If you’re seeing this newsletter in your inbox, you know what that means! It’s Thursday and I’m back to tell you about what I’ve been up to over the last week!

Last week, the FDA granted full approval of Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi. While the drug will not stop an Alzheimer’s diagnosis, a study of the drug found that it can slow down the progression of symptoms, allowing those experiencing mild Alzheimer’s more time.

Roughly 6.5 million Americans 65 years of age and older were living with Alzheimer’s disease in 2022, according to a report by the Alzheimer’s Association.

Read more about what the FDA’s approval of leqembi means and what happens next.

Black Voice News and IE Voice Publisher Dr. Paulette Brown-Hinds was awarded the Making a Difference Award during the annual ESRI User Conference in San Diego on July 10, 2023. Dr. Brown-Hinds was recognized for the work by the Mapping Black California team, Alex Reed and Candice Mays, and BVN’s partnership with the Ignite Leadership & STEM Academy. She invited myself and Shirley Coates, founder of the academy, to join her on stage for our work in the community (Image courtesy of ESRI).

You may have noticed the photo at the top of this newsletter and are wondering what that’s all about. This week, ESRI, a global geographic information system (GIS) mapping software company based in Redlands, is holding their annual User Conference in San Diego. Black Voice News and IE Voice Publisher Dr. Paulette Brown-Hinds was awarded the Making a Difference Award on July 10, 2023. She was recognized for the work accomplished by the Mapping Black California team, Alex Reed and Candice Mays, and BVN’s partnership with the Ignite Leadership & STEM Academy. Dr. Brown-Hinds invited all of us to San Diego to accept the award with her!

Part of my work with Black Voice News includes volunteering with the Ignite Leadership & STEM Academy, founded by Shirley Coates. I’ve been volunteering for about two years now and I work alongside my co-teacher, Kennedy Schneider, to teach middle school-aged students of color about GIS and Journalism, using ESRI software.

Photos from the ESRI User Conference on July 10, 2023, where Dr. Paulette Brown-Hinds was awarded the Making a Difference Award by ESRI president Jack Dangermond. (Photos taken by me).

Dr. Brown-Hinds welcomed her team and her family to join her at the ESRI User Conference on San Diego on July 10, 2023. From left to right: Alex Reed and Candice Mays, Mapping Black California team; Breanna Reeves (me), Black Voice News; Shirley Coates, Society of Extraordinary Women and Ignite Leadership & STEM Academy; Cheryl Brown, former California assemblymember and BVN Publisher Emeritus, and Dr. Brown-Hinds’ mom; Dr. Paulette Brown-Hinds, BVN/IE Voice Publisher; and Lynn Brown-Summers, Dr. Brown-Hinds’ sister.

Over the next few weeks, check your inbox for my weekly newsletters and updates on how my current project, Racism as a Public Health Crisis is going!

As always, feel free to reach out to me if you have any tips, questions or comments, or if you just want to say hi! My inbox is always open (breanna@voicemediaventures.com).

Until next week,

Breanna