Signature Fundraising Event Will Highlight NAF’s Evolution & Impact Grown from Sandy’s Vision, and Feature NAF Students & Alumni
(March 15, 2023 – New York, NY) – NAF, a national education nonprofit, which supports high school students’ efforts to be future ready, will be holding its 19th annual Benefit on Tuesday, May 16th, at the Mandarin Oriental, New York. This year, NAF is proud to honor our Chairman and Founder, Sanford “Sandy” I. Weill and celebrate his 90th birthday. Mr. Weill is Chairman Emeritus of Citigroup and CEO of Casa Rosa Ventures.
NAF Chief Executive Officer, Lisa Dughi, said, “I know the entire NAF network joins me in wishing Mr. Weill a very Happy Birthday! We are thrilled to celebrate and honor him for all that he has done for NAF, first ignited by his original vision more than 40 years ago. We all thank him for his tireless efforts, contributions, and passion for making our schools, businesses, and communities better places, and for allowing the next generation to prepare to lead and Be Future Ready. Cheers to you, Sandy!”
“I have long believed that education is the key. I am proud that this organization has supported over a half a million students since its inception in 1980. We still have work to do to create a strong, diverse economy alongside a meaningful education for all students,” said Sandy Weill, NAF Chairman and Founder.
Event Will Celebrate Four Decades of NAF’s Evolution & Impact Grown from Sandy’s Vision
The Benefit celebrates over 40 years of transforming the high school experience and provides an opportunity for supporters to meet the outstanding students and alumni at the heart of NAF’s mission. The evening will offer unique networking opportunities, as well as a program and supper reception. This annual signature event highlights the tremendous collaboration between industry and education that drives NAF’s innovative programming and improves outcomes for over 112,000 students annually and will offer opportunities for fundraising and donations.
Dughi added, “We are so grateful to Sandy for his foresight and generosity in the many areas in which he has invested in the future. His philanthropic gifts have aided in the betterment of education, medicine, business, and the arts for decades and have created opportunity for so many. While he has laid the foundation and we have received buy-in from our incredible partners, we need to continue to invest in our mission and reach our largest fundraising goal ever of $3 million, so that we can sustain our legacy and impact even greater numbers of students for years to come.”
NAF History
Long a proponent of education, Mr. Weill instituted a joint program with the New York City Board of Education in 1980 that created the first NAF, formerly National Academy Foundation, Academy of Finance — preparing high school students for careers in financial services. He has served as Founder and Chairman of NAF ever since, and that one finance academy at a high school in Brooklyn has grown to include hundreds of academies across the country focusing on additional industries, such as hospitality & tourism, information technology, engineering, and health sciences; and supports programs of study that are aligned with the National Career Clusters Framework. Thousands upon thousands of students have been positively impacted over the last 40 years and credit their NAF academy experiences as preparing them to be college, career, and future ready.
“On behalf of the Alumni Leadership Council, we wish Sandy a very Happy Birthday! I can personally attest to the life-changing difference that NAF has made in my own journey and hear that sentiment echoed by countless numbers of alumni all across the country. We are proud to be NAF advocates, and make it a priority to share NAF’s mission and work at every turn. Thank you, Sandy – for your vision and investment in the future leaders of this country.” – Shatiek J. Gatlin, Chair, NAF Alumni Leadership Council & 2012 NAF Alumnus.
In the classroom, NAF goes beyond what traditional career and technical education programs offer with experiential learning activities that complement career-focused curricula. Outside the classroom, students are equipped with the future-ready skills and industry-specific learnings to be successful in any pathway they choose illustrating the vision and impact Weill envisioned. NAF helps students explore career options, create plans for the future, and take part in hands-on, work-based learning unlike anything traditional public education systems can offer.
Philanthropic Efforts
Mr. Weill is Chairman of the Weill Family Foundation; Chairman Emeritus of Weill Cornell Medicine; President of Carnegie Hall; Past Chair and Current Member of UCSF Executive Council; Member of the Board of Visitors at UC Berkeley; Member of the Chancellor’s Board of Advisors at UC Davis; Member of the Board of Directors for the Lang Lang International Music Foundation; and Director Emeriti for CECP’s Board of Directors. He is a member of the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Sciences and along with his wife of 67 years, Joan, is a recipient of the 2009 Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy; 2017 Kennedy Center Award for the Human Spirit; and 2022 Forbes 400 Lifetime Achievement Award for Philanthropy.
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Media Contact:
NAF
Courtney Savoia, (201) 407-8513
About NAF:
NAF is a national education non-profit that brings schools and businesses together to better prepare students of all backgrounds. Since 1980, NAF has led a movement for immersive, career-focused teaching and work-based learning. With the support of NAF community-based advisory boards, schools connect with the workforce to fuel shared progress—from creating culturally responsive curriculum and paid internship opportunities, to fostering innovation and building future-ready businesses. NAF helps students explore career options, create a plan for the future, and take part in hands-on, work-based learning unlike anything traditional public education systems can offer. NAF puts students on a path to achieving their full potential.
NAF has grown from one NAF Academy of Finance in New York City to hundreds of academies across the country focusing on growing industries including finance, hospitality & tourism, information technology, engineering, and health sciences; and support programs of study that are aligned with the National Career Clusters Framework. During the 2022-23 school year, over 112,000 students attended over 600 NAF academies across 35 states and territories. In 2022, NAF academies reported 99% of seniors graduated with 88% of graduates planning to go to college. www.naf.org