TED Salon: Belonging
Casey Gerald: Embrace your raw, strange magic
Filmed:
Readability: 3.2
1,859,872 views
The way we're taught to live has got to change, says author Casey Gerald. Too often, we hide parts of ourselves in order to fit in, win praise, be accepted. But at what cost? In this inspiring talk, Gerald shares the personal sacrifices he made to attain success in the upper echelons of American society -- and shows why it's time for us to have the courage to live in the raw, strange magic of ourselves.
Casey Gerald - American
Casey Gerald chronicles the current state of the American Dream and explores ways to sustain it for a new generation. Full bio
Casey Gerald chronicles the current state of the American Dream and explores ways to sustain it for a new generation. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
[This talk contains mature content]
0
40
3720
00:16
My mother called this summer
to stage an intervention.
to stage an intervention.
1
4680
5816
00:22
She'd come across
a few snippets of my memoir,
a few snippets of my memoir,
2
10520
5976
00:28
which wasn't even out yet,
3
16520
1736
00:30
and she was concerned.
4
18280
1200
00:33
It wasn't the sex.
5
21040
1696
00:34
(Laughter)
6
22760
1776
00:36
It was the language that disturbed her.
7
24560
3120
00:40
For example:
8
28520
1200
00:43
"I have been so many things
9
31760
2056
00:45
along my curious journey:
10
33840
1720
00:48
a poor boy, a nigger,
11
36520
2736
00:51
a Yale man, a Harvard man,
12
39280
2816
00:54
a faggot, a Christian,
13
42120
2616
00:56
a crack baby, alleged,
14
44760
2096
00:58
the spawn of Satan, the Second Coming,
15
46880
2976
01:01
Casey."
16
49880
1200
01:03
That's just page six.
17
51640
1656
01:05
(Laughter)
18
53320
1696
01:07
So you may understand my mother's worry.
19
55040
2040
01:10
But she wanted only to make
one small change.
one small change.
20
58840
5016
01:15
So she called, and she began,
21
63880
2360
01:19
"Hey, you are a man.
22
67520
3400
01:23
You're not a faggot, you're not a punk,
23
71880
2696
01:26
and let me tell you the difference.
24
74600
1696
01:28
You are prominent. You are intelligent.
25
76320
2576
01:30
You dress well. You know how to speak.
26
78920
1976
01:32
People like you.
27
80920
1536
01:34
You don't walk around
doing your hand like a punk.
doing your hand like a punk.
28
82480
2936
01:37
You're not a vagabond on the street.
29
85440
2336
01:39
You are an upstanding person
30
87800
2496
01:42
who just happens to be gay.
31
90320
1800
01:44
Don't put yourself over there
32
92920
2736
01:47
when you are over here."
33
95680
2120
01:51
She thought she'd done me a favor,
34
99480
1640
01:54
and in a way, she had.
35
102440
1320
01:56
Her call clarified
what I am trying to do with my life
what I am trying to do with my life
36
104920
6336
02:03
and in my work as a writer,
37
111280
2616
02:05
which is to send one simple message:
38
113920
2800
02:09
the way we're taught to live
has got to change.
has got to change.
39
117560
3440
02:14
I learned this the hard way.
40
122160
2056
02:16
I was born not on
the wrong side of the tracks,
the wrong side of the tracks,
41
124240
2216
02:18
but on the wrong side of a whole river,
42
126480
1975
02:20
the Trinity, down in Oak Cliff, Texas.
43
128479
3177
02:23
I was raised there
in part by my grandmother
in part by my grandmother
44
131680
2416
02:26
who worked as a domestic,
45
134120
1296
02:27
and by my sister,
46
135440
2096
02:29
who adopted me
a few years after our mother,
a few years after our mother,
47
137560
3536
02:33
who struggled with mental illness,
48
141120
1976
02:35
disappeared.
49
143120
1816
02:36
And it was that disappearance,
50
144960
2016
02:39
that began when I was 13
and lasted for five years,
and lasted for five years,
51
147000
3496
02:42
that shaped the person I became,
52
150520
1720
02:45
the person I later had to unbecome.
53
153200
2640
02:49
Before she left, my mother
had been my human hiding place.
had been my human hiding place.
