“The only thing we can do is make it matter that we were even here in the first place.” –Wes Moore

Wes Moore, bestselling author and youth advocate, will be virtually visiting Adelphi University to discuss the deeper meaning behind his book, The Other Wes Moore, and how we are products of expectations. Moore, the CEO of Robin Hood (one of the largest anti-poverty forces in the nation), a combat veteran, and a social entrepreneur, will touch on how we can discover our own path to purpose and reveal that our truest work happens when we serve others.

From the world of business, to giving back, to the journey of belonging, Wes Moore will take us through a life well-lived.

This conversation will be moderated by Katie Laatikainen, professor of political science and academic director of Levermore Global Scholars.

To act on Moore’s message, please participate in other Adelphi University events taking place during the month of March, Adelphi Gives Back Month.

This event is sponsored by the Student Government Association.

This event is open to the public but registration is required.

About the Speaker

Wes Moore

Wes Moore

Credit: Photo Credit: Amun Ankhra Hourse, Ltd.

Wes Moore is the Chief Executive Officer of Robin Hood, one of the largest anti-poverty forces in the nation. He is a bestselling author, a combat veteran, and a social entrepreneur.

Wes’ first book, The Other Wes Moore, a perennial New York Times bestseller, captured the nation’s attention on the fine line between success and failure in our communities and in ourselves. That story has been optioned by executive producer Oprah Winfrey and HBO to be made into a movie. He is also the author of the bestselling books The Work, Discovering Wes Moore, and This Way Home.

Wes’ latest book, Five Days, explores the uprisings in Baltimore in 2015 after the death of Freddie Gray in police custody through a kaleidoscope of perspectives and examines critical questions about the deeper causes of violence and poverty.

Wes grew up in Baltimore and the Bronx, where he was raised by a single mom. Despite childhood challenges, he graduated Phi Theta Kappa from Valley Forge Military College in 1998 and Phi Beta Kappa from Johns Hopkins University in 2001. He earned an MLitt in International Relations from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar in 2004. Wes then served as a captain and paratrooper with the u.s. Army’s 82nd airborne, including a combat deployment to Afghanistan. He later served as a White House Fellow to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Before becoming CEO at Robin Hood, Wes was the founder and CEO at BridgeEdu, an innovative tech platform based in Baltimore addressing the college completion and job placement crisis by reinventing freshman year for underserved students. BridgeEdu was acquired by Edquity, a Brooklyn-based student financial success and emergency aid firm, in June 2019.

Wes has also worked in finance as an investment banker with Deutsche Bank in London and with Citigroup in New York.

Wes has served on numerous nonprofit and social-impact boards and is a lifetime member of the Council of Foreign Relations.

The joy of Wes’ life are his two children and his wife Dawn.

Katie Verlin Laatikainen

Dr. Katie Verlin Laatikainen is Academic Director of Levermore Global Scholars, Coordinator of the International Relations program, and Professor of Political Science at Adelphi University in New York. Her teaching and research focuses broadly on international institutions, multilateralism and the European Union’s relations with international organizations. Recent publications include the co-edited volume Group Politics in UN Multilateralism (Brill, 2020) which was awarded the Biennial ACUNS Book Award in 2020 and “Regional Practices in UN Mulitateralism” in the 2020 special issue of Global Governance, The UN at 75( Global Governance, Vol 26, No. 2 (2020): 340-358.) Earlier co-edited publications include The Sage Handbook on European Foreign Policy (Sage 2015), The Routledge Handbook on the European Union and International Institutions: Performance, Policy and Power (Routledge, 2014), The European Union at the United Nations: Intersecting Multilateralisms (Palgrave 2006). She is co-author (with Donald J. Puchala and Roger A. Coate) of United Nations Politics: International Organization in a Divided World (Pearson: 2007; reissued by Routledge 2015).

For further information, please contact:

Events at Adelphi
516.877.4555
events@adelphi.edu

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