Honorees Announced For The Moving Families Forward Gala Benefiting Ackerman Institute For The Family

Gisselle Acevedo, President & CEO, Ackerman Institute for the Family, announced today the emcee and honorees for the 13th Annual Moving Families Forward Gala to take place at the InterContinental New York Barclay on Monday, October 21st, in New York City. The event benefits the vital programs and ongoing services for children and families at the Ackerman Institute for the Family.

The 2019 Honorees:

Christina Ackermann, Executive Vice President, General Counsel of Bausch Health, and one of the Financial Times' top 20 General Counsels globally for 2019, will be receiving the Ackerman Courageous Leadership Award.

Ashley De La Rosa, currently on Broadway as Janelle Woods in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, will be receiving the Ackerman Diversity & Inclusion Award.

Tamsen Fadal, 12-time Emmy-winning journalist for PIX11 News, executive producer and host of Broadway Profiles for The Broadway Channel, three-time author, speaker, and active philanthropist, will be honored with the Ackerman Family Advocate Award.

Maria Hinojosa, Founder & President of Futuro Media Group, Anchor and Executive Producer of Latino USA, will be receiving the Ackerman Humanitarian Award.

Kate Snow, anchor of NBC Nightly News Sunday, an award-winning Senior National Correspondent for NBC News, and contributing reporter for Nightly News with Lester Holt, TODAY, and Dateline NBC, will be honored with the Ackerman Champion of Hope Award.

Ackerman's Social Work and Diversity Program, the 27-year old initiative that diversifies the family therapy field, will be receiving the Ackerman Legacy Honor.

"We are thrilled to be honoring five outstanding leaders who are inspiring others to embrace hope, courage, and equity, and let their voices be heard," says Gisselle Acevedo, President & CEO, Ackerman Institute for the Family. "Christina Ackermann is a courageous global business leader with high ethical standards and passion for diversity and inclusion. Ashley De La Rosa is a gifted actress whose commitment to acceptance flows into her art. As our Gala Emcee for the past five years, the brilliant journalist Tamsen Fadal has shone a light on families, of every form and legacy, who come to Ackerman seeking healthy relationships and improved mental health. Maria Hinojosa is an inspirational leader, known as a fighter of indifference and a mentor to the next generation of diverse journalists reporting in communities whose stories otherwise go untold. And Kate Snow's own family stories of hardship and hope have been told with the grace and truth of the very talented journalist we know her to be. Lastly, we are delighted to be honoring Ackerman's Social Work and Diversity Program. With more than 150 therapists of color, mentored and supported for 27 years, the program's impact exemplifies our whole-hearted belief that strong alliances, including those undergirded by shared identities, create change and drive success for our families and our communities."

The 2019 Moving Families Forward Gala Co-Chairs are Leslie Roberts and Deborah Werner; Honorary Chair is Jeanette Monninger; Gala Planning Committee members are Gisselle Acevedo, Martha Fling, Victoria R. Kahn, Gisella Lemos, Nicole Poteat, and Janine Weisenbeck.

LaChanze will be presenting the Ackerman Family Advocate Award to Tamsen Fadal. Joseph Papa, Chairman of the Board & CEO, Bausch Health will be presenting the Ackerman Courageous Leadership Award to Christina Ackermann. Board/Committee member Nicole Poteat will be presenting the Ackerman Diversity & Inclusion Award to Ashley De La Rosa. Board member Ira Sallen will be presenting the Ackerman Champion of Hope Award to Kate Snow.

Abby Phillip, CNN White House Correspondent, will emcee the evening for the first time.

"The Ackerman Institute for the Family is excited to welcome Abby Phillip as our emcee for Moving Families Forward 2019: We Are Family," says Acevedo. "I am grateful to Abby for her leadership in the shifting cultural landscape that impacts the mental health of every family. Through Abby's courageous acts and open heart, she enables us all to see the brave in ourselves."

Prior to joining CNN in 2017, Phillip was a national political reporter at The Washington Post covering the White House and writing on a wide range of subjects related to the Trump Administration, including efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, and the president's overseas trip to Poland and Germany for his first G-20. As a campaign reporter during the 2016 election, Phillip extensively covered Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.

Phillip was also a general assignment reporter for The Washington Post, where she covered domestic and international news including the tragic Charleston, SC and San Bernardino massacres. Before joining The Washington Post, Phillip was a digital reporter for politics at ABC News. She has also covered the Obama White House for POLITICO as well as campaign finance and lobbying.

Phillip was raised in Bowie, MD and is a graduate of Harvard University with a degree in Government. She currently lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband.

LaChanze, the Tony, SAG, and Emmy winning actress, stepped onto the stage 27 Broadway seasons ago, emerging as one of its brightest stars and voices.

She made audiences sit up and take notice, giving the original production of Once On This Island its beating heart, creating the role of lovelorn peasant girl Ti Moune. Armed with her incomparable gift for dramatic storytelling and soaring vocal prowess, she won a Tony Award for giving a voice to Celie, the unlikely heroine of Alice Walker's The Color Purple, in the musical's original staging. Shortly after, she nabbed an Emmy Award for her riveting performance in PBS's Handel's Messiah Rocks: A Joyful Noise and a SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture in the award-winning film The Help.

During the 2018 Broadway season, LaChanze brought the magic to audiences again with her high voltage performance as Diva Donna in Summer: The Donna Summer Musical.

With an endless list of television, film and theatre credits, LaChanze will take to the stage in the world premiere of Pulitzer Prize Winner Lynn Nottage's The Secret Life of Bees. The musical adaptation of Sue Monk Kidd's novel will begin previews on May 12th at the Atlantic Theater Company ahead of its official opening on June 13th.

When not on stage, LaChanze takes her one-of-a-kind, one-woman show, Feeling Good, to popular venues, touching the hearts of audiences worldwide. This electric and highly praised tour mixes the perfect blend of emotional intensity with sultry vocals, leaving onlookers feeling every pain, joy, and excitement, all through an autobiographical journey of her life with music and words. LaChanze is the proud mother of two teenage daughters.