Take The Lead Honors Lynda Carter at Conference On Women’s Equality Day
Issue 266 — July 15, 2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 11, 2024) — Iconic actor and singer-songwriter Lynda Carter will be honored with the 2024 Leading Woman Award at the 5th Annual Take The Lead PowerUp Conference in Washington D.C. on Sunday, August 25 and Monday, August 26.
Take The Lead’s “Together We Lead” Conference on Monday, August 26 at the National Housing Center, follows the PowerUp Concert Sunday, August 25 at The John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, with virtual options for both events.
“There is nothing more powerful than a group of women working on a shared goal,” says Carter. “We are a force to be reckoned with, filled with rich determination. I look forward to joining Take the Lead Women in community for this important event.”
“Lynda Carter is a trailblazer who continues to inspire generations of girls and women of all ages to push through barriers with passion and compassion for the sake of justice and equality. Just like her iconic female-led superhero character Wonder Woman, she embodies someone who knows no limits,” says Gloria Feldt, Co-Founder and President of Take The Lead, the national non-profit dedicated to achieving gender parity in leadership by 2025.
The conference is timed with Take The Lead’s 10-year anniversary and Women’s Equality Day, which commemorates a turning point in the history of the struggle for equal treatment of women and women’s rights.
“An accomplished actor, business woman, musician, producer, wife and mother, Lynda continues to break barriers and set new benchmarks for women. The path to equality in leadership is paved by making space for each one of our own stories,” says Feldt, who has spent the last six decades advocating for women’s rights. “Together, we lead,” says Feldt. “Together, we will honor Lynda Carter and celebrate all of the advocates who continue the long march toward equitable representation in all sectors.”
Widely known for her role as the original Wonder Woman, Lynda Carter has achieved success acting, singing, songwriting and performing on Broadway. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2018. Recently, Lynda has released several new original songs in 2024 to critical acclaim, including social justice anthem “Rise Up,” the poignant “Letters from Earth” in tribute to her late husband Robert, and the sassy pop tune “Pink Slip Lollipop.” All were recorded in Nashville with longtime producer Kyle Lehning, with more to come in 2024 and 2025.
As an active participant in the DC Universe, Carter had a recurring role in the television series Supergirl from 2016–2018. In 2020, Carter made a cameo appearance in Wonder Woman 1984. She also appeared in the feature film, The Cleaner with Luke Wilson in 2021, and reprised her original role in the film Super Troopers 2. Her musical talent was showcased when she lent her voice to the popular video game series “Skyrim,” “The Elder Scrolls,” and “Fallout.” She has produced and starred in five Emmy-nominated variety specials on CBS. She has been a headline performer in Las Vegas, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and prestigious concert halls around the world.
For more than a decade, she was the face of Maybelline Cosmetics and has devoted her life to better the lives of others through her involvement with charities and organizations such as Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation, City of Hope, TGen, The Coelho Center for Disability Law, GLAAD, Father Martin’s Ashley Recovery Center, God’s Love We Deliver, Race For The Cure, Ronald McDonald House, Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, U.S.O., among others. Additionally, she is on the founding advisory council of the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum, which is actively working to expand the story of America through the often-untold narratives and accomplishments of women.
At 54, Feldt was named president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America (1996–2005), the world’s largest reproductive health advocacy organization. At the age of 71, realizing that until women hold equal power, pay, and leadership positions, Feldt co-founded Take The Lead in 2014, a nonprofit with the goal of seeing women reach leadership parity across all sectors by 2025. She is a best-selling author of five books on gender and power, and was named to “Forbes 50 Over 50 for Impact.”
This year’s conference, “PowerUp: Together We Lead” invites influential leaders from all sectors to gather for a celebratory concert at The John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts on Sunday, August 25 with performances by Marina Arsenijevic, BETTY, and SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK.
On Monday, the PowerUp Conference offers a day of inspirational conversations that address the lessons, losses, wins and the road ahead to gender parity in leadership across all sectors. Speakers include Daisy Auger-Dominguez; Felicia Davis; Emily M. Dickens; Carolyn B. Maloney; Vada Manager; Darnell Moore; Dr. Nancy O’Reilly; Tiffany Shlain; Zakiya Thomas; Jamia Wilson, Anu Bhardwaj, and others.
Sessions include practical takeaways focused on timely issues pertaining to women and leadership, while highlighting the work yet to be done to achieve full equality. Feldt will provide her signature 9 Leadership Power Tools for career growth and opportunities to make commitments for action.
“The conference comes at a time when progress in the advancement of women’s rights and leadership is at risk, from rollbacks on reproductive rights to attacks on initiatives such as the Fearless Fund that aims to rectify the disparity in venture funding for women entrepreneurs of color,” says Feldt. “This is the most consequential Women’s Equality Day of the 21st Century.”
“We are grateful to our presenting sponsor, Women Connect 4 Good Foundation and its founder Dr. Nancy O’Reilly for helping us to bring this experience to people committed to accelerating leadership parity.”
“Power Up: Together We Lead” tickets are available for purchase.
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About Take The Lead: Co-founded by Gloria Feldt, Take The Lead, is a 501 © (3) that prepares and propels women of all diversities to take their fair and equal share of leadership positions across all sectors. The group offers professional training, coaching, community building, and workshops for individual women and corporations.
MEDIA CONTACT: Kelly Kimball | 310.701.7773 | k2@kkimballpr.com
The “Power Up: Together We Lead” concert is an external rental presented in coordination with the Kennedy Center Campus Rentals Office and is not produced by the Kennedy Center
GLORIA FELDT is the Cofounder and President of Take The Lead, a motivational speaker, a global expert in women’s leadership development and DEI for individuals and companies that want to build gender balance. She is a bestselling author of five books, most recently Intentioning: Sex, Power, Pandemics, and How Women Will Take The Lead for (Everyone’s) Good. Honored as Forbes 50 Over 50, and Former President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, she is a frequent media commentator. Learn more at www.gloriafeldt.com and www.taketheleadwomen.com. Find her @GloriaFeldt on all social media.