TomorrowTalks with Melinda Gates: The Moment of Lift
Arizona State University welcomes philanthropist and former general manager at Microsoft, Melinda Gates, as a guest in its TomorrowTalks series. Gates will discuss her book, "The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World" in an online event on Thursday, March 18 at 6 p.m. Arizona / MST (6 p.m. PDT / 7 p.m. MDT / 8 p.m. CDT / 9 p.m. EDT). The conversation with Gates will be facilitated by ASU's Aviva Dove-Viebahn, assistant professor of film and media studies in the Department of English and a contributing editor at Ms. Magazine.
For the last twenty years, Melinda Gates has been on a mission to find solutions for people with the most urgent needs, wherever they live. Throughout this journey, one thing has become increasingly clear to her: If you want to lift a society up, you need to stop keeping women down.
In "The Moment of Lift," Gates shares lessons she’s learned from the inspiring people she’s met during her work and travels around the world. As she notes in the introduction, "That is why I had to write this book―to share the stories of people who have given focus and urgency to my life. I want all of us to see ways we can lift women up where we live." Writing with emotion, candor and grace, she introduces us to remarkable women and shows the power of connecting with one another.
Melinda Gates is co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Along with Bill, she shapes and approves the foundation’s strategies, reviews results and sets the overall direction of the organization. Together, they meet with grantees and partners to further the foundation’s goal of improving equity in the United States and around the world.
TomorrowTalks place thought leaders of today in conversation with the changemakers of tomorrow: our students. Each distinguished speaker will explain how they use writing to address our most pressing challenges. In addition to Gates, spring 2021 speakers include Michael Eric Dyson (Feb. 25) and Ayanna Thompson (April 15).
TomorrowTalks are a student-engagement initiative led by the Division of Humanities in The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at ASU and hosted by ASU's Department of English and Center for the Study of Race and Democracy in partnership with Macmillan Publishers. Additional assistance is provided by ASU's School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership.