At one point on Twitter, you’d often see jokes or memes after someone would go on a rant or on for a bit longer than 140 characters regarding something they may be passionate about. Then they’d wrap it all up with “Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.” And, while it’s not every day that you get to travel miles away to hear a real-life TED talk from billionaires like Bill Gates and even, the controversial Elon Musk, in April, that was the case for me. I was fortunate enough to get the opportunity to travel to Vancouver to attend TED2022, “A New Era.” At TED, I attended sessions that included topics like play, imagination, intelligence, and more, plus dinners that encouraged me to have tough conversations about capitalism with people who looked like me and some who didn’t. Going to an event like TED (which stands for “Technology, Entertainment, and Design”) not only forced me to participate in uncomfortable conversations but also self-care that included hand massages, meditation...

Earlier this year, Trump announced that the United States will be terminating its relationship with the World Health Organization (WHO) , according to CNN, and many are concerned with the negative consequences that could result from the decision. On the heels of Trump’s decision, Bill and Melinda Gates — co-chairs of the Gates Foundation — are providing funding and direction on how to navigate COVID-19 vaccines. Time reports that the Gates Foundation has pledged to fund the Vaccine Alliance (GAVI) with $1.6 billion over the next five years to ensure that vaccines are available to people all over the world, regardless of income. In the midst of protests against police brutality and racial injustices against Black people, Melinda Gates understands that both police brutality and health disparities reveal systemic racism. “What happened to George Floyd was brutal and horrible and should never happen to anyone, anywhere. This is a moment of reckoning in the United States. We all need to...