Politics & Society

Melinda French Gates is a philanthropist, businesswoman, and global advocate for women and girls. As the co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Melinda sets the direction and priorities of the world’s largest philanthropy. She is also the founder of Pivotal Ventures, an investment and incubation company working to drive social progress for women and families in the United States. Melinda's first book, The Moment of Lift, will be published April 23 by Flatiron Books. Melinda grew up in Dallas, Texas. She received a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Duke University and an MBA from Duke’s Fuqua School. Melinda spent the first decade of her career developing multimedia products at Microsoft before leaving the company to focus on her family and philanthropic work. She lives in Seattle, Washington with her husband, Bill. They have three children, Jenn, Rory, and Phoebe. John Green is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of six books, including The Fault in Our Stars and Turtles All the Way Down . His books have been published in more than 55 languages, and adapted for popular feature films.

Council of the Americas, Americas Quarterly, and the National Endowment for Democracy will hold a deep-dive discussion on China’s new agenda for engagement in the Americas.