Melinda French Gates envisions a world where women and their newborns remain healthy before, during and after childbirth. The Gates Foundation reported staggering numbers surrounding maternal mortality and offers several interventions that have the potential to save the lives of 2 million mothers and babies by 2030. She gives her Brief But Spectacular take on making birth safer.

Jeanann Verlee uses her work to bring awareness to issues surrounding mental health. She has authored three books of poetry and writes about mental health awareness, trauma survival and domestic abuse and domestic violence. She shares her Brief But Spectacular take on destigmatizing mental illness through poetry.

Mahogany Browne is a poet, writer, organizer and educator. Recently, she became the first-ever poet-in-residence at the Lincoln Center in New York City. She shares her Brief But Spectacular take on poetry as ritual.

Writer Mary Otis' work grapples with issues of addiction, artistic purpose, and mother-daughter relationships. She recently performed excerpts from her debut novel, “Burst,” at Lincoln Center in New York City. She shares her Brief But Spectacular take on finding her voice.