease of the blood and bone marrow once known as pre-leukemia. Ms. Roberts made a triumphant return to her anchor desk on February 20, 2013 and received the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the 2013 EPSYs. She is a native of the Mississippi Gulf Coast and currently resides in New York City.
The International DVF Award
Andeisha Farid
Andeisha Farid acts as an integral part of her country’s efforts to rebuild, educating the next generation of leaders who will lead their nation forward. In 2007, she founded a new nonprofit, the Afghan Child Education and Care Organization (AFCECO). Today, AFCECO provides housing, healthcare, education and safety to 450 children of diverse ethnicities across orphanages in Afghanistan and Pakistan. With the use of her DVF Award grant, Andeisha and AFCECO were able to successfully administer healthcare to 350 of the orphanages’ children across three provinces. In addition to providing children a safe and nurturing environment, Andeisha’s AFCECO instills important leadership values of tolerance and an appreciation for education in Afghanistan’s future generations.
afceco.org
The International DVF Award
Dr. Sunitha Krishnan
Dr. Sunitha Krishnan is an Indian social activist and the founder of Prajwala, a non-government organization that rescues, rehabilitates and reintegrates victims of sex trafficking back into society. As a victim of sexual violence herself, Sunitha Krishnan brings a level of understanding and empathy to her work that is invaluable. She knows that prevention is more effective than any cure and so has built a network of eighteen transition centers in the state of Andhra Pradesh to educate and protect vulnerable children in poor localities. The first transition center was started in the year 1996 with just 5 children, and today, in 2017, the transition centers and the drop in centers together have directly served over 25,000 women, boys and girls. Remarkably, 14,000 of those individuals have been successfully rehabilitated from sex trafficking, and another 8,500 women and children were prevented from being prostituted. Acknowledging that sexual violence is a community issue, Prajwala has also sensitized thousands of law enforcement and judiciary members to implement a victim-centered approach to combat the scourge of sexual violence.
prajwalaindia.com
The Inspiration DVF Award
Natalia Vodianova
Natalia Vodianova is founder and president of the The Naked Heart Foundation, a charity organization that strives to help build an inclusive society that is open to people with disabilities and special needs, through play and the creation of free support services for disadvantaged families. Through their Every Child Deserves a Family program, they organize international forums, work to fund Russian NGO’s that help vulnerable families, and lobby to change Russian legislation to be brought into line with the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Through their Play With Purpose program, the Foundation has built more than 158 parks and playgrounds across Russia, including at a number of orphanages and children’s hospitals.
nakedheart.org
The People’s Voice DVF Award
Tammy Tibbetts
Tammy Tibbetts is the Founder and CEO of She's the First, a nonprofit organization that invests in the education of girls in low-income countries, so that they can be the first in their families to graduate from high school. Across the globe, She’s the First is building a movement for quality, equal education through campus chapters and crowd fundraisers.
"The DVF People's Voice Award was such a tipping point for She's the First,” says Tammy. “We've had year-over-year growth ever since 2013. The DVF Award attracted so many other new opportunities, including partnerships with national magazines like Glamour and Marie Claire, the support of distinguished women like Ann Tisch and Jane Wurwand, speaking invitations, and more momentum for our grassroots movement. Above all, it gave me the confidence to grow as a leader; when Diane believes in you, you have to believe in yourself, even as new challenges present themselves."
To date, She’s The First has raised nearly $4 million. They have grown to more than 800 She’s The First scholars, 180 of which have already graduated high school. Every She’s The First Scholar creates a ripple effect, as she shares her education with her family and becomes active in her community, helping and inspiring others.
shesthefirst.org
People's Voice DVF Award Nominees
Let your voice be heard.
The People’s Voice DVF Award is chosen by popular vote and will be celebrated at the 9th annual DVF Awards to be held on April 13, 2018 at the United Nations in New York City.
This year’s nominees are: