The Grand Finale featuring The 2010 Minerva Awards

IT'S TIME...TO CELEBRATE THE MINERVAS

ADDITIONAL SEATS HAVE NOW BEEN MADE AVAILABLE.
TICKETS: $50

Hosted by Maria Shriver

Remarks by Mary J. Blige

Musical Performance by Sarah McLachlan

The Grand Finale of The Women’s Conference, featuring the inspirational 2010 Minerva Awards ceremony, will be a celebratory evening honoring five extraordinary women on Tuesday, October 26 from 5 – 7pm at the Long Beach Convention Center. The Grand Finale will culminate with a special musical performance.

Click on a winner's photo for biographical and other info.

Created by California First Lady Maria Shriver in 2004, The Minerva Awards have become the country’s most prestigious awards given to women “who serve on the front-lines of humanity,” celebrating their extraordinary legacies of service and contributions to California, the nation and the world.

“This year's Minerva Award honorees are women who live with a deep sense of purpose and who are passionately dedicated to serving others,” said Maria Shriver. “These Minervas all identified problems and unmet needs in their communities and have worked tirelessly to solve them. By honoring them, we hope to inspire others to be Architects of Change just like them.” Each winner will receive a statuette designed and created by California artist, Michael De Medina. The Women’s Conference also gives each winner a Minerva Prize to continue their remarkable work.

Due to popular demand, additional seats have now been made available to The Grand Finale featuring The 2010 Minerva Awards. To purchase a $50 ticket, click here. The event will also be broadcast live at www.WomensConference.org, beginning at 5:00pm PDT on October 26.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE MINERVA AWARDS

The achievements of The Minerva Award winners are chronicled in a permanent, Conference-funded exhibit at the California Museum for History, Women and the Arts in Sacramento and have become part of California’s official archive.

Named for the Roman goddess Minerva who graces the California State Seal, the awards annually honor remarkable women who, in the spirit of Minerva, changed California and the nation with their courage, strength and wisdom. Minerva Award recipients have made extraordinary contributions in the areas of the Arts, Health and Sciences, Community Activism, Human Rights, Business and Technology, Motherhood, Innovation, Education and Finance. The Minerva Award winners also receive $25,000 grants from the Conference to further their work.

PAST MINERVA AWARD WINNERS

Click on a name to view the achievements of our past winners:

2009 Minerva Award Winners
Agnes Stevens, Helen Waukazoo, Dr. Jane Goodall, Dr. Kathy Hull

2008 Minerva Award Winners
Betty Chinn, Billie Jean King, Gloria Steinem, Ivelise Markovits, Louise Hay

2007 Minerva Award Winners
Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Sweet Alice Harris, The Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Commander Maureen Pennington, Christy Porter

2006 Minerva Awards Winners
Dr. Sally Ride, Jane Alexander, Marilyn Hamilton, WEAVE: Ramona Delgado, WEAVE: Sandra Orozco Stapleton, WEAVE: Jennie Hernandez Gin

2005 Minerva Award Winners
Former First Lady Betty Ford, Anita L. DeFrantz, Jennie Lechtenberg, Janice Mirikitani

2004 Minerva Award Winners
Dr. Helene Brown, Ana Deutsch, Mimi Silbert, Lula Washington

ABOUT THE MINERVA ARTIST AWARD

Artist Michael De Medina, sculptor, jeweler, and craftsman, has designed the Minerva Award statuette for 2007 and beyond. In addition to his work for The Women's Conference, he has designed and produced sculptures and gifts for corporations such as GM, Max Factor, Sperry Rand, Phillip Morris, AT&T, 20th Century Insurance CO., Mattel Toys and Fluor Corp. His pieces range from jewelry in precious metals to architectual scultptures, to life-size bronze portraits. Michael was commissioned to produce the 14k gold pins that were worn by President Reagan and Chairman Gorbachev at the 1987 Washington, D.C. Summit. Mr. Medina has also designed and created scultptures and movie props for such films as Ghostbusters, Dead Ringers, and countless television shows and commercials.

For more information visit the artist's official website.