54
157120
4296
02:53
She was the only other person
who seemed as strange as me,
who seemed as strange as me,
55
161440
4696
02:58
beautifully strange,
56
166160
1256
02:59
some mix of Blanche DuBois
from "A Streetcar Named Desire"
from "A Streetcar Named Desire"
57
167440
3536
03:03
and a 1980s Whitney Houston.
58
171000
1896
03:04
(Laughter)
59
172920
3256
03:08
I'm not saying she was perfect,
60
176200
1480
03:10
just that I sure benefited
from her imperfections.
from her imperfections.
61
178800
3296
03:14
And maybe that's what magic is, after all:
62
182120
2656
03:16
a useful mistake.
63
184800
1320
03:19
So when she began to disappear
for days at a time,
for days at a time,
64
187280
2776
03:22
I turned to some magic of my own.
65
190080
1976
03:24
It struck me, as from above,
66
192080
2136
03:26
that I could conjure up my mother
just by walking perfectly
just by walking perfectly
67
194240
4176
03:30
from my elementary school
at the top of a steep hill
at the top of a steep hill
68
198440
3136
03:33
all the way down
to my grandmother's house,
to my grandmother's house,
69
201600
2976
03:36
placing one foot, and one foot only,
in each sidewalk square.
in each sidewalk square.
70
204600
4600
03:41
I couldn't let any part of any foot
touch the line between the square,
touch the line between the square,
71
209920
3336
03:45
I couldn't skip a square,
72
213280
1336
03:46
all the way to the last square
at the last blade of grass
at the last blade of grass
73
214640
3176
03:49
that separated our lawn from our driveway.
74
217840
3616
03:53
And I bullshit you not, it worked --
75
221480
3256
03:56
just once though.
76
224760
1200
03:58
But if my perfect walk
could not bring my mother back,
could not bring my mother back,
77
226960
3936
04:02
I found that this approach had other uses.
78
230920
3320
04:07
I found that everyone else
in charge around me
in charge around me
79
235240
2176
04:09
loved nothing more than perfection,
80
237440
2040
04:12
obedience, submission.
81
240400
2776
04:15
Or at least if I submitted,
they wouldn't bother me too much.
they wouldn't bother me too much.
82
243200
2896
04:18
So I took a bargain
83
246120
2736
04:20
that I'd later see in a prison,
a Stasi prison in Berlin,
a Stasi prison in Berlin,
84
248880
4336
04:25
on a sign that read,
85
253240
1456
04:26
"He who adapts can live tolerably."
86
254720
3000
04:31
It was a bargain that helped ensure
87
259040
1895
04:32
I had a place to stay and food to eat;
88
260959
4137
04:37
a bargain that won me praise
of teachers and kin, strangers;
of teachers and kin, strangers;
89
265120
4296
04:41
a bargain that paid off
big time, it seemed,
big time, it seemed,
90
269440
2136
04:43
when one day at 17, a man from Yale
showed up at my high school to recruit me
showed up at my high school to recruit me
91
271600
4616
04:48
for Yale's football team.
92
276240
1240
04:50
It felt as out of the blue to me then
as it may to you now.
as it may to you now.
93
278240
2960
04:53
The Yale man said -- everybody said --
94
281800
3296
04:57
that this was the best thing
that could ever happen to me,
that could ever happen to me,
95
285120
3496
05:00
the best thing that could happen
to the whole community.
to the whole community.
96
288640
2656
05:03
"Take this ticket, boy," they told me.
97
291320
2560
05:06
I was not so sure.
98
294840
1200
05:09
Yale seemed another world entire:
99
297160
2576
05:11
a cold, foreign, hostile place.
100
299760
3680
05:16
On the first day of my recruiting visit,
101
304360
1936
05:18
I texted my sister
an excuse for not going.
an excuse for not going.
102
306320
2136
05:20
"These people are so weird."
103
308480
1760
05:23
She replied, "You'll fit right in."
104
311000
3096
05:26
(Laughter)
105
314120
2880
05:30
I took the ticket
106
318080
1816
05:31
and worked damn hard to fit right in.
107
319920
2176
05:34
When my freshman advisor warned me
not to wear my fitted hats on campus ...
not to wear my fitted hats on campus ...
108
322120
4296
05:38
"You're at Yale now. You don't have to
do that anymore," she said.
do that anymore," she said.
109
326440
3720
05:43
I figured, this was just one
of the small prices
of the small prices
110
331280
2896
05:46
that must be paid to make it.
