Community & Nonprofit

Many of our speakers attribute their opportunities, successes and passion for change to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Founded during the height of the American Civil Rights Movement in 1965, APB is honored to have worked with Dr. King during his lifetime, as well as many other civil rights leaders who shared his vision. Devoted to spreading positive messages about love and equality, our speakers continue to honor Dr. King's legacy. Read their reflections below.

A feature film depicting the life of APB speaker Coach Keith Adams and his two sons has been greenlighted by MGM’s Orion Pictures. Adams, who is deaf, is a football coach for the California School for the Deaf, Riverside. Both of his sons play for the school. After seven losing seasons, his team—the only deaf school in the division—made it to the state championship in 2021, where they lost. In 2022, they won it all—beating the same team. It is the only deaf school to win the state championship.

Chronic, unmanaged stress—at work, at home, or in other areas of life—can lead to burnout. Dr. Eva Selhub, former medical director for the Benson Henry Institute of Mind Body Medicine at Mass. General, is here to help. In her acclaimed new book, Burnout For Dummies, she shows you how to understand and overcome this all-to-common condition of modern life.

APB speaker and bestselling author Nora McInerny is on a mission: to help people stop trying to overachieve. It’s a lesson she learned the hard way. During six hellish weeks in 2014, McInerny miscarried her second baby, lost her dad to cancer and became a widow at age 31 when her husband died from brain cancer. It taught her what’s important—and it’s not trying to be perfect for anyone.

APB would like to congratulate exclusive speaker Wes Moore for making history after being elected the first Black governor of Maryland. He is only the third Black person to achieve this position in American history. The Democrat defeated far-right Republican Dan Cox. A political newcomer, Moore’s campaign focused on a message of inclusion and progress with equal opportunity for everyone in the Old Line State.

APB is excited to announce the exclusive signing of Masih Alinejad, an Iranian-American journalist and women’s rights activist who gained worldwide attention when she removed her veil, or hijab, and posted a photo on her Facebook page standing proudly with her hair blowing in the wind. From that, My Stealthy Freedom was born, her viral social media campaign against compulsory hijab that became the biggest civil disobedience movement in the history of the Islamic Republic. Today, she is one of the most prominent and vocal opposition figures challenging the Islamic Republic of Iran.

APB is excited to announce exclusive representation of Nontombi Naomi Tutu. The daughter of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Naomi carries on the family legacy to heal the wounds of racism. The challenges of growing up black and female in apartheid South Africa have been the foundation of Naomi’s life as an activist for human rights. Those experiences taught her that our whole human family loses when we accept situations of oppression, and how teaching and preaching hate and division injure us all. After years spent as a development consultant, educator and race and gender activist, she accepted her call to ordained ministry.

APB speaker Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman will be the featured guest on Oprah Winfrey’s “The Life You Want Class,” which will be available tonight at 7 p.m. EST on oprahdaily.com. Kaufman, a renowned humanistic psychologist, founder of the center for the science of human potential and host of “The Psychology Podcast” will discuss the impact that comes with reframing life's challenges and practicing gratitude, according to Winfrey’s website.

World Mental Health Day is honored each year on October 10th with the goal of raising awareness of mental health issues around the globe. An opportunity for advocates and mental health experts to share their stories, experiences, research and more, the day is dedicated to raising awareness, eliminating the stigma and shining the spotlight on what needs to be done to make mental health care a reality for all. Take a look at some of our experts below who continue to lead the charge in mobilizing change.

One of APB’s most important speakers and a true friend to all of us has passed away. Mikhail Gorbachev, Nobel Laureate and Former President of the Soviet Union, died in Moscow at the age of 91.