Monica Lewinsky to Receive Woman of 21st Century Award at Women’s Guild Cedars-Sinai Luncheon

Women’s Guild Cedars-Sinai has found its Woman of the 21st Century: Monica Lewinsky.

The organization will present the writer, activist and producer with the top honor at its spring luncheon, which will be hosted by Entertainment Tonight’s Nischelle Turner at the Beverly Hills Hotel on May 7. The event will feature Lewinsky sitting for a conversation with author and Trendera founder Jane Buckingham. The duo will focus on the topic of reclaiming, which also happens to be the title of Lewinsky’s new podcast.

Funds raised at the annual event will benefit the Women’s Guild Neurology Project and the Women’s Guild Distinguished Chair in Pediatrics at Cedars-Sinai’s newest expansion, Guerin Children’s. The program also features a silent auction of luxury handbags donated by Elyse Walker, a raffle with prizes including jewelry from XIV Karats and a luxury hotel stay, among other offerings.

Lewinsky survived a White House scandal to become an activist, writer, producer, public speaker, contributing editor to Vanity Fair and now podcaster. She has used her platform to speak out on public shaming, cyberbullying and resilience. A 2015 TED Talk, “The Price of Shame,” has been viewed more than 25 million times. She produced Impeachment: American Crime Story, 15 Minutes of Shame and The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox. She currently works as an ambassador to the Diana Award’s Anti-Bullying Program in the U.K. and Bystander Revolution in the U.S., and serves on the board of the Childhood Resilience Foundation.

Buckingham founded Youth Intelligence and the Cassandra report, both of which she sold to CAA, and currently runs Trendera, a marketing firm providing strategy and trend forecasting to Fortune 500 clients. She is the author of the bestselling Modern Girl’s Guide series and has served on the boards of Baby2Baby, the Rape Treatment Center and Women in Film.

Women’s Guild has raised more than $70 million for Cedars-Sinai. The org is close to completing a $15 million campaign for the Women’s Guild Neurology Project, whose efforts have boosted Cedars-Sinai in treating Parkinson’s, ALS, stroke and Alzheimer’s diseases. Women’s Guild is endowing a $5 million Distinguished Chair in Pediatrics to chair holder Dr. Shervin Rabizadeh at Cedars-Sinai’s newest expansion, Guerin Children’s.