Glenn Close, performing artist, executive producer, and activist for prison reform, has given public voice throughout her career to the strength and vitality of women. We honor her for her artistic excellence, her integrity, and her work to encourage all women to express themselves through the arts. Her feature film work has earned five Academy Award nominations; she has received three Tony Awards for her work on stage; and her performance as Col. Margrethe Cammermeyer in NBC’s Serving In Silence won her an Emmy. Ms. Close's work with the College Bound Program at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women has been instrumental in expanding public awareness of the power of education and the need for programs to ameliorate the conditions that lead to incarceration. Her readings of works written by incarcerated women - most recently at the NET OF SOULS benefit at Lincoln Center - have helped to transport the unheard voices from inside prison walls to the stage, and draw the attention of other artists and the public throughout the region and around the world..