Its organizers call it New England’s “biggest night on the town for lesbian and bi women, trans people and our allies.” And rightly so. The annual Women’s Dinner Party is an “elegant attire” fête de la fête that’s as fun as it’s fancy, bringing together more than 1,000 people to gather in community and raising more than $500,000 each year to support the programs and services of Fenway Health.
This year’s shindig is scheduled for Saturday, April 11, from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m., at Boston Marriott Copley Place, so mark your calendars and make your reservations now.
Highlighting this evening of great food, dancing and surprises is the presentation of the annual Dr. Susan M. Love Award. This year’s recipient is Dr. Judith Bradford, director of the Center for Population Research in LGBT Health and co-chair of The Fenway Institute.
According to a posting on Fenway’s website:
“Dr. Bradford sits on a number of study sections at the NIH, and is the first acknowledged LGBT member of the National Advisory Council on Minority Health and Health Disparities. She is currently conducting research that addresses healthy lesbian aging, housing, and other concerns of LGBT elders and serves on the Massachusetts Commission on LGBT Elders. Her community-based participatory research of LGBT Youth of Color funded by the NIH is the first of its kind, with leadership from youth and adult leaders in this area of concern. Dr. Bradford’s advocacy has changed the way that LGBT health research is valued at the state and national level, resulting in increased respect and funding for studies that directly impact our communities—most particularly those who are hardest to reach yet most in need of services, such as LGBTQ youth, elders, trans* individuals, and people of color.”
Fenway’s site, too, notes:
“Each year, the Dr. Susan M. Love Award is given to honor and celebrate a woman and/or organization that has made a significant contribution to the field of women’s health. The Love Award is given in honor of its founding recipient, Dr. Susan M. Love, a pioneer in the fields of women’s health and breast cancer. Love helped found the Revlon/UCLA Breast Center in 1992 and currently heads up the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation which is dedicated to eradicating breast cancer.”
