Actor, Director, and Social Entrepreneur Justin Baldoni to Celebrate Courage of Survivors at Tahirih Annual Gala

Tickets now available for 18th Annual Gala in Washington, DC

As an honored guest at Tahirih Justice Center’s 18th Annual Gala, “Saving Lives, Celebrating Courage,” actor, director and social entrepreneur Justin Baldoni, who currently stars as “Rafael” on The CW’s Golden Globe nominated series “Jane the Virgin,” will pay tribute to courageous immigrant women and girls who have rejected violence in their homes and communities.

Baldoni founded Wayfarer Entertainment, a digital, film, and television production company focused on celebrating and elevating the human spirit through socially conscious and compelling media. As a director, Justin has touched the hearts of millions through his inspiring documentaries, commercials, and music videos. In 2012, Justin and Wayfarer Entertainment partnered with Emmy nominated actor Rainn Wilson and his company SoulPancake to create the award winning web series “My Last Days.” The show focuses on people who are terminally ill, but choose to live out their final months being an inspiration to others. “My Last Days” has gone on to become one of the most watched online documentary series.

Baldoni said his Bahá’í Faith and his role as an expectant father inspire his support of the 18th Annual Gala, set for Tuesday, April 14 at Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, DC.

Tahirih Justice Center is a national non-profit that protects immigrant women and girls who refuse to be victims of gender-based violence through free legal and social services, public policy advocacy, and training and education. Women and girls served at Tahirih reject unthinkable violence, including rape, female genital mutilation, domestic violence, human trafficking, honor crimes, and forced marriage. Tahirih is a Bahá’í-inspired organization founded in 1997 on the belief that the achievement of full equality between women and men is necessary for society to progress.

“In the Bahá’í Faith, we are taught to see the world of humanity as possessed of two wings: the male and the female. So long as these two wings are not equivalent in strength, the bird will not fly. I am proud to join Tahirih in the movement to create a world where all women and girls enjoy equality and live in safety and with dignity. This is the kind of world I want my child to grow up in,” Baldoni said.

Tickets to the April gala in Washington, D.C. are now available at www.tahirih.org/2015-annual-gala.

“Tahirih is extremely honored to welcome Justin Baldoni as a special guest at this year’s gala,” said Tahirih Founder and Executive Director Layli Miller-Muro. “The gala is our opportunity to shine a light on the heroic women and girls that inspire our mission and our work. It also gives us a chance to honor those individuals and law firms in the Greater DC and Baltimore area whose tireless commitment to justice is a continued source of inspiration for us all.”

Globally, one in three women will experience violence or abuse in her lifetime—most often at the hands of someone she knows. In 2014 alone, Tahirih provided nearly 600 women and girls in the Greater DC and Baltimore area with free legal and social services so that they could rebuild their lives in the wake of violence. The gala is critical to Tahirih’s ability to provide free services to hundreds of clients every year.

“Every day, heroic women and girls—right here in our neighborhoods—are demanding justice, and we are so proud to serve them,” said Heather L. Taylor, the director of Tahirih’s office in Greater DC.

The 2015 gala is made possible through the generous support of leading benefactors Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, Caterpillar Inc., and Mayer Brown LLP.

MEDIA CONTACT: Marlena Hartz, Communications Manager, 571-282-6193, [email protected]