WHAT: New Friends New Life 2026 Stand for Her Luncheon

WHERE: Hyatt Regency Dallas

THE 411: More than 1,150 community leaders, advocates, and supporters gathered September 24 for one of Dallas' most beloved fall luncheons, New Friends New Life's biggest annual benefit in support of their mission to assist women and girls who have experienced human trafficking and exploitation.

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.

The sold-out luncheon opened with “I Stand for Her,” an original song written by Myshel Wilkins and her team for New Friends New Life that will become the organization’s anthem.

Myshel Wilkins performs.Photo by Tamytha Cameron and Nate Rehlander

The luncheon co-chairs welcomed guests and underscored the nonprofit's critical mission to help women in the community.

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.

New Friends New Life's CEO Bianca Davis highlighted New Friends New Life’s 28 years of providing comprehensive services including safe housing, counseling, education, legal assistance, and basic needs support.

Then came the headliner: Award-winning actress Tracee Ellis Ross, who joined NBC 5’s 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.

NBC5 anchor Laura Harris interviews actress Tracee Ellis Ross on stage.Photo by Tamytha Cameron and Nate Rehlander

Ross connected New Friends New Life’s 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 “change the temperature” in a room. A pediatrician once described her as “a big ball of fire” and advised her mother (legendary singer Diana Ross) to make sure that fire went in the right direction — advice Ross clearly carried with her.

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 “when we do it together, we can flourish.” Her advice to the room was simple: “Your main job is to be kind.”

Discussing Solo Traveling with Tracee Ellis Ross and her travels in Morocco, Ross said she is inspired by women who “create something, lead it, own it, and benefit from it.”

Photo by Tamytha Cameron and Nate Rehlander

Beth Thoele, Brooke Russo, Tracee Ellis Ross, Bianca Davis, Marci Kramer, Kathy Helm

Ross spoke poignantly about healing and rebuilding trust, telling women who have experienced trauma, “you can be scared. It’s okay.” She imagined New Friends New Life’s work as creating the space for survivors to feel safe enough to trust again: “You have to sit and hold that space with someone until they know they are safe enough to trust.”

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: “I stand for her AND with her.”

The inspiring luncheon raised nearly $900,000 to support New Friends New Life in assisting trafficked and sexually exploited teen girls, women and their children, and raising awareness of the issue.

WHO: Ashley Elsey, Cynammon Allen, Felecia Burns, Nakita Johnson, Toni Patterson, Bridget Harris, Kim Cox, Cole Edmonson, Gail Maxwell, Joyce Goss, Greer Goss, Frances Mitchell, Elizabeth Carlock Phillips, Sarah Dodson, Christa Brown-Sanford, Gunner Heinisch, Laura O’Rourke, Priya Murphy, Aline Connie, Briannah Schaff, Sarah Ellis, Janet Jensen, Sloane Sander, Lauren Grogan, Claire Hidalgo, Bill Wallace, Terrence Rhodes, Teena Schultz, Monique Alex, Drew Russo, Chuck Thoele, Larry Kelm, Jeff Kramer, Holly Rio, Susan Farris, Laura Downing, Trina Terrell-Andrews, James Andrews, Hannah Hatcher, Mary Caroline Hatcher, Jeff Kramer, Marci Kramer, Stephanie Wilcox, Erica Reed, Sidnee Redfield, Effie Dennison, Cathy Moffitt, Stephanie Bird, Alicia Brown Young, Anastasia Ledezma, Deseri Kelley, Sarah Dodson, Cheryl Joyner, Stacey Walker, Brooke Russo, Laura Harris, Nancy Ann Hunt, Ashlee Kleinert, Pat Schenkel, Gail Turner, Jessica Turner-Waugh, Dallas Police Chief Daniel C. Comeaux, Jesse Reyes, and many more.