Read Ahead's Books & Beyond Gala

We had an incredible evening on May 2!

Read Ahead’s annual gala raises critical funds to serve the students in our program, and recognizes and celebrates the community of supporters who help make our vision a reality. 

This year’s event was one for the record books, and we had an amazing time celebrating our honoree, Teneo, and Authorship Award recipients Stephanie Lukas, Dana Shatten, and Giselle Leon from P.S. 51. Special thank you to Bill Staffieri for leading the Make an Impact portion of the evening and DJ Boxie for a fun close to the night. And thank you to our host committee and gala co-chairs Julie Allen, Julie North, and John Smith for their leadership.

Finally, thank you to everyone who joined us! Check out photos from the gala below. 

View photos

Every child deserves a great story. Let's help them write it.

Join the community of supporters who help make Read Ahead possible

Read Ahead is dedicated to helping New York City youth strengthen the literacy and social-emotional skills they need to thrive in school and beyond.

Since 1991, Read Ahead has connected public elementary school students with caring mentors from leading corporate and community partners. During weekly sessions, mentors and mentees read together, discuss books and their lives, and engage in fun and educational games and activities. Read Ahead sessions are designed to help children grow their confidence, love of reading, literacy skills, and other skills essential for success. 

Throughout our 30+ year history, more than 19,000 New York City children have become confident, joyful readers with the support of their Read Ahead mentor.


Support our work

Our 2023 Honoree: Teneo

Teneo and Read Ahead have partnered since 2015 to make a positive difference in New York City public schools.

Teneo is the global CEO advisory firm. We partner with our clients globally to do great things for a better future. Drawing upon our global team and expansive network of senior advisors, we provide advisory services across our five business segments on a stand-alone or fully integrated basis to help our clients solve complex business challenges. Our clients include a significant number of the Fortune 100 and FTSE 100, as well as other corporations, financial institutions and organizations. The firm has more than 1,600 employees located in 40+ offices around the world.

Watch our Honoree Video

2023 Authorship Award

From P.S. 51 The Elias Howe School
Read Ahead’s Authorship Award is presented annually to an inspiring individuals who are writing a better story for New York City children, families, schools, and communities. This year we are thrilled to present the award to Principal Stephanie Lukas, Assistant Principal Dana Shatten, and Parent Coordinator Giselle Leon from our longtime partner, P.S. 51.
Watch our Authorship Award Video

Contact Us

We'd love to hear from you
Please contact the Read Ahead team for sponsorship opportunities and other questions about this year’s gala.
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