CLASSY Awards Announces Speakers and Partners

Today, the CLASSY Awards, in partnership with the United Nations Foundation, announced Elizabeth Gore, Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the United Nations Foundation and Kenna, Founder of Summit on the Summit and Grammy-Nominated Musician, as Co-Hosts of the 5^th Annual CLASSY Awards. On Saturday, May 3, Elizabeth and Kenna, along with 12 influential speakers, will announce the eight nonprofit winners live onstage at the red carpet CLASSY Awards Ceremony in San Diego, California.

“We’re very excited to have Elizabeth and Kenna host this year’s event,” said Pat Walsh, Co-Founder of the CLASSY Awards. “Along with them, our speakers represent a diverse mix of leadership and innovation in the social sector and we are honored to have them present on stage.”

This year’s speakers include:

• Elizabeth Gore, Entrepreneur-in-Residence of the UN Foundation (Co-Host)
• Kenna, Grammy-Nominated Musician, Tech Creative & Founder of Summit on the Summit (Co-Host)
• Adam Garone, Co-Founder & CEO, Movember
• Todd Gloria, City Council President, City of San Diego
• Rachel Cohen Gerrol, Executive Director, PVBLIC Foundation
• Chris Helfrich, Director, United Nation Foundation’s Nothing But Nets Campaign
• Wayne Pacelle, President & CEO, The Humane Society of the United States
• Darrell Scott, Founder, Rachel’s Challenge
• Premal Shah, President, Kiva
• Shiza Shahid, Co-Founder & CEO, The Malala Fund
• Kathleen Schwille, VP, Educational Design & Development, National Geographic
• Col. David Sutherland, US Army (Ret.) & Chairman, Easter Seals Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services
• Scot Chisholm, Co-Founder & CEO, StayClassy & the CLASSY Awards
• Pat Walsh, Co-Founder & CIO, StayClassy & the CLASSY Awards

“We all have a role to play in building a better world,” said Elizabeth Gore, this year’s co-host of the CLASSY Awards and Entrepreneur–in-Residence at the UN Foundation. “By using your voice, time, and wallet everyone has the power to make a life-saving difference for families and communities globally. The UN Foundation is proud to support CLASSY and help honor the best organizations making a positive difference in the world.”

The CLASSYs are proudly presented in partnership with the UN Foundation, and with the support of close partners who are dedicated to supporting organizations driving significant social progress worldwide. This year’s partners include Southwest Airlines, the Official Airline Partner, and Palantir Technologies. The CLASSYs are produced by Empire Entertainment, a global creative and production agency that has also produced the TIME 100 Awards, the Webby Awards and the Gotham Awards.

This year’s partners include:

• UN Foundation
• Southwest Airlines
• Palantir Technologies
• UPenn Center for High Impact Philanthropy
• Car2Go
• GuideStar
• Foundation Center
• Salesforce
• PVBLIC Foundation
• Empire Entertainment
• StayClassy
• Bank of America
• Active Network
• Mission Federal Credit Union
• Manpower

“Giving back is important to us, that’s why partnering with the CLASSY Awards is such a good fit,” said Lidia S. Martinez, Manager of Corporate Community Affairs at Southwest Airlines. “We are incredibly impressed with the organizations recognized through the CLASSY Awards process, and are honored to provide the leaders behind those organizations an opportunity to come to San Diego for the CLASSY Awards Weekend.”