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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.

We are excited to announce one of our newest exclusive speakers, MJ Petroni, a cyborg anthropologist who specializes in the complex relationships between humans and machines. Offering a compelling examination of not just how we shape technologies but also how they are reshaping us, MJ equips organizations with tools and strategies to increase their digital fluency in preparation for future technologies.

It was recently announced that former New York City Mayor and APB exclusive speaker Bill de Blasio has joined The Institute of Politics (IOP) at Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, Mass., as a visiting fellow for the fall 2022 semester. De Blasio will visit Harvard several times throughout the semester for a variety of discussions, events and programming.   

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. 

Sony Pictures Entertainment has announced that APB speakers Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings will become permanent hosts for the syndicated quiz show Jeopardy! The pair have been filling in temporarily since the death of longtime host Alex Trebek in November 2020 and will continue splitting their hosting duties.  

The popularity of virtual events continues to grow across the world, according to a new report from Allied Market Research. The global Virtual Events Industry size was valued at $57,715.1 million in 2019 and is projected to reach $701,392.4 million by 2028—a compound projected annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.6% from 2021 to 2028, says the report. The entertainment segment was the highest contributor to the market in 2019 and is estimated to grow 11.2% during the forecast period. Webinars are projected to experience the highest CAGR of 7.1% in revenue during the forecast period.

Russian journalist and APB speaker Dmitry Muratov has made good on his promise to sell his 2021 Nobel Peace Prize medal to help Ukrainian child refugees. On World Refugee Day in June, he sold the medal at auction for $103.5 million. All proceeds will go to UNICEF's humanitarian response for Ukrainian ​children displaced by war. 

Joanne “Coach P” McCallie, former NCAA Division I women’s basketball head coach for 28 years, has taken on her greatest role yet. She is forging a path to destigmatizing mental health and is coaching those afflicted to paths for full and productive lives. She knows what worked for her as an elite coach under national scrutiny while protecting her secret—a mental health diagnosis hidden across years of her career so as not to impede her success or impact her family’s livelihood. In her high-energy speeches and leadership seminars, Coach P engages, educates and inspires with discussions on mental health, sports, faith and leadership.

50 years ago, Title IX forever changed women's sports when the groundbreaking gender equity law was passed as part of the Education Amendments of 1972, ultimately increasing the participation of girls and women in athletics. However, the significance of Title IX reaches far beyond sports. Touching on themes of gender equity, social change, mental health, overcoming adversity and more, the trailblazing female athletes and coaches below inspire with personal stories of failures and triumphs, reminding us all that it's never to late to achieve our goals in life.