WHY PHARRELL WILLIAMS The world knows Pharrell’s genius from his arts but I got to know him as a person. It feels like I’ve known Pharrell for decades. We’ve really known each other maybe five or six years, but he is a familiar person in my soul. When I met Pharrell for the first time, … Read more

Spread your wings. Be a risktaker. When Astronaut Leland Melvin called one afternoon, leading Obama’s Summer of Innovation, I thought, If I don’t take this step right now, when will I ever have this opportunity? That was how From One Hand to AnOTHER (FOHTA) began: I told him, “If you partner with us, Virginia Beach will have … Read more

Pharrell and I grew up together. Ever since we connected at a cultural festival in Virginia, we’ve been attached at the hip. I literally used to ride him around on my bicycle handlebars before either one of us had a car. In a way, nothing has changed. We’ve been best friends since our teens and … Read more

YELLOW is really about helping young people maximize their creative potential, and that creative potential can manifest in many ways. It can manifest itself in art, music, software, mathematics, business systems—anything. Entrepreneurship is just one channel of the creative force. I first became interested in entrepreneurship—and in teaching and the potential of technology—from my own … Read more

It’s time to meet kids where they are. And from that starting place, we can help them figure out who they are and where they want to go. By really knowing them, and helping them know themselves, together we can construct an educational experience that supports them in setting meaningful goals for life and work … Read more

GARDENS AS COLLECTIVE ACTION I have a friend who says, “The way that you do one thing is the way that you do all things.” Agency—the importance of personal power and believing in your ability and your community’s ability to look out for yourselves and for each other—is so important when the government continues to fail … Read more