The Los Angeles Business Journal, in partnership with NAWBO and the Women of Los Angeles, held its tenth annual Women Who Make a Difference Awards ceremony and event at the Peninsula Beverly Hills Hotel on the evening of Monday, September 10th, 2001. The celebration honored Los Angeles based women who “lead by example,” successfully blending effective business vision with a passionate commitment to positively “making a difference,” both in the world of business and in the communities they serve.

More than 300 attendees gathered for the event, which featured representation across all fields. The celebration kicked off with Los Angeles Business Journal publisher Matt Toledo, who introduced the crowd to keynote speaker Meredith Blake, esq., who received an honorary Women Who Make a Difference Award.

Blake is founder and executive director of Break the Cycle, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to end domestic violence by working proactively with youth.

Awards of recognition were presented to seven women, selected from a group of more than sixty nominees from the collective worlds of business and non-profit endeavors.

The 2001 Women Who make a Difference winners included Phyllis Caskey, President and CEO of the Hollywood Entertainment Museum; Peggy Tsiang Cherng, Ph.D., President and CEO of Panda Restaurant Group; Kelly Edwards, Senior Vice President of Comedy Development for UPN; Judi Kaufman, Chairman of the Board for Art of the Brain; Victoria Lowe, Founder, President and CEO of Alert Staffing; Stacy D. Phillips, a Partner with Phillips, Lerner & Lauzon, LLP; and Tanya Tull, President, CEO and Founder of Beyond Shelter.