Society for the Performing Arts' 18th annual luncheon will feature guest speaker Lauren Bush Lauren. This year, the Ann Sakowitz Performing Arts Advocate Award will be presented to Mark Wawro and Melanie Gray, whose devotion to the performing arts and Society for the Performing Arts is legendary.

Lauren is widely celebrated for her incredible commitment to charity and philanthropy. Among the many honors that she has received over the years include the 2008 Marie Claire Prix De La Moda Humanitarian Award and the 2010 Accessory Council's Humanitarian Award. Lauren also serves as an honorary spokesperson for the United Nations World Food Program, with whom she travels to impoverished countries around the world. Her husband, David Lauren, describes her as a woman that has a lot of passion, fully committed to her philanthropic causes, and is always thinking of the next way of connecting her charities to the public.

Proceeds from the luncheon provide funds for SPA's education and outreach program Beyond the Spotlight, which takes the performing arts into the community to present unique learning experiences that enrich the lives of more than 120,000 underserved children and adolescents annually in the greater Houston area.