Basketball Hall of Famer and Business Mogul Shaquille O’Neal to be honored in Atlanta
CGFO Awards November 15
Atlanta — Four-time Champion, Current Basketball Analyst, and Television and Film Personality Shaquille O’Neal, Ed.D. is set to return to Atlanta on November 15 where he will receive the prestigious Bridge Builders Award from the Chief Gregory and Mrs. Felicia Ofili (CGFO) Foundation Global Innovators Awards at American Spirit Works. “Shaq” will be honored for his world-renowned reputation as a sports and technology icon, with a deep commitment to economic empowerment of individuals and communities across the globe.
Through experiential learning, teacher training, environmental health, economic development, and family planning in underserved rural towns across sub Saharan Africa, CGFO supports girls’ STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Culture, Mathematics) education.
Girls’ education is essential to the achievement of quality learning relevant to the 21st century, including girls’ transition to and performance in secondary school and beyond. Adolescent girls who attend school, delay marriage and childbearing, are less vulnerable to disease including HIV and AIDS. They also acquire information and skills that increase earning power. Evidence shows that the return to one year of secondary education for girls correlates to a 25-percent increase in wages later in life.
“I am honored to join CGFO and Dr. Ofili in this important work,” said Shaquille. “As a father and an advocate for underrepresented markets, accepting this award is a privilege. I appreciate CGFO’s commitment to the power of education and technology to lift people out of poverty.”
Other 2019 CGFO Honorees include Carolyn Young, vice chair of the Andrew J. Young Foundation; Marlene MacLeish, Ed.D. professor of Medical Education, Morehouse School of Medicine and international spokesperson for science and space education; and Felix O. Sogade,
M.D., renowned cardiologist and CEO of the Georgia Arrhythmia Consultants and Research Institute.
Event: CGFO Global Innovators Awards
Date: Friday, November 15, 2019
Time: 6 p.m.-10 p.m. ET
Location: American Spirit Works (Stave Room), 199 Amour Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30324 For tickets: Visit www.cgfo.org
CGFO Founder Elizabeth Ofili, M.D. states, “I am very fortunate to have parents who value education, and insisted that each child regardless of gender, have access to quality education. I recall my late Dad saying to me, “I want you to be professionally independent. You can do anything you set your mind to. Do not let anyone but you, decide how far you can go in life’. This is what drives and motivates me: finding and empowering girls to achieve at the highest level and contribute to society.”
About CGFO
The Chief Gregory and Mrs. Felicia Ofili (CGFO) Foundation, formed in December of 2012, is a non-profit organization located in Atlanta Georgia and Ebu (pronounced ay-boo), Delta State, Nigeria. The foundation’s mission is empowering girls, women, families and communities by investing in both tradition and technology. Through experiential learning, teacher training and environmental health, CGFO will unlock the potential of children while driving economic potential in rural communities. Projects are based on locally identified science education gaps. Partners include U.S. and Nigerian-based institutions. For additional information, please visit
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