GPS Community Read: Wes Moore

Wednesday, September 8, 2021
7pm - 8pm

Wes Moore
Discovering Wes Moore and The Other Wes Moore

The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates “The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his.” –Wes Moore

Two Baltimore boys named Wes Moore were born in the same neighborhood less than a year apart. One grows up to be a Rhodes Scholar, decorated veteran and White House Fellow. The other becomes a convicted murderer serving a life sentence. The Other Wes Moore is a story so compelling, it became an instant New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling book and is now an upcoming major motion picture from Executive Producer Oprah Winfrey and HBO. Wes Moore will share a firsthand account of a life’s journey empowered by the strength of his family, educational opportunities and community network. We will explore the fine line between success and failure in our communities and in ourselves and the power of personal responsibility.

A Rhodes Scholar, White House fellow, and decorated combat veteran, Moore has written several books that probe the choices people make in life. Taking responsibility for his calling to make a difference, Moore encourages audiences to ask themselves, “We’ve all made it this far, but how do we make ‘making it’ matter?” Here is a story about finding meaning in a volatile age, motivating us all to pursue our own path toward creating a better world..Wes Moore is the former Chief Executive Officer of Robin Hood, one of the largest anti-poverty forces in the nation. He is also the author of the bestselling books including The Work,  This Way Home  and Five Days, where he examines critical questions about the deeper causes of violence and poverty. Wes grew up in Baltimore and the Bronx, where he was raised by a single mom. Despite childhood challenges, he graduated Phi Theta Kappa from Valley Forge Military College in 1998 and Phi Beta Kappa from Johns Hopkins University in 2001. He earned an MLitt in International Relations from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar in 2004. Wes then served as a captain and paratrooper with the U.S. Army’s 82nd airborne, including a combat deployment to Afghanistan. He later served as a White House Fellow to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.Wes was also the founder and CEO at BridgeEdu, an innovative tech platform based in Baltimore addressing the college completion and job placement crisis by reinventing freshman year for underserved students. A successful entrepreneur he has served on numerous nonprofit and social-impact boards and is a lifetime member of the Council of Foreign Relations. The joy of Wes’ life are his two children and his wife Dawn.