Saturday, October 29, 2022
7:00 P.M. CENTRAL

Black Tie Optional – National Garb Encouraged

(Marriott Marquis – Houston) 

Event Chairs:
Rebecca Seidl and Tommy Inglesby 

Auction Chair:
Natara Williams

Buy Tickets

Our online auction is now open. Please register here to start browsing and bidding.

Please join us for our Houston Tahirih Justice Center annual event, Journey to Justice: Progress & Perseverance.  

We continue celebrating our 25th anniversary this fall with our annual Houston gala, which will be going back to an in-person event for the first time since 2019 to celebrate this monumental milestone. Since our doors opened, we have served more than 31,000 immigrant survivors of gender-based violence, working with various community partners to support immigrant survivors of gender-based violence seeking safety in the United States.  

As we come together again in person this year, join us in celebrating the progress we have made with your support and recognizing the perseverance that survivors of gender-based violence embody on their journey to justice.  

Check back here for event updates, registration details, sponsor benefits, special guests, silent auction items, and more!   

To donate an auction item, please download the Silent Auction Donation Form. Completed forms can be sent to [email protected]. 

To sponsor the event, please download the Sponsorship Form. To request additional information, please contact us at [email protected].  

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

Please note that the fair market value is $95 per person and the difference is tax-deductible. 

 

Presenting Sponsor
$100,000 

• Exclusive “Presented By” Naming Rights  
• 2 VIP Tables of 10
• 10 Guests to VIP Reception 
• 30-second spot PSA Message  
• Recognition and Quote in Gala Press Release* 
• Mention on Tahirih Social Media* 
• Mention in Press Release* 
• Recognition in Digital Invitation* 
• Name in Program and On-Screen Presentation* 
• Name and Link on Benefit Webpage 
• Annual Impact Report 

Diamond Sponsor 
$50,000  

• 1 VIP Table of 10 
• 8 Guests to VIP Reception 
• 30-second spot PSA message 
• Recognition and Quote in Gala Press Release* 
• Mention on Tahirih Social Media* 
• Mention in Press Release*  
• Recognition in Digital Invitation* 
• Name in Program and On-Screen Presentation* 
• Name and Link on Benefit Webpage Annual Impact Report 
• Annual Impact Report 

Platinum Sponsor
$25,000  

• 1 VIP Table of 10 
• 6 Guests to VIP Reception   
• 15-second spot PSA message  
• Recognition and Quote in Gala Press Release* 
• Mention on Tahirih Social Media* 
• Mention in Press Release* 
• Recognition in Digital Invitation* 
• Name in Program and On-Screen Presentation* 
• Name and Link on Benefit Webpage  
• Annual Impact Report 

Gold Sponsor
$15,000  

• 1 Table of 10  
• 4 Guests to VIP Reception
• Mention on Tahirih Social Media*
• Mention in Press Release*
• Recognition in Digital Invitation* 
• Name in Program and On-Screen Presentation* 
• Name and Link on Benefit Webpage  
• Annual Impact Report 

Silver Sponsor 
$10,000  

• 1 Table of 10 
• 2 Guests to VIP Reception
• Mention in Press Release*
• Recognition in Digital Invitation*
• Name in Program and On-Screen Presentation*
• Name and Link on Benefit Webpage  
• Annual Impact Report 

Copper Sponsor
$5,000  

• 1 Shared Table of 6  
• Recognition in Digital Invitation* 
• Name in Program and On-Screen Presentation* 
• Name and Link on Benefit Webpage  
• Annual Impact Report 

Bronze Sponsor
$3,000 

• 1 Shared Table of 4 
• Name in Program and On-Screen Presentation* 
• Name and Link on Benefit Webpage 
• Annual Impact Report  

 

*Sponsorships must be confirmed by the following dates to receive full benefits and recognition:  

• Quotes from sponsors for the Press Release: Monday, August 1 
• Social Media Recognition: Monday, August 15
• Virtual Program Recognition: Friday, September 23
• Recognition in all other digital materials: Friday, October 7

GALA HOST COMMITTEE

HOST COMMITTEE
Rebecca Seidl and Tommy Inglesby, Chairs  

Ali Denson 
Emily Harbison 
Monica Karuturi 
Saira Khan 
Scott Seidl
Morgan Shin 
Ana Tobar-Romero 
Jennifer Tomsen 
Natara Williams 