111
334200
2040
05:49
I paid them all, or tried,
112
337280
2896
05:52
and sure enough
they seemed to pay me back:
they seemed to pay me back:
113
340200
2736
05:54
made me a leader
on the varsity football team;
on the varsity football team;
114
342960
3336
05:58
got me into a not-so-secret society
115
346320
2416
06:00
and a job on Wall Street,
and later in Washington.
and later in Washington.
116
348760
2536
06:03
Things were going so well
that I figured naturally
that I figured naturally
117
351320
3656
06:07
I should be President
of the United States.
of the United States.
118
355000
2376
06:09
(Laughter)
119
357400
3176
06:12
But since I was only 24
120
360600
2376
06:15
and since even presidents
have to start somewhere,
have to start somewhere,
121
363000
2856
06:17
I settled instead on a run for Congress.
122
365880
3336
06:21
Now, this was in the afterglow
of that great 2008 election:
of that great 2008 election:
123
369240
4376
06:25
the election during which
a serious, moderate senator stressed,
a serious, moderate senator stressed,
124
373640
5136
06:30
"The message you've got to send
more than any other message
more than any other message
125
378800
3856
06:34
is that Barack Obama is just like us."
126
382680
3000
06:38
They sent that message so well
127
386520
1936
06:40
that their campaign became
the gold standard of modern politics,
the gold standard of modern politics,
128
388480
3176
06:43
if not modern life,
which also seems to demand
which also seems to demand
129
391680
3456
06:47
that we each do whatever it takes
to be able to say at the end of our days
to be able to say at the end of our days
130
395160
4696
06:51
with peace and satisfaction,
"I was just like everybody else."
"I was just like everybody else."
131
399880
4536
06:56
And this would be my message, too.
132
404440
2680
07:00
So one night, I made one final call
to my prospective campaign manager.
to my prospective campaign manager.
133
408480
5520
07:07
We'd do the things it'd take to win,
but first he had one question:
but first he had one question:
134
415320
4600
07:13
"Is there anything I need to know?"
135
421120
1760
07:16
I held the phone and finally said,
136
424240
3376
07:19
"Well, you should probably know I'm gay."
137
427640
2400
07:23
Silence.
138
431920
1200
07:26
"Hmm. I see," he nearly whispered,
139
434560
3816
07:30
as if he'd found a shiny penny
or a dead baby bird.
or a dead baby bird.
140
438400
3736
07:34
(Laughter)
141
442160
1056
07:35
"I'm glad you told me," he continued.
142
443240
2816
07:38
"You definitely didn't make
my job any easier.
my job any easier.
143
446080
2176
07:40
I mean, you are in Texas.
144
448280
1776
07:42
But it's not impossible, not impossible.
145
450080
3080
07:46
But Casey, let me ask you something:
146
454200
1960
07:49
How are you going to feel when somebody,
say, at a rally, calls you a faggot?
say, at a rally, calls you a faggot?
147
457080
5520
07:55
And let's be real, OK?
148
463520
1440
07:57
You do understand that somebody
might want to physically harm you.
might want to physically harm you.
149
465720
3480
08:02
I just want to know:
150
470160
1936
08:04
Are you really ready for this?"
151
472120
2080
08:07
I wasn't.
152
475720
1736
08:09
And I could not understand --
153
477480
3016
08:12
could hardly breathe
154
480520
2856
08:15
or think, or say a word.
155
483400
2760
08:19
But to be clear:
the boy that I was at that time
the boy that I was at that time
156
487400
2576
08:22
would have leapt
at the chance to be harmed,
at the chance to be harmed,
157
490000
2616
08:24
to sacrifice everything,
even life, for a cause.
even life, for a cause.
158
492640
2920
08:28
There was something shocking, though --
159
496840
2696
08:31
not that there should have been,
but there was --
but there was --
160
499560
2736
08:34
in the notion that he might be harmed
for nothing more than being himself,
for nothing more than being himself,
161
502320
4936
08:39
which he had not even tried
to do in the first place.
to do in the first place.
162
507280
2480
08:42
All that he -- all that I --
163
510640
3015
08:45
had tried to do and be
was what I thought was asked of me.
was what I thought was asked of me.
164
513679
4377
08:50
I was prominent for a 24-year-old:
165
518080
3536
08:53
intelligent, I spoke well, dressed decent;
I was an upstanding citizen.
