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By Robert P. Walker, CEO & Founder APB Speakers | When the pandemic hit last March, the event business changed forever.  As our clients scrambled to either cancel events featuring our speakers or struggled with how to go virtual,  APB immediately went to work. Our mission: to offer a virtual platform that would be the next-best thing to an in-person event.

Paralympic medalist and APB speaker Blake Leeper was recently at Scott Sabolich Prosthetics in Oklahoma City being fitted for prosthetics when he discovered that a toddler was down the hall, preparing to walk for the first time in his new prosthesis. In a heartwarming video that has now gone viral, Leeper is heard encouraging and supporting the 2-year-old, saying: “I got my legs on now! I am ready! I’m ready for you! You’re doing great! You’re doing awesome! Look…mine look like yours!”

Lindsay Peoples Wagner, who made media history as both one of the nation’s youngest editors-in-chief and one of the rare Black women in that role, has left Teen Vogue to become editor-in-chief of The Cut, New York magazine’s style and culture site. 

“Impeaching Donald Trump or invoking the 25^th Amendment won’t get us very far.” In his latest opinion piece in TIME magazine, APB exclusive speaker Dr. Eddie Glaude Jr. shares his thoughts on last week’s events at the Capitol with his sights set on both history and the future. “The mob made concrete the threat of white nationalism to the nation,” writes Glaude. “But I have to say, and America’s history is my witness, that impeaching Donald Trump or invoking the 25th Amendment will not get us very far.” Honing in on the historic threat of white supremacism, Glaude calls for “President-elect Biden to direct his Attorney General nominee Merrick Garland to rid the nation of these groups. That will involve a widespread investigation of the scope and extent of the penetration of white supremacists into law enforcement throughout the country and a plan to purge police departments of these elements.” He also calls for Congress to hold live, televised hearings that “should expose the workings of white supremacy groups, create the conditions for the eradication of organizations like the Proud Boys, and lay the groundwork for legislation that will, once and for all, banish these groups from the body politic.”

From Raphael Warnock’s historic ascent to the Senate to the inner circles of the Pentagon and White House, APB celebrates the achievements of our exclusive speakers.

CEO of The Robin Hood Foundation, APB speaker Wes Moore is a bestselling author, combat veteran, and social entrepreneur. His first book, The Other Wes Moore, a New York Times bestseller, captured the nation’s attention as it examined the difference between success and failure in our communities and in ourselves. That story has been optioned by executive producer Oprah Winfrey and HBO to be made into a movie. Most recently, the book was picked by NBA all-star Stephen Curry as the first for his new book club. "It's just a wild story of two different paths starting from pretty much the same spot." Curry said.

On the heels of being named to Bill Gates’ “Must Read” list, David Epstein’s #1 New York Times best-seller Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, has been named as one of only five titles on Gates’ coveted “Holiday Books 2020” list. The honor follows a string of accolades since the APB exclusive speaker released Range last year, including Wharton professor Adam Grant’s “New Leadership Books to Read in 2019,” Inc.’s “2019 Must Read Books” and Amazon’s “Best Business Books of 2019.”

The year’s notable fiction, poetry and nonfiction books were selected by the editors of The New York Times Book Review. Three books that appear on the list are by APB speakers!  

"There will only ever be one Alex Trebek, but I'm honored to be helping Jeopardy! out with this in January." –Ken Jennings | Sony Pictures Television has announced that APB speaker and "Greatest of All Time" ("GOAT") Jeopardy! champion Ken Jennings will be the show’s first interim host after the death of legendary host Alex Trebek. Long considered a favorite for the permanent role, Jennings has served as a consulting producer on the popular trivia game show since winning the G.O.A.T championship earlier this year. He will step up to the podium when Jeopardy! resumes production on November 30. New episodes hosted by Jennings will begin airing on  January 11, 2021 as part of the iconic trivia show’s 37th season.

Author and host of the “Terrible, Thanks for Asking” podcast, APB speaker Nora McInerny specializes in difficult conversations: death, loss, illness, mental health, trauma, change, and how to move forward with grief through resilience, joy, love and humor. When it comes to the holiday season, Nora says you don’t have to fake it, and the need for joy and celebration cannot erase loss, even on Thanksgiving. “Our grief and our gratitude are not in competition with one another. They do not cancel each other out. We need space for each of them — always — but especially now.”