Actress Mercedes Ruehl and Violinist Robert McDuffie Set for CATW Celebration

On Wednesday, October 5th, the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW), an international organization that works to end the trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of women and girls, will honor Lynn and John Savarese for their exceptional contributions to the movement to end human trafficking.

Lynn, a New York-based photographer, co-created and conceptualized the New Abolitionists campaign, and produced a collection of over 200 portraits including Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Congressman John Lewis, Tina Fey, Lee Daniels, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and over sixty survivors. The campaign seeks to raise awareness about human trafficking in the state of New York and around the world. John Savarese is a senior litigation partner at the prestigious law firm of Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz.

The program will feature performances by the incomparable jazz vocalist, Somi and Grammy-nominated violinist, Robert McDuffie. Somi, who signed with Sony in 2013 has been dubbed the "Next Nina Simone" by Huffington Post, and her first album with a major label "The Lago Music Salon" debuted at #1 on the US Jazz Charts. The program will also present readings from Academy and Tony Award Winning Actress, Mercedes Ruehl; andIrish sex trade survivor Rachel Moran, author of Paid For: My Journey Through Prostitution; and others to be announced.

The event's host committee, co-chaired by Debra Martin Chase, Rachel Foster and Stacey Morse, includes Meryl Streep, Eric Holder, Pulitzer-prize winner Lynn Nottage, Haitian-American writer Edwidge Danticat, Rosanna Arquette, Gloria Steinem, (all photographed as New Abolitionists), as well as Angela Bassett, Rosanne Cash, Eve Ensler, Monica Raymund and many others.

For more information go to bit.ly/2dMqstB.