Francine LeFrak is a social entrepreneur, distinguished philanthropist, Tony, Emmy and Peabody award winning producer. In 2008, Francine founded Same Sky, a jewelry initiative that provides training and employment to women survivors of the Rwandan Genocide who are living with HIV/AIDS. Francine offers women a hand-up, not a handout, by providing them with the dignity of work and the tools they need to lift themselves out of poverty. In addition to work abroad, Same Sky now provides employment to women who have recently been released from Hudson County Jail helping them to re-enter society.
Before her work as a social entrepreneur, Francine had a successful career on Broadway and as a social issues film producer where she garnered multiple Tony, Emmy, and Peabody awards. Francine also serves as CEO of the Samuel J. and Ethel LeFrak Foundation, which supports institutions of higher learning, hospitals, and cultural institutions. She is a founder of The Francine A. LeFrak Foundation and The Same Sky Foundation that aim to eradicate poverty through employment and encourage community-led solutions to promote women’s empowerment in the developing world.
Ms. LeFrak has been honored with a number of awards including the “Chevalier” of the Legion of Honor as presented by the French government; the UN Women For Peace Award; and the Women Together Award presented at the UN for microfinance. She holds Honorary Doctorates from Mount Ida College and Manhattanville College. Ms. LeFrak is a frequent public speaker and has spoken at the Forbes Philanthropy Summit at the UN. In 2013 she was featured on the cover of Forbes Magazine; today she is a contributor to Forbes and The Huffington Post, where she is a leading voice in cutting edge philanthropy. Today, Ms. LeFrak is fully dedicated to eradicating extreme poverty through job creation and promoting educational and employment opportunities for women and girls at home and abroad.