Ashley and New York

4/25/11

Women of Distinction Spirit Awards Luncheon - Greater Chapter of NY, The LINKS, Inc. Honor Debra L Lee, CEO of BET, & Rhonda Mims, President of ING

Congrats on the award Ms. Debra! w/ LINKS honoree Debra L. Lee (CEO of BET )

w/ Gerri Warren-Merrick (President of The Greater New York Chapter, LINKS, Inc.) I know I am not the only one who thought Gerri and her team delivered such an inspiring and sister unity themed message.

Legendary designer Stephen Burrows gave an magnificant fashion show tonight. He was accompanied by one of the original Black supermodels

Congradulations! Rock on sisters, keep being the strong

YES. They are sisters. (L-R) Dr. Michelle Reed, Ashley NYC, Dana Reed

I just had to take a photos of these stylish and full of life hats! There's

First row - (L-R) - Shawn Pride, Mignon Epsy-Edwards, Lynn Ellis Taylor

Second row - (L-R) - Tracey Hughes, Dr. Michelle Reed

Nice for the guys to supprt the women empowerment causes!

3/8/11

Jackie Robinson Foundation Awards Gala Honoring Sean 'Diddy' Combs, Ingrid Saunders Jones & Joseph Perella

(L-R) Ashley NYC, ROBIE Humanitarian Award recipient Ingrid Saunders Jones, Rev. Calvin Butts

Sean Combs is honored with The ROBIE Achievement in Industry Award

Joseph Perella is honored with The ROBIE Achievement in Industry Award

(L-R) Della Britton Baeza (CEO of JRF), Sheila C Johnson (Founder of BET), JRF scholar (red dress), Russell Simmons, Ashley NYC, Dawne Marie Grannum, JRF scholar (black suit)

Last night at the Jackie Robinson Foundation Awards, the ROBIE Humanitarian Award recipient was Ingrid Saunders Jones, and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and Joseph Perella were each honored with The ROBIE Achievement in Industry Award.

Ingrid Saunders Jones is the Senior Vice President of Global Community Connections for The Coca-Cola Company, and was honored for her many years of leadership and philanthropy, including leading The Coco-Cola Company’s charitable efforts. Saunders Jones sits on the boards of numerous non-profits, and has been awarded multiple times for all her good work.

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs was honored not only being an unusually successful entrepreneur, but as Russell Simmons quoted on stage, Combs is known “for never saying no to giving back”. Combs has an impressive music career, launched the careers of many others, and not only does he own numerous successful bands, his hard work and intelligence has made him become an iconic brand himself.

Joseph R. Perella, Chairman and CEO of Perella Weinberg Partners, was honored for his achievement in his field, and his involvement in philanthropy.

It was a lovely affair, and it was nice to hang out with a couple of new friends, including Dawne and Dorothy. It was really great running into people I have not seen in a while. The musical entertainment was amazing, those girls sure can sing!

Jackie Robinson was such a fearless trail blazer! I hope one day I can be a brave as him. It was an honor to meet his wife and daughter. They both were so charming.

I was really inspired to hear the young scholars give their testimonies, and it made me realize how vital the work JRF does in aiding the young people in the Black and Latino communities achieve their dreams. Though segregation is illegal, the quality of education drastically varies according to location, and most times people of color’s education opportunities suffer as a result of situational bias. JRF is an organization that gives talented and dedicated youth the chance to be all that they can be.

Rachel Robinson

Bill Cosby

New York City Mayor Bloomberg

Dorothy Joseph, Keenan Towns, Andre Harrell, Ashley NYC, Chris 'Gotti' Lorenzo

Spring is for flowers! :)

Diana Espino, Ashley NYC, Catherine Russell

Jackie Robinson Foundation scholars

Sharon Robinson (Jackie's daughter)

(L-R) Ashley NYC, Dawne Marie Grannum, Kendra Floyd, Dorothy Joseph

(L-R) Gregg Gonsalves, Sean Combs' son, Gonsalves' son, Charmaine Gonsalves

Chrisette Michele is a talented singer!

2/27/11

James Franco & Anne Hathaway Host The Oscars Tonight!

Tonight is going to be a greats Oscars! Two of my favorite actors are hosting! James Franco and Anne Hathaway are so talented, and it's bound to be a very entertaining few hours!

2/22/11

Paris Hilton's Birthday Party @ Lavo

2/12/11

Help Haiti: Honoring Sean Penn. Hosted by Ben Stiller, Donna Karan, Brett Ratner, Russell Simmons, Jessica Alba, Eddie Murphy & Andre Balazs

Ashley NYC, Michel Martelly (may be Haiti's next President), Garcelle Beauvais

Sean Penn accepts award

Last night I attended the ‘Help Haiti’ event honoring actor Sean Penn’s (CEO, J/P Haitian Relief Organization) advocacy in helping the people of Haiti reestablish their homes. Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Brett Ratner & Russell Simmons joined Donna Karan, Andre Harrell & Andre Balazs in hosting the event, with Jessica Alba also assisting in the silent auction. Haitian actress, Garcelle Beauvais (The Jamie Foxx Show) was also in attendance, as well as Michel Martelly (may be Haiti's next President), Hugh Jackman, Casey Affleck, Gossip Girl's Jessica Szohr, Boardwalk Empire's Paz de la Huerta and others. I was really happy to see Garcelle. We've known each other for many years from L.A., and she is a genuinely warm spirit, and very talented actress. She is a great ambassador of hope for her people in Haiti, and has been using every opportunity to draw attention and resources to the aide of her homeland. Garcelle Beauvais tells Ashley and New York:

"It warmed my heart to see that so many people, including Ben Stiller, still care enough about my country (Haiti) to want to continue to help! I had tears in my eyes all night.”

Garcelle and I got to meet Michel Martelly, who I am rooting for to be the next president of Haiti. Please listen to this radio interview with him: http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/forum/living-in-the-dr/general-info/4385/Sweet-Micky-Haitis-next-President Some photos were on display for the silent auction. I purchased a heart made of stone made from Haitian earth for a hundred dollars which went towards charity. To buy your own heart stone: http://thestillerfoundation.org/ Healing Haiti and her people has always meant a lot to me. Here is one blog post I wrote when the flood happened which was in response to racist/hatemonger evangelical preacher Pat Robinson saying “Haiti made a pact with the devil”. My interpretation story/analysis is called ‘Marie: The Haitian Woman Who Refused to Make a Pact with the Devil!’ http://ashleyandnewyork.blogspot.com/2010/01/marie-hatian-woman-who-refused-to-make.html It was really nice to see so many people and friends of mine from Los Angeles; in fact, it made me very home sick. I think that’s my favorite part of Fashion Week is everyone from LA comes to town. Still, I have to stay in New York, this is my new home, and my dreams are safer here. I will go visit Cali this summer when my nephew is born. My sister Rosemary is having her first child, and this will be the first time I will be an auntie!

For more info about the helping Haiti, visit the Ben Stiller Foundation's website: http://thestillerfoundation.org/