New York, May 11, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC/CUNY) and the BMCC Foundation will host the 2017 Gala, “Invest in a Future,” with proceeds benefiting the BMCC Scholarship Fund. The evening's Honorees are Carol Britton, Chief Operating Officer for Corporate Services at BNY Mellon, and Jeffrey Gural, Chairman of Newmark Knight Frank. Special Guest Star Honorees are Oscar® and Grammy® winning songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez.
This annual event, scheduled for Thursday, May 18, will be held at Cipriani at 25 Broadway. A cocktail reception will begin at 5:45 p.m. and dinner will be served at 6:45 p.m.
“The annual BMCC Foundation Scholarship Gala is an important tradition at our college that brings together members of the BMCC community, business leaders and others who share a commitment to providing scholarships to our deserving students, most of whom are the first in their families to attend college,” said Doris Holz, BMCC’s Vice President of Development. “Each year, proceeds from the Gala provide scholarships to hundreds of high-achieving students facing economic challenges to staying in school. These scholarship recipients then go on to begin their careers and contribute to the growth of our City and nation.”
Honoree: Carol Britton
Carol Britton is Chief Operating Officer for Corporate Services at BNY Mellon. In that role, she leads all BNY Mellon’s global real estate, procurement and finance support operations activities. Ms. Britton also develops strategies and leverages technology to strengthen processes and drive efficiencies for expenditures across areas including a global real estate portfolio of over 200 locations. She is a member of the Corporate Operating Committee and serves on the Executive Board of the Women's Initiate Network. Ms. Britton also sits on the University of Pittsburgh Advisory Board for The Center for Supply Chain Management, and on the Sourcing Executive Council for HFS Research. Prior board roles include having served as Treasurer of the Women’s Bond Club, Vice Chair of the Michigan Parkinson’s Foundation and Board Member of Leading Edge Institute.
Honoree: Jeffrey Gural
Jeffrey Gural is Chairman of Newmark Knight Frank, a commercial and industrial real estate management firm that manages approximately 150 buildings in the NYC metropolitan area. Along with Barry M. Gosin, CEO of Newmark Knight Frank, Mr. Gural is responsible for all acquisitions, as well as the managing and leasing of 8,000,000 square feet of properties. He is also responsible for the overall supervision of the company's non-institutional portfolio.Mr. Gural has overseen the growth of the Manhattan brokerage firm Newmark Grubb since 1978. In 2006, Newmark Grubb formed a strategic partnership with London-based real estate firm Knight Frank and in October 2011, Newmark Grubb Knight Frank was acquired by BGC Partners. Mr. Gural also runs the harness racing track Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, New Jersey, as well as the racinos Tioga Downs in Nichols, New York, and Vernon Downs in Vernon, New York.
Special Guest Star Honorees
Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez — the Oscar® and Grammy® winning, married songwriting team behind the Disney animated film, Frozen — are the Gala's Special Guest Star Honorees.
Robert co-conceived and co-wrote the smash-hit musicals Avenue Q and The Book of Mormon, both earning him Tony® Awards. Kristen’s show In Transit, made history as the first all a capella musical to run on Broadway, after earning recognition at the Drama Desk, Drama League and Lucille Lortel awards for its 2010 Off-Broadway run.
Lopez and Anderson-Lopez have written for television, film and stage, including Finding Nemo: The Musical, songs for The Wonder Pets (two Emmy® award wins) and the Winnie the Pooh animated film. Their original musical, Up Here, premiered at the La Jolla Playhouse in 2015. Their current projects include the Disney animated film Gigantic, and the stage adaptation of Frozen for Broadway. Lopez and Anderson-Lopez live in Brooklyn with their two daughters.
Emcee Cindy Hsu
Cindy Hsu is an Emmy Award-winning anchor and reporter who has been at CBS 2 News in New York City since 1993. Recently, Hsu was awarded “Reporter of the Year” from the NY and NJ Asian-American Law Enforcement Organization. Her personal adoption story, “Bringing Rosie Home,” was nominated for an Emmy Award and won the New York AP Broadcasters Award for Best Feature. She received Emmy Awards for Outstanding Single Hard News Story for “Smuggled from China,” which exposed the horrific plights of Chinese refugees, and for her live coverage of the snowstorm of 1994. American Women in Radio and Television honored her with the Golden Apple Award, and she also received the Friends of Adoption Award from the Adoptive Parents Committee. Prior to joining WCBS-TV, Hsu worked as a reporter and anchor in Wisconsin and Ohio. She began her broadcasting career as an associate producer for WTVR-TV in Richmond, Virginia. Hsu lives in New York City with her daughter.
Past Gala Honorees
In recent years, the Gala has honored many friends and supporters. In 2016, the Gala Honorees were Don Callahan, Head of Operations & Technology, Citi; Garrett Moran, President, Year Up, andSpecial Guest Star Honoree Edie Falco. In 2015, the Gala honored Marianne Brown, COO, SunGard Financial Services; Marc Holliday, CEO, SL Green Realty Corporation and Special Guest Star Honoree Billy Crystal. In 2014, the Honorees were Kurt D. Woetzel, CEO, Global Collateral Services, BNY Mellon; Elizabeth Margaritis Butson, former publisher and owner of The Villager and Downtown Express, and Special Guest Star Honoree Robert De Niro.
For more information, to purchase a ticket or reserve a table, please contact the BMCC Office of Development at (212) 220-8020 or click HERE.
Special thanks to Gala Underwriter/Benefactor Santander Bank, N.A., and to Gala Guardians Jack Resnick & Sons, Inc., Jeffrey Gural, Stephen J. Meringoff/Meringoff Family Foundation and BNY Mellon.
About BMCC:
Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) is part of the City University of New York (CUNY) and enrolls more than 27,000 degree-seeking and 11,000 continuing education students a year, awarding associate degrees in more than 45 fields. BMCC ranks #4 among community colleges nationwide in granting associate degrees to minority students, according to data from the U.S. Department of Education. Visit: http://www.bmcc.cuny.edu.
Attachments:
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5e48f52c-63e2-4e67-9d13-d536049a919f