I was an upstanding citizen.
166
521640
4440
08:59
But the bargain I had accepted
could not save me after all,
could not save me after all,
167
527040
4800
09:04
nor can it save you.
168
532960
1200
09:07
You may have already learned this lesson,
169
535600
1976
09:09
or you will, regardless of your sexuality.
170
537600
3440
09:13
The queer receives
a concentrated dose, no doubt,
a concentrated dose, no doubt,
171
541840
3936
09:17
but repression is a bitter pill
that's offered to us all.
that's offered to us all.
172
545800
4320
09:23
We're taught to hide so many parts
of who we are and what we've been through:
of who we are and what we've been through:
173
551640
3656
09:27
our love, our pain, for some, our faith.
174
555320
2840
09:31
So while coming out
to the world can be hard,
to the world can be hard,
175
559240
2320
09:34
coming in to all the raw, strange magic
of ourselves can be much harder.
of ourselves can be much harder.
176
562760
4416
09:39
As Miles Davis said, "It takes a long time
to sound like yourself."
to sound like yourself."
177
567200
3960
09:44
That surely was the case for me.
178
572320
1560
09:47
I had my private revelation
that night at 24,
that night at 24,
179
575240
2576
09:49
but mostly went on with my life.
180
577840
2136
09:52
I went on to Harvard Business School,
started a successful nonprofit,
started a successful nonprofit,
181
580000
4216
09:56
wound up on the cover of a magazine,
on the stage at TED.
on the stage at TED.
182
584240
2936
09:59
(Laughter)
183
587200
1656
10:00
I had achieved, by my late 20s,
184
588880
1576
10:02
about everything
a kid is supposed to achieve.
a kid is supposed to achieve.
185
590480
2440
10:06
But I was real cracked up:
186
594360
1320
10:09
not exactly having a nervous breakdown,
but not too far off,
but not too far off,
187
597440
4216
10:13
and awful sad either way.
188
601680
1520
10:16
I had never thought of being a writer,
189
604280
2776
10:19
didn't even read, in earnest,
until I was nearly 23.
until I was nearly 23.
190
607080
3320
10:23
But the book business
is about the only industry
is about the only industry
191
611640
2256
10:25
that will pay you to investigate
your own problems, so --
your own problems, so --
192
613920
2896
10:28
(Laughter)
193
616840
3400
10:34
So I decided to give it a try,
194
622800
2160
10:38
to trace those cracks with words.
195
626000
2960
10:42
Now, what came out on the page was
about as strange as I felt at that time,
about as strange as I felt at that time,
196
630640
4256
10:46
which alarmed some people at first.
197
634920
2856
10:49
A respected writer called
to stage his own intervention
to stage his own intervention
198
637800
2816
10:52
after reading a few early chapters,
199
640640
3056
10:55
and he began, much like my mother,
200
643720
3736
10:59
"Hey, listen.
201
647480
2360
11:02
You've been hired
to write an autobiography.
to write an autobiography.
202
650800
2376
11:05
It's a straightforward exercise.
203
653200
1856
11:07
It's got a beginning, middle and end,
204
655080
1816
11:08
and is grounded in the facts of your life.
205
656920
2496
11:11
And by the way, there's a great tradition
of autobiography in this country,
of autobiography in this country,
206
659440
3576
11:15
led by people on the margins of society
who write to assert their existence.
who write to assert their existence.
207
663040
5056
11:20
Go buy some of those books
and learn from them.
and learn from them.
208
668120
3416
11:23
You're going in the wrong direction."
209
671560
2800
11:27
But I no longer believed
what we are taught --
what we are taught --
210
675680
3496
11:31
that the right direction
is the safe direction.
is the safe direction.
211
679200
2456
11:33
I no longer believed what we are taught --
212
681680
2176
11:35
that queer lives or black lives
or poor lives are marginal lives.
or poor lives are marginal lives.
213
683880
3496
11:39
I believed what Kendrick Lamar
says on "Section.80.":
says on "Section.80.":
214
687400
3520
11:43
"I'm not on the outside looking in.
215
691640
3296
11:46
I'm not on the inside looking out.
216
694960
1936
11:48
I'm in the dead fucking center
looking around."
looking around."