GALA AUCTION COMMITTEE

AUCTION COMMITTEE  
Natara Williams, Chair

Kimberly Chojnacki 
Rachel Farr 
Sheila Forjuoh 
Cecilia Ibarra-van Osstenrijk
Morgan Shin
Emily Wassermann 

SPONSORS

Presenting
Laura and John Arnold

Diamond
Laura and John Arnold

Platinum
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP Houston
Baker Botts LLP Houston
Diana Strassman and Jeff Smisek
Kirkland & Ellis LLP Houston

Gold
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Marek Family Foundation
Vinson & Elkins LLP Houston

Silver
AllShow Events Inc.
Anne and Albert Chao
CenterPoint Energy
Edith and Robert Zinn Foundation
Gonzalez Olivieri LLC
Melanie Gray and Mark Wawro Household
Greenberg Traurig LLP
Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP Houston
Mayer Brown LLP Houston
Morgan and David Shin
Natara Williams and Chermon James

Copper
Baker & McKenzie LLP Houston
Tahirih Baker and John Thomas
Dr. Dina Al-Sowayel and Tony Chase
DLA Piper LLP Houston
Foster LLP Houston
Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP Houston
Paul and Joann Lee
Monica Karuturi and Kumaran Sathyamoorthy
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP Houston
Reed Smith LLP Houston
Rockcliff Energy
Rebecca Seidl and Tommy Inglesby
Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Jennifer Tomsen and Chris Jermaine
Shell
Sidley Austin LLP Houston
Trace Midstream
White & Case LLP Houston
Edith and Robert Zinn

Bronze
BakerHostetler
Blank Rome
Francis and Mary Bradley
Hicks Davis Wynn, PC
Locke Lord

FEATURING

Event Hosts

Oscar Nuñez, Actor

 

Oscar Nuñez is best known for playing Oscar Martinez on NBC’s The Office. He has won an Emmy, two SAG Awards, an ALMA Award, a TV Land Award and an Impact Award from the National Hispanic Media Coalition for the role. Oscar is also recognized for his roles in the movies The Proposal, The Lost City,The 33, and Baywatch. He has guest starred on TV shows like The Goldbergs, Shameless, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, American Housewife, NCIS: L.A., New Girl, Life in Pieces, Reno 911, iZombie and more. He lent his voice to such animations as Bob’s Burgers, Home, 3 Below, Firebuds and Where’s Waldo? Oscar co-created and starred in his own Comedy Central series Halfway Home and was a series regular on the USA legal comedy Benched, the TBS sci-fi comedy People of Earth, and the Netflix family sitcom, Mr. Iglesias (for which he was nominated for an Imagen Award). He can soon be seen in Disney’s Disenchanted (with Amy Adams and Maya Rudolph), Apple TV’s Raymond and Ray (with Ewan Macgregor and Ethan Hawke), The Long Game (with Dennis Quaid and Jay Hernandez) and Dashing Through the Snow (with Lil Rel Howery and Ludicrous).

Ursula Whittaker, Actor

 

Ursula Whittaker has appeared in the TV shows Veep, Grey’s Anatomy, Veronica Mars, ER, Judging Amy, Medical Investigation, Private Practice, The Forgotten, Prime Suspect, and Malcolm in the Middle. Ursula’s favorite film experience was producing, writing, acting, and co-directing her short film Boob Jobs and Jesus, based on her real life relationship with her mother. She has also appeared in the movies Bold Native, Beethoven’s Big Break, Sleepover, Inside, Rock Star, Might As Well Be Swing, Rock Star, and Hoffa. Her favorite commercial was for GE where she had to simultaneously really love her vegetables and look like Marcia Cross from Desperate Housewives. Ursula’s writing as a monologist, Bimbo in the Manicure Shop, was published in The Los Angeles Times Magazine. Ursula is the mother of one magical 9 year old girl, and she’s the wife and partner of one funny man.

SPECIAL GUESTS

Outspoken Bean, Poet

Emanuelee Bean, also known as “Outspoken Bean,” was the first poet to perform on Houston Ballet’s main stage with their production “Play.” He has been commissioned to write and perform a national campaign on diversity for Pabst Blue Ribbon and VICE, while creating and producing his own festival, Plus Fest: The Everything Plus Poetry Festival. Born in New Jersey and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Outspoken Bean serves as Houston’s poet laureate through 2023. In 2022, Bean received an Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship.

GALA HONOREES

Firm of the Year

DLA Piper LLP

 

Pro Bono of the Year

Blake Jenkins at Hogan Lovells

 

Community Partner of the Year

The Houston Furniture Bank