 Hello everyone and welcome to the 2021 Friends of IHES Gala and thank you for joining us for the very first hybrid gala in IHES history. My name is Joya Dakari and I am delighted to be your host for this very special evening to honor, support and celebrate women in fundamental research, a cause very near and dear to my heart. Why is that? I'm an artist, women's equality advocate and a former mathematician. Yes, once upon a time I was a PhD candidate in math at MIT and a teaching fellow at Harvard, but as one of very few women in my program at the time I felt I could never fit in and so I left joining the many women who reached a certain point in their STEM careers and then disappeared, a situation that continues even today. However, after leaving mathematics and went on an incredible journey in my life, exploring the synergy between art and science, creating new music that highlights the human side of science through song, and creating a national hit play, Truth Values, on themes of women and diversity in mathematics. All this has had the remarkable results of bringing me full circle to arrive here tonight, deeply honored to be your host this evening. Tonight you'll hear from a number of prominent female figures who have paved the way in their respective fields. Because of time constraints we're unable to live stream the entire event from the gala floor, but all of tonight's speeches and videos will be available to you on the friends of IHES Gala website in the days to follow. While important strikes have been made in the field of women's empowerment, much more work must be done to ensure that female mathematicians and scientists are equally represented. Because of this, all funds raised this evening will be dedicated towards increasing gender and diversity programming at the institute. Tonight during our fund, Aneed, you'll have the opportunity to move the needle on gender diversity at the institute when you follow the donation button on your screen. Your generous contributions are vital to the support structure that allows for all researchers at the IHES to freely pursue their mathematical and their scientific research.