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Join us on Saturday, October 24, 2026, starting at 6:30PM for cocktail hour and hors d’oeuvres.
live music will set the tone for an unforgettable evening as we come together to support PEHT’s mission.
Stay for the celebrations—a raffle, joyful moments, heartfelt stories, and meaningful connections with our community.
Chic Evening Cocktail Attire, Jackets welcome for gentelmen.
Gala Co-Chairs
Gretchen Jelinek and Kim Handler
Gala Committee
Beth Daigle | Rachel DaPuzzo | Julia Dayton Eberwein | Cece Donoghue | Colleen DiClaudio | Clifford Faircloth
Lee Ganshaw | Susan Garofoli | Kerry Grund | Nina Gustin | Vanessa Javor | Miriam Kendall | Elizabeth Koldyke Boolbol
Pepper Lindsey | Christopher O'Brien | Sam Rotter | Allie Speiser
Keisha Stephens | Stacey Widlitz | Silvia Yehezkel
Jess Michaels is a TEDx speaker, social-impact founder, and survivor-advocate reshaping how we understand trauma, safety, and community care. A 1991 Jeffrey Epstein and childhood sexual abuse survivor, Jess has navigated Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder for more than three decades, an experience that now fuels her life’s work.She is the founder of 3Joannes, Inc., a Public Benefit Corporation developing #WithYouToo, the first-ever Social Safety app built on the principles of Sexual Assault First Aid, a framework that teaches everyday people how to show up in moments that matter, before, during, and after crisis. The platform equips peers and communities with pre-crisis protocols, trauma-sensitive support skills, and clear post-assault care pathways.At the heart of Jess’s work is a powerful reframing: sexual assault is an injury before it’s an investigation. Her mission is to prevent long-term PTSD by ensuring survivors receive immediate, compassionate, stabilizing care before systems and interrogations unintentionally deepen the harm.
PEHT is proud to honor the team at Dechert, led by firm co-chair Mark Thierfelder, for its extraordinary pro bono partnership and visionary legal leadership in making the acquisition of The Pantry possible. Through innovative legal counsel, unwavering partnership, and countless hours of dedicated service, Dechert guided PEHT through one of the most complex transactions in our organization's history. Their expertise transformed an ambitious vision into reality—helping PEHT preserve a beloved community institution while creating a first-of-its-kind social enterprise that generates sustainable funding and meaningful employment opportunities for survivors of human trafficking. Their commitment has not only strengthened PEHT's long-term sustainability but has also created a lasting legacy of innovation and impact that will benefit survivors and our community for generations to come. Working alongside Mark Thierfelder, the Dechert team critical to this success also included Quinn Wetherall, Michael Lehmann, Steve Kolias, Joy Zhu, and Zilin Wang, among many other colleagues.
Mark E. Thierfelder is co-Chair of Dechert and a member of the leadership team responsible for setting strategic priorities and driving the Firm’s focus on client service, innovation, and diversity and inclusion. He is also a member of the Policy Committee.
In addition to serving as co-Chair, Mr. Thierfelder continues to concentrate his practice on private equity transactions and mergers and acquisitions. He represents leading private equity funds and their portfolio companies in a full range of corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, recapitalizations, leveraged financings, restructuring, and reorganizations. In addition, he negotiates, structures and executes corporate transactions on behalf of strategic buyers and sellers, and counsels senior management, boards of directors and special committees on complex governance issues, including risk management and corporate restructurings. As a result of his diverse client base, he is familiar with the pressure points of all deal parties in negotiations and works with clients to help anticipate and resolve issues.
Over the course of his 30-plus year career, Mr. Thierfelder has acted on hundreds of transactions, including some of the most significant transactions in the market. He is consistently recognized among the top private equity and M&A lawyers worldwide. He was named a “Dealmaker of the Year” in 2022 by The American Lawyer for his role in one of the largest buyout transactions since the global financial crisis. In 2022 and 2020, Mr. Thierfelder was recognized by Law360 as a Private Equity MVP for his headline-making representations — he was one of just five lawyers named an MVP in this practice area for both years. In addition, he is consistently recognized by Chambers USA for Corporate/M&A and Private Equity Buyouts and by Chambers Global for Corporate M&A (International & Cross-Border).
Mr. Thierfelder is a frequent speaker and author in prominent media outlets. In addition, he was selected to attend the Harvard Law School Leadership in Law Firms conference, a six-day intensive program for senior law firm leaders around the world to develop perspectives and skills necessary to be effective law firm leaders.
Mr. Thierfelder is dedicated to philanthropic activities and serves on various boards and committees spanning education, humanities and the arts. In addition, Mr. Thierfelder has cultivated his passion for the arts as a co-producer of three Tony-nominated Broadway shows.
Sponsorship
Visionary
$50,000
Includes a VIP table of 10, pre-event marketing, full page ad in program booklet, feature on PEHT website, logo in all event communications.
Partner
$25,000
Includes a VIP table of 10, pre-event marketing, full page ad in program booklet, feature on PEHT website, logo in all event communications.
Enthusiast
$10,000
Includes a table of 10, pre-event marketing, full page ad in program booklet, feature on PEHT website, logo in all event communications.
Ally
$5,000
Includes two tickets, pre-event marketing, half page ad in program booklet, and logo in all event communications.
Friend
$2,500
Includes two tickets, pre-event marketing, quarter page ad in program booklet, and logo in all event communications.
Tables and Tickets
Our Programs
A Special Thanks to Our Sponsors
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