New Friends New Life (NFNL) announces Lupita Nyong’o, Academy Award® winner, executive producer, New York Times best-selling author, and advocate for women and girls around the world, will headline the New Friends New Life Annual Luncheon that will be held on Friday, October 8 at 11:30 a.m., at the OMNI Dallas Hotel, 555 S. Lamar St. A hybrid event giving guests the opportunity to attend in-person or online, the luncheon will feature an in-person program, along with “A Conversation with Nyong’o,” presented virtually. Luncheon co-chairs are Jan Osborn, founder of Dallas Doing Good, and Trina Terrell-Andrews, CEO of the Mark Cuban Heroes Basketball Center.
Lupita Nyong’o is a Kenyan actress, producer and author. For her role in 12 Years a Slave, Nyong’o received the Academy Award® as well as the Screen Actors Guild® Award, the Critics’ Choice Award, the Independent Spirit Award, and the NAACP Award. For her starring role in Jordan Peele’s Us, Nyong’o received a Screen Actors Guild nomination, the NY Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress, and an NAACP Award. Upcoming, she will star in Marvel’s Black Panther 2 and Universal’s thriller The 355.
“New Friends New Life is both honored and excited to bring our supporters and friends together once again to celebrate the triumph of women and girls, and there are few voices more triumphant than that of Lupita Nyong’o,” said Bianca Jackson, CEO, New Friends New Life. “Exuding beauty, strength and courage, Lupita’s passion and message perfectly aligns with our mission to help restore and empower those who have been marginalized and minimized. By being her authentic self, she gives voice to the hopes and dreams of women and girls everywhere.”
Currently, Nyong’o executive produces the YouTube Originals family program, Super Sema. The animated series depicts Africa’s first kid superhero and features Nyong’o’s voice in a two-part episode. She is also currently filming Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever. Additionally, she will co-produce and feature in Born a Crime, as well as executive produce and star in Apple TV’s Lady in the Lake. Past credits include Black Panther, Little Monsters, Queen of Katwe, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Recently, she played “Julieta” in The Public Theater’s bilingual audio adaptation of Romeo y Julieta alongside Juan Castano. Nyong’o earned a Tony® nomination for her Broadway performance in Eclipsed. Her debut children’s book, Sulwe, is a New York Times #1 Best Seller.
Underwriting sponsorship opportunities begin at $2,500, and individual tickets are available for $250. A limited number of virtual access-only tickets can be purchased for $100. To reserve your sponsorship or seats, please visit www.newfriendsnewlife.org/luncheon, email events@newfriendsnewlife.org or contact Senior Development Director Priya Murphy at 214-217-8652.
About New Friends New Life:
Founded in Dallas, Texas, in 1998, New Friends New Life (NFNL) restores and empowers trafficked and sexually exploited teen girls, women and their children, and drives awareness of the issue and its prevalence. By providing access to education, job training, interim financial assistance, mental health, and spiritual support, New Friends New Life helps women and their children overcome backgrounds of abuse, addiction, poverty, and limited opportunities. In 2020, NFNL served 330 members (clients). NFNL also educates the community and works to eradicate the epidemic of human trafficking through advocacy, legislative reform and strategic partnerships that address systemic causes. In 2018, NFNL opened a drop-in Youth Resource Center (YRC) in partnership with the Office of the Governor to serve trafficked and high-risk teen girls. More than 100 girls visited the YRC during its first year. In 2015, NFNL organized its Men’s Advocacy Group to engage men in the fight against sex trafficking and exploitation. For more information, visit http://www.newfriendsnewlife.org.
