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WFPG’s Celebrating Women Leaders Benefit luncheons are held annually in Washington, D.C. to highlight the achievements of some of the most prominent policy-makers and thought leaders shaping the world today. Honorees are recognized for their extraordinary leadership in foreign affairs and national security, as well as for their roles as trailblazers and role models for aspiring women leaders. Speakers have included key US officials including secretaries of state, top national security leaders, and senators, as well as heads of UN agencies.
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2025 Celebrating Women Leaders Benefit Gala
November 18, 2025 | National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C.
Learn more about sponsorship opportunities here!
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2024 Celebrating Women Leaders Benefit
November 15, 2024 | Embassy of Italy, Washington, D.C. | Theme: AI, Security, and Innovation
Honorees: Irene Fellin, NATO Secretary General's Special Representative for Women, Peace, and Security;
Amna Nawaz, Co-Anchor of PBS News Hour
Keynote: Jennifer Ewbank, Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency for Digital Innovation, 2019-2024
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2023 Celebrating Women Leaders Benefit
December 7, 2023 | Embassy of France, Washington, D.C.
Honorees: Masih Alinejad, Iranian-American Journalist; Shabana Basij-Rasikh, President and Co-Founder of School of Leadership, Afghanistan (SOLA); Sarah Haacke Byrd, CEO, Women Moving Millions
Fireside Chat: Dr. Geeta Rao Gupta, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues
Moderator: Elisabeth Bumiller, New York Times Washington Bureau Chief & WFPG Board Member
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2022 Celebrating Women Leaders Benefit
December 8, 2022 | Washington, D.C.
Honoree: Ambassador Katherine Tai, U.S. Trade Representative
Moderator: Elisabeth Bumiller, New York Times Washington Bureau Chief & WFPG Board Member
Watch the recording
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2021 Celebrating Women Leaders Benefit
December 8, 2021 | Washington, D.C.
Honorees: Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE); Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)
Moderator: Gloria Dittus, Chairman, Story Partners & WFPG Board Member
Watch the recording | View the photos
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2019 Celebrating Women Leaders Benefit
December 3, 2019 | Washington, D.C.
Fireside Chat I: Ambassador Susan Rice, 24th National Security Advisor
Moderator: Susan Page, USA Today Washington Bureau Chief
Fireside Chat II: Hon. Susan Gordon, Former Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence;
Hon. Andrea Thompson, Former Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Affairs
Moderator: Elisabeth Bumiller, New York Times Washington Bureau Chief
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2018 Celebrating Women Leaders Benefit
December 6, 2018 | Washington, D.C. | Theme: Women Shaping the Global Economy
Honoree: Patricia Ellis, WFPG President Emeritus and Co-Founder
Fireside Chat: Dina Habib Powell, Goldman Sachs
Moderator: Elise Labott, CNN Global Affairs Correspondent
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2017 Autumn Gala
November 7, 2017 | Washington, D.C. | Theme: A Conversation on National Security
Fireside Chat: Hon. Mike Rogers, Host of CNN's Declassified;
Lisa Monaco, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism (2013-17)
Moderator: Cathy Russell, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues (2013-17)
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2016 Fall Conference
November 29, 2016 | Washington, D.C. | Theme: Facing a World in Turmoil
Panel I: Security at Home and Abroad
Panel II: A World in Chaos: Challenges for the Next Administration
Keynote: Hon. John Kerry, U.S. Secretary of State
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2016 Celebrating Women Leaders Benefit
June 20, 2016 | Washington, D.C. | Theme: Combating Terrorism, Regional Conflicts, and Migration Challenges
in the Middle East and Africa
Honorees: Assistant Secretary Anne Patterson, Near Eastern Affairs; Assistant Secretary Anne Richard, Population, Refugees, and Migration; Assistant Secretary Linda Thomas-Greenfield, African Affairs
Moderator: Karen DeYoung, Washington Post
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2015 Celebrating Women Leaders Benefit
December 11, 2016 | Washington, D.C. | Theme: War and Diplomacy: The Inside Story of Covering the World's Conflicts
Honorees: Margaret Brennan, CBS News; Helene Cooper, New York Times; Missy Ryan, Washington Post
Moderator: Elisabeth Bumiller, New York Times
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2015 20th Anniversary Celebration
June 10, 2015 | Washington, D.C. | Theme: Women Leaders Tackling 21st Century Challenges
A full-day conference and evening reception celebrating the 20th Anniversary of WFPG
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2014 Celebrating Women Leaders Benefit
December 15, 2014 | Washington, D.C. | Theme: Global Conflicts and Crises: The View from the Inside
Honorees: Helene Cooper, New York Times; Elise Labott, CNN; Missy Ryan, Washington Post;
Margaret Warner, PBS Newshour
Moderator: Elisabeth Bumiller, New York Times
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2014 Celebrating Women Leaders Benefit
May 14, 2014 | Washington, D.C. | Theme: Major National Security Challenges Facing the U.S.
