The Women of Tomorrow Mentor & Scholarship Program celebrated its 23^rd Annual Gala and over twenty-seven years of working to improve the lives of at-risk high school students by remembering the life of television executive and Women of Tomorrow Co-Founder Don Browne.

“Don leaves a legacy of promoting women and minorities in television at NBC and as the president of Telemundo Network,” said Program Founder and President Jennifer Valoppi. “He brought me to Miami from New York, and when I pitched him on the idea of a program to help at-risk young women live up to their full potential, he threw the weight of the NBC television station behind it and Women of Tomorrow was born.”

The evening also honored “Jeweler to the Stars,” Jeffrey Rackover, who received the Excellence Award for his many years of contributions that helped the organization raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to support at-risk students in the program.  A $200,000 diamond bracelet, donated by Rackover was auctioned off live, along with an Aspen Penthouse, a Formula 1 Grand Prix experience donated by The Collection, and a luxury Ritz Carlton European cruise.

Women of Tomorrow Graduate Rachel Lorfils inspired the crowd with her touching story of breaking the negative cycles of her youth, to graduate Dartmouth and go on to a successful career in legal finance. “I am incredibly honored to have been asked to share my story with you today and the ways in which this incredible organization has been instrumental in creating my own tomorrow,” said Lorfils. “The power of having someone believe in you and affirm that you are worthy, capable, and deserving. That is what Women of Tomorrow did for me.”

The sold-out black-tie Gala at the Vanderbilt Mansion was led by Philanthropic Chair, Marisa Toccin Lucas, co-chaired by Suzy Buckley Woodward, Carol Iacovelli, and Young Leadership Chair, Stefanie Ramirez.

This annual gala provides critical support for the Women of Tomorrow Mentor & Scholarship Program, which mentors approximately 4000 at-risk young girls in public high schools in South Florida and Metro Detroit. Women of Tomorrow has a 99 percent high school graduation rate among an at-risk population and has given out more than $8.5 million in scholarships to higher education.

The event began with a cocktail reception on Fisher Island and moved into the Vanderbilt Ballroom for dinner with donated caviar courtesy of Petrossian and flowing champagne, wine and cocktails contributed by Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits.

About Women of Tomorrow Mentor & Scholarship Program

Founded in 1997 by television journalist and author Jennifer Valoppi and Don Browne, former Telemundo and NBC President, the Women of Tomorrow Mentor & Scholarship Program is designed to inspire, motivate and empower at-risk young women to live up to their full potential while being mentored by highly accomplished professional women in their community. Our partner public schools select at-risk girls facing a variety of challenges, such as behavioral, economic, medical, abuse and/or academic to name a few, to join our program. Each mentoring group at each school is diverse in its composition with girls in 9th-12th grade who have varying strengths and weaknesses so they learn not only from their mentors, but from each other as well. This happens through mentoring sessions, college campus visits, career-focused field trips and college scholarship opportunities.

Women of Tomorrow positively transforms the lives of the at-risk girls we serve. Women of Tomorrow has touched the lives of more than 25,000 high school girls in South Florida and Metro-Detroit. Women of Tomorrow’s network of over 350 professional women currently mentor approximately 4,000 girls in close to 170 public high schools, with a 99% graduation rate among an at-risk population. Over $8.5 million in college scholarships have been awarded.