217
696920
2416
11:51
(Laughter)
218
699360
1456
11:52
That was the place
219
700840
1976
11:54
from which I hoped to work,
220
702840
2176
11:57
headed in the only direction worth going,
the direction of myself,
the direction of myself,
221
705040
3456
12:00
trying to help us all
refuse the awful bargains
refuse the awful bargains
222
708520
3856
12:04
we've been taught to take.
223
712400
1280
12:06
We're taught to turn ourselves
224
714680
2176
12:08
and our work into little nuggets
that are easily digestible;
that are easily digestible;
225
716880
4056
12:12
taught to mutilate ourselves
so that we make sense to others,
so that we make sense to others,
226
720960
3376
12:16
to be a stranger to ourselves
so the right people might befriend us
so the right people might befriend us
227
724360
3576
12:19
and the right schools might accept us,
and the right jobs might hire us,
and the right jobs might hire us,
228
727960
3416
12:23
and the right parties might invite us,
229
731400
1856
12:25
and, someday, the right God
might invite us to the right heaven
might invite us to the right heaven
230
733280
3176
12:28
and close his pearly gates behind us,
231
736480
1976
12:30
so we can bow down to Him
forever and ever.
forever and ever.
232
738480
2536
12:33
These are the rewards, they say,
233
741040
2416
12:35
for our obedience:
234
743480
1360
12:37
to be a well-liked holy nugget,
235
745640
2936
12:40
to be dead.
236
748600
1200
12:42
And I say in return, "No, thank you."
237
750640
3720
12:47
To the world and to my mother.
238
755480
2760
12:51
Well, to tell you the truth,
239
759520
1376
12:52
all I said was, "OK, Mom,
I'll talk to you later."
I'll talk to you later."
240
760920
2376
12:55
(Laughter)
241
763320
1296
12:56
But in my mind, I said, "No, thank you."
242
764640
3336
13:00
I cannot accept her bargain either.
243
768000
3400
13:04
Nor should you.
244
772280
1200
13:06
It would be easy
for many of us in rooms like this
for many of us in rooms like this
245
774360
4456
13:10
to see ourselves as safe,
246
778840
2896
13:13
to keep ourselves over here.
247
781760
2520
13:17
We speak well, we dress decent,
248
785520
2976
13:20
we're intelligent, people like us,
or act like they do.
or act like they do.
249
788520
3920
13:25
But instead, I say that we
should remember Lot's wife.
should remember Lot's wife.
250
793440
4280
13:31
Jesus of Nazareth said it
first to his disciples:
first to his disciples:
251
799200
3176
13:34
"Remember Lot's wife."
252
802400
2440
13:38
Lot, in case you haven't
read the Bible recently,
read the Bible recently,
253
806240
3376
13:41
was a man who set
his family down in Sodom,
his family down in Sodom,
254
809640
3256
13:44
in the midst of a wicked society
that God decided he had to destroy.
that God decided he had to destroy.
255
812920
4560
13:50
But God, being cruel,
yet still a sap in part,
yet still a sap in part,
256
818280
2736
13:53
rushed two angels out to Sodom
to warn Lot to gather up his folks
to warn Lot to gather up his folks
257
821040
4296
13:57
and get out of Dodge.
258
825360
1200
13:59
Lot heard the angel's warning, but delayed.
259
827480
3296
14:02
They didn't have all day to wait,
so they grabbed Lot's hands
so they grabbed Lot's hands
260
830800
3256
14:06
and his two daughters' hands,
and his wife's hands,
and his wife's hands,
261
834080
2856
14:08
and hurried them out of Sodom.
262
836960
2056
14:11
And the angels shout,
263
839040
1576
14:12
"Escape to the mountain.
Whatever you do, don't look back,"
Whatever you do, don't look back,"
264
840640
3536
14:16
just as God starts raining down fire
on Sodom and Gomorrah.
on Sodom and Gomorrah.
265
844200
3936
14:20
I can't figure out how Gomorrah
got dragged into this.
got dragged into this.
266
848160
2616
14:22
But Lot and his folks are running,
267
850800
2976
14:25
fleeing all that destruction,
268
853800
1656
14:27
kicking up dust while the Lord
rains down death,
rains down death,
269
855480
2976
14:30
and then, for some reason,
Lot's wife looks back.
Lot's wife looks back.
270
858480
5280
14:36
God turns her into a pillar of salt.
