In The News

Author of Waiting to Exhale, How Stella Got Her Groove Back and I Almost Forgot About You, APB speaker Terry McMillan is releasing her newest book, It’s Not All Downhill From Here, in March 2020. The novel focuses on a group of women who went to high school together, but later went down different paths. However, after a loss, they reunited. McMillan illustrates the many challenges these women face and how they pull themselves up through the power of friendship and forgiveness.

From offices to naval ships, today’s workplaces are doing more with fewer people. The trend will continue with the advancement of AI. “As complexity increases, as technology spins the world into vaster webs of interconnected systems in which each only sees a small part, organizations will need a different kind of employee,” says David Epstein. “They’ll need people with range.”

Known for her New York Times best-selling book on modern parenting, The Gift of Failure, APB speaker Jessica Lahey is continuing to advocate for flexible, successful parenting strategies in a recent New York Times Guide to Smarter Living. Her column celebrates the opportunity of a new school year for families everywhere, promoting learning through valuing process over product and planning for smarter technology use. Lahey draws on both data and personal experience to model a more collaborative, less punitive view of the parental role.    

“I want my kids to know when you’re chasing big dreams, you may fail, but if you get back up again — that’s how you fly.” Thirteen-time best-selling author and APB speaker Brad Meltzer appeared on Good Morning America to discuss the release of his two new children’s books: I am Walt Disney and I am Marie Curie. “I was tired of my kids looking at people who are famous for being famous and thinking that’s our hero,” said Meltzer, on what inspired him to write the children’s biography of Walt Disney.

The Jeopardy! record holder for most correct responses on average and longest winning streak, APB speaker Ken Jennings, is launching  Half-Truth, a trivia game that transcends rote recall and makes trivia accessible to everyone.

Veteran journalist and APB speaker John Quiñones of ABC’s What Would You Do? recently received John F. Hogan Award from the RTDNA (Radio Television Digital News Association) for his continuous contributions to the profession of journalism. During his 36-year tenure at ABC working as a reporter, news anchor and television personality, Quiñones always found ways of “adding context and clarity” for viewers, RTDNA chairman Jerry Walsh said. 

Speaker Wil Haygood’s book, Tigerland, is a finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, a prize that recognizes the power of literature in promoting peace and reconciliation. An acclaimed biographer, Pulitzer finalist and award-winning author, Haygood is known for telling the story of America through the lens of history, politics, sports, race and the lives of change-making African Americans.

Speaker, attorney and health policy expert Daniel E. Dawes has been named Morehouse School of Medicine’s Director of the Satcher Health Leadership Institute and Associate Lead for Government Relations. With this new position, Dawes will bring a forward-thinking approach to addressing issues that impact diverse populations in the complex health systems of urban and rural communities.

STEM advocate and founder of The Magic Cool Bus Justin Shaifer is changing the world of science and how we learn about it. Says Forbes, "His kid-friendly, science loving alter ego Mr. Fascinate, who makes science look cool, is more so the “science bro” than the science guy."

After the recent mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio, speakers and co-founders of March For Our Lives organization, David Hogg and Jaclyn Corin, who are both attending Harvard University this Fall, announced a new initiative for March For Our Lives. Called the “Peace Plan for a Safer America,” the effort maps out a six-part plan to end gun violence. In USA TODAY, Corin said it’s “’A Green New Deal, but for guns.’” Hogg said, “’Policymakers have failed, so survivors are stepping up.’”