Gala Information

Disability Rights Advocates
Inaugural New York Gala
Thursday, October 12, 2017

Program

  • Welcome: Evan Davis, Partner, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
  • Video: Accessibility at MoMA
  • Emcee: Scott Pelley, 60 Minutes Correspondent
  • Video: DRA in New York – links to vimeo videos
  • Remarks: Daniel Carione, Deputy Inspector, New York Police Department
  • Text to Pledge: Katina Thornock, Director, Corporate Counsel, Litigation, Starbucks
  • Dinner (see next section for menu)
  • Award Presentation to Museum Access Consortium (MAC)
    • Accepted by Francesca Rosenberg, Director of Community, Access, and School Programs, The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
    • Presented by Lucy Jones, CEO, FFORA
  • Award Presentation to Rebecca Alexander, LCSW-R, MPH, PLLC
    • Presented by Peter Alexander, NBC News National Correspondent
  • Award Presentation to Starbucks
    • Accepted by Lucy Lee Helm, Executive Vice President, Chief Partner Officer
    • Presented by Sid Wolinsky, Supervising Attorney & Co-Founder, Disability Rights Advocates
  • Dessert

Menu

  • First Course: Roasted squash burrata
    • A trio of squash (butternut-acorn-spaghetti) with pomegranate and pumpkin seeds, and sage and raisin nut crostini
    • Served with artisanal bread basket
  • Entrée: Greenmarket beef
    • With saffron cauliflower purée, dijon herb glaze, wild rice, black barley, green chickpeas, asparagus, snap peas and edamame
  • Dessert:
    • Coffee chocolate pavé
    • Mochaccino marzipan torte
    • Toasted almond & chocolate gelato truffles
    • Friandises
    • Starbucks coffee and tea

Eagle Award Recipients

  • The Museum Access Consortium (MAC)
    • The Museum Access Consortium was formed after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, when a small group of people working in museums and disability fields began to discuss how to best make New York City’s museums more accessible. Today, MAC offers professional development workshops and other resources to ensure that cultural facilities in the New York area and beyond are accessible to people with disabilities.
  • Rebecca Alexander
    • Born with Usher Syndrome type III, Rebecca Alexander, LCSW-R, MPH, has been simultaneously losing both her vision and hearing since she was a child, and was told that she would likely be completely blind and deaf by the age of 30. Rebecca is a psychotherapist, author, fitness instructor, disability rights advocate, and extreme athlete who holds two master’s degrees from Columbia University in Public Health and Clinical Social Work.
  • Starbucks
    • Starbucks is committed to access and inclusion for its partners (employees) and customers. The company provides sign language interpreting services, real time captioning, adaptive equipment, and accessible software such as voice-to-text for its employees. They proudly welcome service animals into their stores and have developed tools to elevate and enhance service to Deaf customers, including new sign language aprons. Additionally, Starbucks provides Braille and large print menus, and is the only company to offer Braille gift cards in the stores all year round.

DRA thanks all of our generous supporters – listings as of October 3, 2017

  • Eagles
    • Starbucks
    • Pat Kirkpatrick & Sid Wolinsky
    • Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP
  • Benefactors
    • The Loreen Arbus Foundation
    • Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
  • Sponsors
    • David Alexander, Pauline Fox & Family
    • Christopher Coleman
    • Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP
    • Mary & Evan Davis
    • Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
    • EVAC+CHAIR North America LLC
    • The Farallon Group at UBS Financial
    • First Republic Bank
    • Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP
    • Microsoft
    • Nissan
    • Outten & Golden LLP
    • Point72 Asset Management
    • Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP
    • Scott & Christine Smigel
    • The Susan Zirkl, z”l, Memorial Charitable Foundation
  • Patrons
    • Anonymous
    • Astor Street Foundation
    • Beltone Hearing
    • Sasha Blair-Goldensohn
    • Alan Cohen & Karen Kaplowitz
    • Linda Dardarian & Terry Carroll
    • Jennifer & Greg Geiling
    • Edward J. Gildea & Martha Bayliss
    • Goldberg Segalla LLP
    • Goldstein, Borgen, Dardarian & Ho
    • Penny & James Gorman
    • Melissa “echo” Greenlee & Ben Abrams
    • Agnes Gund
    • Kate Hamilton & Daniel Martinez de la Vega
    • Kazan McClain Satterley & Greenwood, A Professional Law Corporation
    • Keker, Van Nest & Peters LLP
    • Janni Lehrer-Stein & Leonard Stein
    • Daniel S. Mason & Karen Jones Mason
    • Jean Mitchell & Frederick Cannon
    • MobilityWorks Wheelchair Accessible Vans
    • Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld LLP
    • Jeanine & Guy Saperstein
    • Schneider Wallace Cottrell Konecky Wotkyns LLP
    • Seagate Properties, Inc.
    • Sebastian Professional
    • Shartsis Friese LLP
    • Dick Sherman in memory of Vicki De Goff
    • U.S. Bank
    • Weinstein Melnick
    • Jon Wheeler
  • Friends
    • Natalie & Alan Aliga
    • Nana Antwi-Ansorge & Joey Ansorge
    • Andrew Brozman
    • Michelle Caiola
    • Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy
    • Eye to Eye
    • Evan Mittman
    • Parker Hanski LLC
    • Peabody & Arnold LLP, Joseph O’Neil
    • Phillips Nizer LLP
    • Pryor Cashman LLP, James S. O’Brien, Jr.
    • Ranni Law Firm
    • Emma & David Rhodes
    • Sally Swanson Architects, Inc.
    • Mary-Lee & Alex Smith

Disability Rights Advocates
675 Third Avenue, Suite 2216
New York, NY 10017