SPOTLIGHT The Sum of Us: Cultivating Prosperous Boarding School Communities
Heather McGhee
Author, Speaker, Advocate
Graduate Of The Bement School & Milton Academy
Join this renowned economist and commentator for a discussion of her New York Times bestselling work, The Sum of Us, revelations about the devastating cost of racism and inequality for our entire society. She’ll share an actionable roadmap for creating communities of belonging on our boarding school campuses.
Speaker
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Heather McGheeAuthor, Speaker, Advocate Graduate Of The Bement School & Milton Academy
A renowned expert on the American economy, Heather is one of the most brilliant and influential thinkers exploring inequality today. Both her viral TED talk and her instant New York Times bestseller The Sum of Us reveal the devastating true cost of racism—not just for people of color, but for everyone. Deeply stirring, intelligent, and compassionate, McGhee’s talk will offer us an actionable roadmap during one of the most critical—and most troubled—periods in history.
As the former president of the inequality-focused think tank Demos, McGhee has drafted legislation, testified before Congress, and become a regular contributor on shows like Meet the Press and Real Time with Bill Maher. She also led Demos’ own racial equity organizational transformation, resulting in a doubling of the organization’s racial diversity and growth across all measures of organizational impact.
McGhee’s riveting talks communicate this with passion and seriousness, “challenging the paradigm of racial competition in this country.” Racism doesn’t just hurt us on a personal level. It divides and alienates companies and their employees, employees and their clients, clients and brands. The trickledown, explains McGhee, is far-reaching. Her talks address this with clear takeaways, like how to make the process mission-critical, how to get buy-in from your teams, and how to do it all with joy.
McGhee holds a B.A. in American Studies from Yale University and a J.D. from the University of California at Berkeley School of Law. She is the Chair of the Board of Color of Change, the country’s largest online racial justice organization, and serves on multiple other boards of trustees, including the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and Demos.
