The event was co-chaired by two dynamic mother-daughter duos: Beth Thoele and Brooke Russo and Kathy Helm and Marci Kramer. Lottye and Bobby Lyle served as honorary chairs.<\/p>\n
The sold-out luncheon opened with \u201cI Stand for Her,\u201d an original song written by Myshel Wilkins and her team for New Friends New Life that will become the organization\u2019s anthem.<\/p>\n
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The luncheon co-chairs welcomed guests and underscored the nonprofit’s critical mission to help women in the community.<\/p>\n
The 2026 ProtectHER Awards honored Elizabeth Carlock Phillips, Janet Jensen, and representatives of Baker Botts and the Toyota Motor North America Pro Bono Legal Clinic for their advocacy and support of survivors.<\/p>\n
New Friends New Life’s CEO Bianca Davis highlighted New Friends New Life\u2019s 28 years of providing comprehensive services including safe housing, counseling, education, legal assistance, and basic needs support. <\/p>\n
Then came the headliner: Award-winning actress Tracee Ellis Ross, who joined NBC 5\u2019s Laura Harris for a candid, funny, and often moving conversation about finding your voice, trusting your instincts, and having agency over your own happiness, safety, and choices.<\/p>\n
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Ross connected New Friends New Life\u2019s mission to her own experiences, recalling how she learned to listen to her intuition rather than minimize it and how, growing up, she often felt pressure to \u201cchange the temperature\u201d in a room. A pediatrician once described her as \u201ca big ball of fire\u201d and advised her mother (legendary singer Diana Ross) to make sure that fire went in the right direction \u2014 advice Ross clearly carried with her.<\/p>\n
She also reflected on her work in Girlfriends and Black-ish, where she pushed for women to have identities beyond their relationships, and on her Broadway experience in Every Brilliant Thing, which reinforced her belief that \u201cwhen we do it together, we can flourish.\u201d Her advice to the room was simple: \u201cYour main job is to be kind.\u201d<\/p>\n
Discussing Solo Traveling with Tracee Ellis Ross and her travels in Morocco, Ross said she is inspired by women who \u201ccreate something, lead it, own it, and benefit from it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ross spoke poignantly about healing and rebuilding trust, telling women who have experienced trauma, \u201cyou can be scared. It\u2019s okay.\u201d She imagined New Friends New Life\u2019s work as creating the space for survivors to feel safe enough to trust again: \u201cYou have to sit and hold that space with someone until they know they are safe enough to trust.\u201d<\/p>\n
She also made clear that the work belongs to men, too, encouraging them to pay attention, ask questions, and act when something does not seem right. Her closing words summed up the afternoon: \u201cI stand for her AND with her.\u201d<\/p>\n