Melinda French Gates – On Transitions, Change, and Moving Forward | How To Academy
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Wed, 25 June 2025

7:00 pm - 8:15 pm BST

Melinda French Gates – On Transitions, Change, and Moving Forward

Live in Conversation with Kirsty Young

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In a rare window into some of her life’s pivotal moments, Melinda French Gates returns to How To Academy with previously untold stories offering a new perspective on how we process change.

“You don’t get to be my age without navigating all kinds of transitions. Some you embraced and some you never expected. Some you hoped for and some you fought as hard as you could.” – Melinda French Gates

Transitions are moments in which we step out of our familiar surroundings and into a new landscape—a space that, for many people, is shadowed by confusion, fear, and indecision.

Returning to How To Academy for the first time since 2019, Melinda French Gates joins us to offer guidance on how to make the most of the time between an ending and a new beginning and how to move forward into the next day when the ground beneath you is shifting.

Melinda will reflect on some of the most significant transitions in her own life, including becoming a parent, the death of a dear friend, and her departure from the Gates Foundation. The stories she will tell illuminate universal lessons about loosening the bonds of perfectionism, helping friends navigate times of crisis, embracing uncertainty, and more.

Each one of us, no matter who we are or where we are in life, is headed toward transitions of our own. With her signature warmth and grace, Melinda will candidly share stories of times when she was in need of wisdom, and shine a path through the open space stretching out before us all.

All tickets to this event include a copy of Melinda’s new book, The Next Day (RRP£17.99).

Tickets to this event are at a £15 discount across all ticket bands for members of How To +.

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Melinda French Gates

Philanthropist, Businesswoman, and global advocate for women and girls

Melinda French Gates is a philanthropist, businesswoman, and global advocate for women and girls. For over 25 years, Melinda has led efforts to unlock a healthier, more prosperous, more equal future. Today, she heads Pivotal, an organization she formed in 2015 that works to accelerate the pace of progress and advance women’s power and influence in the U.S and around the world. Previously, she founded and cochaired the Gates foundation, where, for more than two decades, she set the direction and priorities of the world’s largest philanthropy.
Melinda is also the author of the bestselling book The Moment of Lift and the creator of Moment of Lift Books, an imprint publishing original nonfiction by visionaries working to unlock a more equal world. Melinda grew up in Dallas, Texas and attended Duke University, where she received a bachelor’s degree in computer science and economics and an MBA. She spent the first decade of her career developing multimedia products at Microsoft before leaving the company to focus on her family and philanthropic work. Melinda has three children – Jenn, Rory, and Phoebe – and lives in Seattle, Washington.

Kirsty Young

Award-winning broadcaster

Kirsty is one of the most respected broadcasters in the UK. She currently hosts the BBC Sounds podcast, Young Again. She presented the BBC coverage of The Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II and The Coronation of TM The King and Queen Camilla. She was previously the host of Desert Island Discs on Radio 4 for over a decade. Her previous roles for BBC Special Events included hosting VE Day 70, The 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain and the award-winning coverage of The Royal Wedding of Prince Harry & Megan Markle. In 2017 she anchored two days of coverage around the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Passchendaele, which went on to win the BAFTA for Best Live Event.
Kirsty was also the presenter of Crimewatch for seven years, fronted a number of documentary series, and has regularly hosted Have I Got News For You. She was President of UNICEF UK from 2016 to 2018.
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