MEDIA ADVISORY, May 18, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) --
WHAT: The annual Posse Foundation Gala: An Evening of Stars.
The Posse Gala honors individuals it considers to be
"stars" each year. Posse Stars are people who have made an
extraordinary difference in the field of education or have
been incredible role models for young people.
Posse is a youth leadership development and college access
program. Posse finds young leaders from urban public
schools and sends them in teams (Posses) to some of the
top colleges and universities in the nation. Since 1989,
over 1500 young people have won more than $142 million in
leadership scholarships from 23 elite colleges and
universities. Today Posse recruits students from Boston,
Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, and Washington D.C.
WHY: Posse exists to help address persistent issues of
inequity among the nation's public school children. Posse
focuses on helping top colleges to redefine merit in their
admissions processes by including leadership and
extra-curricular achievement as part of the assessment
process. Posse develops teams of young people to act as
both traveling support systems for each other and also as
catalysts for positive change on university campuses.
-- The Posse Foundation has achieved phenomenal success with
a 90 percent college graduation rate -- far higher than
the national average.
-- Sallie Mae is helping The Posse Foundation become a
permanent institution. Under the leadership of Albert
Lord, it has awarded Posse a $5 million matching endowment
grant and has also donated an extra $1 million to help
establish Posse Washington, D.C.
-- Grinnell College is an extraordinary Posse partner
institution, awarding 20 Posse Scholarships each year to
promising students from Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles.
WHO: -- Lesley Stahl, Correspondent and Co-Editor of 60 Minutes
-- Kenneth Chenault, Chairman & CEO, American Express Company
-- Russell Osgood, President, Grinnell College
-- Albert Lord, Chairman of the Board, Sallie Mae
-- Deborah Bial, Posse Foundation Founder and President
-- Posse Foundation program directors from New York, Boston,
Los Angeles and Chicago; Posse Foundation alumni
WHEN: Wednesday, May 24, 2006
6:30-7:30 p.m. cocktails
7:30 - 10:30 p.m. dinner and program
WHERE: Metropolitan Pavilion
125 West 18th Street, New York City