In an Era of Worsening Wildfires, These Young Conservation Corps Members Are Clearing a Path to Safety and Opportunity

With cutbacks to federal government programs and layoffs of civil servants around the country, there’s been a lot of confusion about funding for wildfire prevention and mitigation under the new presidential administration. Yet, Santa Rosa, California resident Lynn Garric feels encouraged. “I’m a very hopeful, optimistic person,” she explains. “I’m the one who came back […]

'One Image Can Change the World': How Ami Vitale Uses Her Camera to Confront Extinction and the Climate Crisis

Ami Vitale has spent her career on the front lines of our planet’s most urgent crises, using her camera not only to witness the world but to change it. A National Geographic photographer, writer, documentary filmmaker, and Nikon Ambassador, Vitale began her career covering conflict zones — places where human suffering was raw and unrelenting. […]

Photographer Cristina Mittermeier’s 'HOPE' Confronts the Climate Crisis with a Powerful Visual Call to Action

Award-winning photographer Cristina Mittermeier’s new book, HOPE, offers a powerful counterpoint to the growing sense of despair that often surrounds conversations about our planet’s future. As Mittermeier poignantly observes, “Hope may not be a plan or a strategy, but it is vital for our survival.” For decades, Mittermeier has traveled the globe, documenting both the […]

Why Saying 'I’m Stressed' Isn’t Helping — And What to Say Instead for Better Mental Health

In the aftermath of a tumultuous election season, political division, wildfires, and a general sense of uncertainty for the future, it’s easy to think we are all simply living in a united state of stress with little good to come from it. However, the science of emotional intelligence tells us that using the term stress […]

People’s Music School Gala Raises $740K for Free Music Education with Student Performances and Wilco, Fall Out Boy Auction Items

The People’s Music School (TPMS) turned up the volume at its eighth annual Big Night Gala, raising over $740,000 to provide free, high-quality music education to Chicago youth. The Feb. 21 event, emceed by CBS Morning News Anchor Audrina Sinclair, brought nearly 450 guests to The Geraghty for a celebration of the transformative power of music.  […]