Meet Our Speakers: ERA Gala 2021

Airs Thursday, Sept. 23 at 4:00 p.m. PT / 7:00 p.m. ET.

>> Watch Live<<

Featured Speakers:

• Rosario Dawson
• Maria Hinojosa, Featured Speaker
• Former CA Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson
• Congresswoman Lauren Underwood

2021 Honorees:

• Valerie Butterbredt, Emerging Leader Honoree
• Elizabeth Cabraser, 2021 Ramey Award Honoree
• Ifeoma Ozoma, Gender Justice Honoree

Also Featuring:

• Renel Brooks Moon, Emcee
• Madame Gandhi, Musical Guest

Maria Hinojosa, Emmy-Winning Journalist

An Emmy-winning journalist with 30 years in the field, you’ve seen Maria Hinojosa on CBS, CNN, PBS, WNBC, and more. The first Latina reporter in many newsrooms, Hinojosa dreamed of a space where she could create independent, multimedia journalism that explores and gives a critical voice to a diverse American experience. She created the Futuro Media Group to do just that, informing millions about the changing cultural and political landscape in America.  >> Full bio.

Rosario Dawson, Actor & Activist

Rosario Dawson is an artist, designer, and activist whose acting credits include Rent, Unstoppable, Seven Pounds, The Lego Batman Movie, Jane the Virgin, Men in Black II, Daredevil, and many more. She has produced projects focused on climate change, broken food systems, and girls in S.T.E.A.M. She is co-founder of Voto Latino, which has registered 1 million+ voters, and Studio 189, which creates and elevates African fashion and media. Dawson and her projects have received honors including Best Actress at NAACP Image Awards, the Martin Luther King Jr. Social Justice award, the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian’s emerging designer award, and President Barack Obama’s Volunteer Service Award.  >> Full bio.

Congresswoman Lauren Underwood

Congresswoman Lauren Underwood serves Illinois’ 14th Congressional District and was sworn into the 116th U.S. Congress on January 3, 2019. Congresswoman Underwood is the first woman, the first person of color, and the first millennial to represent her community in Congress. She is also the youngest African American woman to serve in the United States House of Representatives. >> Full bio.

Ifeoma Ozoma, 2021 Gender Justice Honoree

Ifeoma Ozoma is a co-sponsor of the Silenced No More Act, which is also co-sponsored by Equal Rights Advocates as part of our 2021 Stronger California legislative agenda. The bill will ensure all Californians can speak out about discrimination or harassment they experience at work, even after signing an NDA (non-disclosure agreement). She is a tech policy expert and Founder of Earthseed, a tech accountability and health misinformation consulting firm. >> Full bio.

Valerie Butterbredt, Emerging Leader Honoree

Valerie Butterbredt is an active advocate in the movements for equal opportunity for Native people and women, especially those who are pregnant and parenting. She is currently partnering with Equal Rights Advocates as a pregnancy discrimination client in pursuit of justice for herself and other Native students in her Master’s of Social Work graduate program. >> Full bio.

Emcee: Dr. Renel Brooks-Moon

San Francisco Giants’ P.A. Announcer of 22 years, Renel Brooks-Moon has been recognized by the Baseball Hall of Fame as the first woman to Public Address Announce a world championship game in any professional sport. As the first Black woman to announcer Major League Baseball, she was profiled in O, The Oprah Winfrey Magazine, as “The Woman Who’s Changing Baseball.” She has 35 years as a local radio and television broadcaster. >>Full bio.

Musical Guest: Madame Gandhi

Madame Gandhi is an electrofeminist singer, percussionist, and speaker who is focused on fourth-wave feminism and modern gender equality. Listed in Forbes 30 Under 30 music class of 2019, Madame Gandhi’s music is rooted in political activism, which includes organizing the London Marathon free-bleeding to combat period stigma around the world, sparking a global conversation about how we treat menstruation in various cultures. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. >>Full bio.