Honoree: Ambassador Susan Rice, U.S. National Security Advisor
Moderator: Judy Woodruff, PBS NewsHour Co-Anchor and Managing Editor
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2013 Celebrating Women Leaders Benefit
November 21, 2013 | Washington, D.C. | Theme: Voices of Women Journalists in Foreign Policy
Honorees: Karen DeYoung, Senior National Correspondent, Washington Post
Jill Dougherty, Foreign Affairs Correspondent, CNN
Siobhan Gorman, Intelligence Correspondent, Wall Street Journal
Moderator: Elisabeth Bumiller, Deputy Washington Bureau Chief, New York Times
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2012 Celebrating Women Leaders Benefit
June 25, 2012 | Washington, D.C. | Theme: International Financial Diplomacy
Honoree: Lael Brainard, Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs
Moderator: Chrystia Freeland, Thomson Reuters Digital
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2012 Celebrating Women Leaders Benefit
April 20, 2012 | Washington, D.C. | Theme: Women's Empowerment in the Middle East and Worldwide
Honoree: Michelle Bachelet, Executive Director, UN Women
Moderator: Judy Woodruff, PBS NewsHour
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2011 Celebrating Women Leaders Benefit
November 3, 2011 | Washington, D.C. | Theme: Technology, Terrorism, and Intelligence
Honoree: Senator Dianne Feinstein, Chair, Select Committee on Intelligence
Moderator: Elisabeth Bumiller, New York Times
Event Chair: Maxine Isaacs, WFPG Board Chair
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2010 Celebrating Women Leaders Benefit
November 1, 2010 | Washington, D.C. | Theme: Leading a Global Corporation
Honoree: Anne Mulcahy, Former Chairman and CEO, Xerox Corporation
Moderator: Bianna Golodryga, ABC News
Event Chair: Hon. Ann Korologos, Former US Secretary of Labor
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2010 Celebrating Women Leaders Benefit
July 15, 2010 | Washington, D.C. | Theme: Women Center Stage in Foreign Policy and the Global Economy
Honoree: Melanne Verveer, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues
Moderator: Judy Woodruff, PBS NewsHour
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2009 Celebrating Women Leaders Benefit
December 16, 2010 | Washington, D.C.
Honoree: Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security
Moderator: Elisabeth Bumiller, New York Times
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2009 Celebrating Women Leaders Benefit
July 23, 2009 | Washington, D.C. | Theme: The Development Challenge in the Middle of the Global Recession
Honoree: Helen Clark, United Nations Development Programme Administrator
Moderator: Kimberly Dozier, CBS News
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2008 Celebrating Women Leaders Benefit
September 29, 2008 | Washington, D.C. | Theme: Hunger as a National Security and Global Stability Issue
Honoree: Josette Sheeran, Executive Director, UN World Food Programme
Moderator: Lara Logan, CBS News
Event Chair: Mary Catherine Toker, General Mills, Inc.
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2007 Celebrating Women Leaders Benefit
December 10, 2007 | Washington, D.C.
Honoree: Dr. Condoleezza Rice, U.S. Secretary of State
Moderator: Andrea Mitchell, CBS News
Event Chair: Hon. Ann Korologos, Former U.S. Secretary of Labor
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2006 Celebrating Women Leaders Benefit
October 16, 2006 | Washington, D.C.
Honoree: Hon. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia
Tribute: Jendayi Frazer, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs
Moderator: Renee Poussaint, CEO, National Visionary Leadership Project
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2005 10th Anniversary Celebration
November 4, 2005 | Washington, D.C. | Theme: America's Dialogue with the World
Honoree: Karen Hughes, Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs
Moderator: Andrea Koppel, CNN
Event Chair: Kathy Bushkin, United Nations Foundation
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2004 Congressional Leadership Awards
March 31, 2004 | Washington, D.C. | Theme: The Challenges and Responsibilities of American World Leadership
Honorees: Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY); Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX)
Moderator: Margaret Warner, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
Event Chairs: Susan Davis & Elizabeth Bagley
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2003 Celebrating Women Leaders Benefit
December 2, 2003 | Washington, D.C. | Theme: Iraq Reconstruction: The Challenges for the U.S. and the UN
Honorees: Robin Raphel, Coordinator for Iraq Reconstruction, Department of State
Julia Taft, UNDP Assistant Administrator for Crisis Prevention & Recovery
Moderator: Susan King, Carnegie Corporation of New York
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2002 Celebrating Women Leaders Benefit
December 13, 2002 | Washington, D.C. | Theme: Foreign Policy Center-Stage: Voices of Women Journalists
Honorees: Elisabeth Bumiller, New York Times; Karen DeYoung, Washington Post; Andrea Koppel, CNN
Moderator: Judy Woodruff, Host of Inside Politics, CNN
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2001 Celebrating Women Leaders Benefit
November 27, 2001 | Washington, D.C. | Theme: Terrorism: New Challenges, New Missions, New Solutions
Honorees: Maleeha Lodhi, Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States; Representative Jane Harman (D-CA), Ranking Minority Member, House Intelligence Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security
Moderator: Cokie Roberts, ABC News
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2000 5th Anniversary Celebration
November 20, 2000 | Washington, D.C. | Theme: Terrorism: New Challenges, New Missions, New Solutions
Honorees: Dr. Madeleine Albright, U.S. Secretary of State
Moderator: Maureen Bunyan, Lead Anchor, WJLA-TV
Concluding Remarks: Janice Zorro, WFPG Board Chair
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