IWMF announces esteemed leadership support for 2017 Courage in Journalism Awards

Atlantic Media’s David G. Bradley, Glamour’s Cindi Leive, and Travelers’ Lisa Caputo will be recognized as Leadership Honorees; Anne Finucane of Bank of America to chair NY event

[October 16, 2017, WASHINGTON, D.C.] – The International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) today announced four leaders from the media, finance, and insurance industries who will be recognized for their work on behalf of women journalists, press freedom, and human rights at their upcoming Courage in Journalism Awards, October 18-25, 2017. The honorees include:

Anne Finucane, Event Chair for New York ceremony and vice chairman at Bank of America — Finucane leads Bank of America’s strategic positioning and shepherds its environmental, social, and governance efforts, including its focus on deploying capital for sustainable growth. As part of this, she directs the company’s $125 million environmental business initiative, which invests in clean energy solutions. She also oversees its $1.6 billion Community Development Financial Institution loan portfolio, the largest by a U.S. financial institution. Providing capital to CDFIs, also known as community loan centers, is one way the bank is able to extend more small business lending, particularly to women-owned small businesses. Finucane oversees public policy, customer research and analytics, global marketing and communications at the bank and serves as chair of the Bank of America Charitable Foundation. Under her leadership, Bank of America has partnered with Vital Voices to develop the Global Ambassadors Program, which connects women entrepreneurs around the world with established women executives for immersive mentorship, training, and networking opportunities. Bank of America has been the National Presenting Sponsor of the IWMF’s Courage in Journalism Awards for the past 12 years. Twitter: @AnneFinucane

Lisa Caputo, Leadership Honoree and executive vice president and chief marketing and communications officer for The Travelers Companies, Inc. — A look at Caputo’s career reveals her depth as a marketer and communicator and a passion for empowering women. Caputo started out in the public sector, serving as press secretary for members of Congress and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and as deputy assistant to President Clinton during his first term in office. She moved to the corporate sector and took leadership roles at CBS, the Walt Disney Company, and Citigroup, where she founded Women & Co., a financial services business whose mission was to help women become financially secure and independent. Caputo has been seen on NBC, MSNBC, and CNN’s Crossfire as a political analyst and on the speaking circuit as an expert on women and finance. Today, she oversees Travelers’ marketing, research, corporate communications, creative services, brand and customer experience functions. Caputo will be recognized at the Courage in Journalism Awards ceremony in New York on Wednesday, October 18. Twitter: @LisaCaputo

David G. Bradley, Leadership Honoree and chairman and owner of Atlantic Media — Bradley broke new ground in the press freedom movement when he engaged his network to help negotiate the release of Clare Gillis, a freelancer for The Atlantic, the late James Foley, and a third reporter from captors in Libya in 2011. When Foley was captured by ISIS in Syria a year later, Bradley launched and financed another behind-the-scenes effort to bring him and four other U.S. hostages home. The story ended tragically — only one survived — but Bradley’s efforts to work in partnership with the hostages’ families contributed to the Federal government’s changes to its hostage recovery policies in 2015. Bradley’s company operates The Atlantic, National Journal Group, Quartz, and Government Executive Media Group. Bradley also founded the best practices research and consulting firm, The Advisory Board Company and its sister enterprise, the Corporate Executive Board, and serves on many boards, from the Council on Foreign Relations to KIPP DC. He will be recognized at the Courage in Journalism Awards ceremony in Washington, DC on Monday, October 23.

Cindi Leive, Leadership Honoree and editor-in-chief of Glamour — With a social media following of 15 million, Glamour has become a powerhouse under Leive’s 16-year leadership. But the editor-in-chief’s commitment to women extends well beyond the magazine. Leive is founder of The Girl Project, a philanthropic arm of Glamour that works in more than 120 countries to help girls attend secondary school and succeed in school and life. Throughout her tenure, Leive led Glamour’s Women of the Year Awards, which in 2016 recognized Gwen Stefani, Simone Biles, and the women who founded #BlackLivesMatter and featured the first Women of the Year LIVE Summit. Leive serves on the boards of the IWMF and the Brooklyn Public Library, and comments frequently on women’s issues as a guest on Today, Good Morning America, The View, ABC World News Tonight, and more. Leive, who recently announced that she’ll be stepping down from her role at Glamour, will be recognized at the Courage ceremony in Los Angeles on Wednesday, October 25. Twitter: @cindi_leive

For media inquiries, please contact Patricia Brooks at patricia@matchmapmedia.com.

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About the Awards: The IWMF Courage in Journalism Awards celebrate women journalists who set themselves apart through extraordinary bravery. This year’s winners include NPR’s Deborah Amos, Al Jazeera Arabic’s Hadeel al-Yamani, and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Saniya Toiken. The Lifetime Achievement Award, which honors one woman who has set new standards for journalists and encourages future generations of reporters to find their voices, is being given to NBC’s Andrea Mitchell. Also this year, the IWMF will recognize an outstanding journalist of color via its new Gwen Ifill Award. Courage winners join a unique community of over 100 journalists from 54 countries who have been recognized over the Award’s 28-year history.

About the IWMF:
Since 1990, the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) has worked to unleash the potential of women journalists as champions of press freedom to transform the global news media. We seek to ensure that women journalists worldwide are fully supported, protected, recognized and rewarded for their vital contributions at all levels of the news media. As a result, consumers will increase their demand for news with a diversity of voices, stories and perspectives as a cornerstone of democracy and free expression. Through our programs and grants, we empower women journalists with the training, opportunities, and support to become leaders in the news industry. Follow IWMF on Twitter: @IWMF; Facebook: @IWMFpage; and Instagram: @theIWMF.