NEW YORK | Seeds of Peace held its 15th Annual Gala, Empower Future Leaders, on Thursday, May 15th at The Plaza Hotel in New York City. This event honored artist and peace activist Yoko Ono along with Zalmay Khalilzad, the United States Ambassador to the United Nations and the recipient of the Peacemaker Award.
The event was hosted by Seeds of Peace Board of Directors, including Janet Wallach, President Emeritus of Seeds of Peace and Richard Berman, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Seeds of Peace. Janet is an accomplished writer and authored several books, including Desert Queen: The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell. Richard Berman is President of Manhattanville College and also serves on the Commission on the Advancement of Racial & Ethnic Equality of the American Council on Education.
The evening featured panel discussions with Ambassador Khalilzad and Seeds of Peace ambassadors Dor Kaidar and Raya Yusuf. The discussion was moderated by co-host of The Early Show on CBS Harry Smith. The event was chaired by and creators of the Young Leadership division, Wendy and Steve Shenfeld, who also actively serve on many philanthropic boards.
This prestigious event was attended by over 450 professionals, including philanthropists, business leaders, politicians and other dignitaries who came together to raise over $1.5 million for Seeds of Peace programming.