METROPOLITAN BLACK BAR ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORK CITY (“MBBA”) ANNOUNCES ITS 2014 ANNIVERSARY AWARDS GALA HONOREES

CONTACT: Dionne Gill                                      FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TELEPHONE: 212.964.1645                         Wednesday, February 5, 2014

EMAIL: [email protected] www.mbbanyc.org

METROPOLITAN BLACK BAR ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORK CITY (“MBBA”) ANNOUNCES ITS 2014 ANNIVERSARY AWARDS GALA HONOREES

MBBA President, R. Nadine Fontaine, announces that the MBBA will hold its Thirtieth Anniversary Awards Gala on Friday, May 16, 2014 at Pier Sixty in New York, NY. The theme of the Gala is “The Power of Us: Celebrating 30 Years of Leadership, Innovation and Community.” Michele Coleman Mayes, Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of the New York Public Library and Theodore V. Wells, Jr., Partner and Co-Chair of the Litigation Department, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, LLP will serve as Honorary Co-Chairs of the MBBA Gala.

In addition to the President, the MBBA Gala Committee members include Christine Appah, Richard D. Boyd, Jason M. Clark, Paula T. Edgar, Luwick Francois, Hon. Cheryl J. Gonzales, Co-Chair of the Gala Committee, Y. Gail Goode, Taa Grays, Andrew Hannibal, Deborah L. Martin, Moya O’Conner, Francesca J. Perkins, Yamicha Stephenson, Allison B. Tomlinson and Hon. Alvin M. Yearwood, Co-Chair of the Gala Committee.

The 2014 MBBA Annual Gala Honorees are as follows:

Trailblazer of the Year:

Raymond J. McGuire, Global Head of Corporate and Investment

Banking Citigroup, Inc.

Corporate Counsel of the Year:

Duane L. Hughes, Managing Director

Morgan Stanley

Private Practitioner of the Year:

Carmen J. Lawrence, Partner

King & Spalding, LLP

Jurist of the Year:

Hon. Sheila Abdus -Salaam, Associate Judge

New York State Court of Appeals

Public Servant of the Year:

Jennifer Jones Austin, CEO & Executive Director

Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies

Co-Chair, Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Transition Team

Member of the Year:

Shirley Stewart Farmer, First President (Posthumously)

Metropolitan Black Bar Association

For more information on this event, or to schedule an interview with MBBA President R. Nadine Fontaine, please contact Francesca J. Perkins at [email protected]. For sponsorship inquiries, please contact Paula T. Edgar at [email protected].