Kelly Rowland to headline DEF Las Vegas event

New York--Grammy Award-winning singer Kelly Rowland will headline the Diamond Empowerment Fund’s “Diamonds in the Sky” gala, scheduled to take place May 28 in Las Vegas.

A singer, songwriter and actress, Rowland initially was propelled to stardom as one of the members of musical group Destiny’s Child, which also included Beyoncé Knowles. 

Rowland has received Grammy, Billboard Music, BET and American Music awards as well as an NAACP Image Award, among many others.

In addition to her musical past, Rowland also has starred in a number of TV shows and movies, including American Dreams, The Fashion Show, and as a judge on The X Factor UK. She was honored as one of People Magazine’s Most Beautiful People in the World in 2013 and has served as spokesperson for companies like TW Steel and Caress.

She also has a strong history of giving back. In 2005, Rowland and Knowles co-founded the Survivor Foundation to provide housing for victims and evacuees of Hurricane Katrina in the Houston area.

A year later, she also appeared alongside other artists in ads for the Aldo Fights AIDS campaign, which raises funds and awareness for the cause. In 2008, she became a global ambassador for MTV’s Staying Alive Foundation, which fights HIV through youth education campaigns globally, and in 2010 she created her own charity called I Heart My Girlfriends to focus on the empowerment of women and girls.

“We are thrilled to have such an enormous and big-hearted talent on board,” DEF Board President Phyllis Bergman said. “It is so important to us to show how diamonds do good globally, and Ms. Rowland’s strong commitment to giving back is an inspiration and a testament to that message.”

At the event, the DEF’s 2015 Global Empowerment Award will be awarded to Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India and the Government of the Republic of India to recognize their “global leadership and contributions to democracy, development and growth and expansion of the international diamond industry,” DEF said.

The black tie-optional event will take place in the Four Seasons Ballroom on Thursday, May 28, starting at 6:30 p.m. It falls in the middle of the summer jewelry trade shows that take place across the city at this time.

Premier presenting sponsors of the event include Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group, De Beers, Rio Tinto, and Signet Jewelers. Rosy Blue Group is a Partner Sponsor,