Join us for an evening with Melinda French Gates in conversation with Hoda Kotb as they discuss Melinda’s book, The Next Day: Transitions, Change, and Moving Forward. Ticket includes admission for one and a hardcover copy of The Next Day. 

In The Next Day, Melinda offers a rare window into some of her life’s pivotal moments, drawing from previously untold stories to offer a new perspective on encountering transitions. Melinda reflects, for the first time in print, on some of the most significant transitions in her own life, including becoming a parent, the death of a dear friend, her life after divorce, and her departure from the Gates Foundation. The stories she tells 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 candidly shares stories of times when she was in need of wisdom and shines a path through the open space stretching out before us all.

Learn more at melindafrenchgates.com. 

This event is presented in partnership with The Auditorium, University Club of Chicago, The Executives’ Club of Chicago, WTTW|WFMT, and The Book Stall. 

Melinda will be donating her proceeds from The Next Day to charitable causes. 

About Melinda French Gates:

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 co-chaired 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. 

About Hoda Kotb:

Hoda Kotb is one of America’s foremost journalists, authors, and entertainers. Best known as the former co-anchor of NBC News’ TODAY and co-host of TODAY with Hoda & Jenna, she also hosts the popular podcast Making Space with Hoda Kotb. Kotb joined TODAY in 2008 alongside Kathie Lee Gifford and recently departed after 17 successful years.

Since joining NBC News in 1998, Kotb has been a Dateline NBC correspondent, covering a wide range of domestic and international stories. She reported on Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath, having lived in New Orleans for six years. She also covered the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the conflict in the West Bank and Gaza, and multiple Olympic Games, including Beijing (2008), Vancouver (2010), London (2012), Sochi (2014), Rio (2016), Pyeongchang (2018), Tokyo (2021), and Paris (2024).

A New York Times bestselling author, Kotb has written eight books, including You Are My Happy, I’ve Loved You Since Forever, and Hoda: How I Survived War Zones, Bad Hair, Cancer and Kathie Lee.

Kotb won a 2019 Emmy Award for Outstanding Informative Talk Show Host and multiple Daytime Emmys as part of TODAY’s recognition as the best morning news program. She was inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame in 2022 and has received numerous Gracie Awards, a Peabody Award, and an Edward R. Murrow Award.

Before NBC, she worked at WWL-TV in New Orleans and WINK-TV in Florida. Kotb holds a Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast Journalism from Virginia Tech University and lives in the New York suburbs with her two daughters, Haley Joy and Hope Catherine.