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The MY HERO Project                                                       

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Alyse NelsonVital Voices CEO/President and Co-Founder

VITAL VOICES TO RECEIVE 2017 WOMEN TRANSFORMING MEDIA AWARD FOR UNLEASHING THE POWER OF WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP

OCTOBER 9, 2017 - SANTA MONICA, CA – The MY HERO Project has chosen Vital Voices Global Partnership to receive the 2017 Women Transforming Media Award, for 20 years of advancing women's transformative leadership efforts globally.

Vital Voices President and CEO Alyse Nelson, a co-founder of Vital Voices, will accept the award at the 2017 MY HERO International Film Festival (MHIFF), an annual celebration of the best of humanity. The MHIFF takes place:

November 11, 2017, at the Herb Alpert Educational Village:

New Roads School

3131 Olympic Blvd.

Santa Monica, CA 90404

The Women Transforming Media award was launched in 2016 as part of Women Transforming Media (WTM), an initiative of The MY HERO Project. The initiative was established with a generous grant from the American Association of University Women to shine a light on women who are transforming the media landscape and the world.

Mentor and philanthropist Eva Haller, the inaugural recipient of the WTM award, was asked to nominate this year’s recipient: “I nominated Vital Voices because now, more than ever, when gains made by women must be defended, we must honor the foresight and vision of those women leaders who founded Vital Voices, and sought to uplift women everywhere.” Haller has offered a generous donation to Vital Voices, which will accompany the award.

WTM featured Nelson as part of its series of in-depth profiles on transformative women. Jeanne Meyers, director of The MY HERO Project, said Nelson’s words touched a chord with the organization: “Alyse’s story, which begins with Hillary Clinton’s call to action at the 4th UN Conference on Women in Beijing, was quite moving for us, connecting generations of women at an historic moment. We are inspired by how she paid it forward by cultivating women’s leadership for 20 years, and are excited to share her story with the teachers who use our hero stories to create lesson plans in their classrooms.”

Nelson, a co-founder of Vital Voices, has expanded the Vital Voices network to over 15,000 women leaders all over the world. She is the author of the best-selling book “Vital Voices: The Power of Women Leading Change Around the World,” host of the Vital Voices podcast and has interviewed over two hundred women leaders.

Vital Voices was established in 1997 by then First Lady Hillary Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright as the Vital Voices Democracy Initiative. Clinton and Melanne Verveer co-founded the Vital Voices Global Partnership, a non-profit non-governmental organization, in 1999 “to identify, invest in and bring visibility to extraordinary women around the world by unleashing their leadership potential to transform lives and accelerate peace and prosperity in their communities.” For more information: www.vitalvoices.org. 

The MY HERO Project is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Donations from inpiduals, foundations, and corporations fund our award-winning, educational programs. The mission of MY HERO is to use media, art and technology to celebrate the best of humanity. Explore MY HERO’s library of films, art, and stories and share your inspiring media with our growing global learning community at myhero.com

Visit the MY HERO web site to learn more about The MY HERO International Film Festival and Awards Ceremony. 

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