271
864920
2240
14:40
"Remember Lot's wife," Jesus says.
272
868600
3680
14:45
But I've got a question:
273
873920
1200
14:48
Why does she look back?
274
876600
1200
14:51
Does she look back because
she didn't want to miss the mayhem,
she didn't want to miss the mayhem,
275
879520
3776
14:55
wanted one last glimpse of a city on fire?
276
883320
2400
14:59
Does she look back because she wanted
to be sure that her people
to be sure that her people
277
887160
3016
15:02
were far enough from danger
to breathe a little easy?
to breathe a little easy?
278
890200
2936
15:05
I'm so nosy and selfish sometimes,
those likely would have been my reasons
those likely would have been my reasons
279
893160
3656
15:08
if I'd been in her shoes.
280
896840
1240
15:11
But what if something else was going on
with this woman, Lot's wife?
with this woman, Lot's wife?
281
899240
5520
15:18
What if she could not bear the thought
of leaving those people
of leaving those people
282
906080
5456
15:23
all alone to burn alive,
283
911560
2616
15:26
even for righteousness's sake?
284
914200
1720
15:28
Isn't that possible?
285
916880
1200
15:31
If it is, then this backward glance
of a disobedient woman
of a disobedient woman
286
919360
5176
15:36
may not be a cautionary tale after all.
287
924560
2376
15:38
It may be the bravest act
in all the Bible,
in all the Bible,
288
926960
3296
15:42
even braver than the act
that holds the whole Book together,
that holds the whole Book together,
289
930280
2936
15:45
the crucifixion.
290
933240
1200
15:47
We are told that up on Calvary,
on an old rugged cross,
on an old rugged cross,
291
935080
5096
15:52
Jesus gave his life to save everybody:
292
940200
1896
15:54
billions and billions of strangers
for all time to come.
for all time to come.
293
942120
2920
15:57
It's a nice thing to do.
294
945840
1856
15:59
It made him famous, that's for sure.
295
947720
1736
16:01
(Laughter)
296
949480
1816
16:03
But Lot's wife was killed,
297
951320
2696
16:06
turned into a pillar of salt,
298
954040
2576
16:08
all because she could not
turn her back on her friends,
turn her back on her friends,
299
956640
4776
16:13
the wicked men of Sodom,
300
961440
2896
16:16
and nobody even wrote
the woman's name down.
the woman's name down.
301
964360
3000
16:20
Oh, to have the courage of Lot's wife.
302
968880
3120
16:25
That's the kind of courage we need today.
303
973040
3616
16:28
The courage to put ourselves over there.
304
976680
3416
16:32
The courage that says that either
all of us have to be faggots,
all of us have to be faggots,
305
980120
3256
16:35
or none of us can be faggots,
for any of us to be free.
for any of us to be free.
306
983400
4376
16:39
The courage to stand
with other vagabonds in the street,
with other vagabonds in the street,
307
987800
4416
16:44
with all the wretched of the earth,
308
992240
2376
16:46
to form an army of the least of these,
309
994640
2816
16:49
with the faith that from
the naked crust of all we are,
the naked crust of all we are,
310
997480
4336
16:53
we can build a better world.
311
1001840
2320
16:56
Thank you.
312
1004920
1216
16:58
(Applause)
313
1006160
4600
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Casey Gerald - AmericanCasey Gerald chronicles the current state of the American Dream and explores ways to sustain it for a new generation.
Why you should listen
Casey Gerald has witnessed every facet of the American Dream -- from his harrowing childhood in Texas, to his tenure at the heights of America's elite institutions, to his journeys through the cities and towns of the American heartland where he has spent his recent years as cofounder and CEO of MBAs Across America. Now his work as a writer, speaker, and business leader centers on the question: will the American dream survive another generation?
Gerald began his career in economic policy and government innovation at the Center for American Progress, and he has worked as a strategist with startup social ventures such as The Future Project as well as companies like The Neiman Marcus Group.
Born and raised in Dallas, Gerald received an MBA from Harvard Business School, where he delivered the 2014 commencement address, and a BA in Political Science from Yale College. He has been featured on MSNBC, in The New York Times, Financial Times, The Guardian, and he has appeared on the cover of Fast Company, which also named him one of the "Most Creative People in Business." He currently serves on the advisory board of NPR's Generation Listen.
Casey Gerald | Speaker | TED.com