“I think this year we’ve really hit our stride,” said CNN’s Starting Point anchor and enterprise journalist Soledad O’Brien, coming out of a flurry of flashbulbs on the red carpet. “The goal was to have 25 young women. And I remember when we had nine, and last year we were coming on 15 and it felt like it was a little bit of a distant goal. This year we have 25 young women we are supporting—and we have met our goal.”
Just as her work in New Orleans covering Hurricane Katrina served as the impetus for much of the foundation’s efforts, O’Brien’s reporting on Hurricane Sandy was one of the inspirations to host the benefit in Manhattan over the Hamptons. “It just felt we have a lot of supporters who are here in the city, and so it was time to stay in New York City and bring a little New Orleans to New York City,” she said of an evening that featured a Southern-style menu, jazz band, and Mardi Gras masks and beads.
