The COVID-19 pandemic affected everyone, especially kids. For Kyallan Parker the challenges were great - transitioning from a private school to virtual learning to eventually a public school. Kyallan was quiet and withdrawn and about to be labeled as a student with a behavior problem. His mother Krystle knew that he liked to journal and she encouraged him to do so. Later the pair learned that Kyallan battled ADHD, attention deficit hyperactive disorder and attention deficit disorder. Three year later, Kyallan is a well adjusted seventh grader and with his mother, an author. Their book is, First Thing First, Dream. The book features excerpts from his journals and is an encouragement to other students who also battle ADD and ADHD.

The nonprofit organization Drive Toward a Cure challenges every licensed driver to make every mile spent on the road count for a cause. This effort seeks to raise awareness and research dollars for Parkinson's Disease. During the "75 Days of Summer" campaign, drivers are encouraged to log their mileage and recruit supporters to sponsor their travels. There are chances to win prizes and do some good for the community. Vikas Chinnan is our guest. He's an Atlanta native now living in California diagnosed with Parkinson's before he turned 50.

Recently, the L.E.A.R.N Foundation opened a brick and mortar location in Dallas, GA. This nonprofit seeks to provide innovative and structured educational outreach programs to veterans. The organization has a new program, Veterans Upward Bound which will allow qualified veterans to have free access to services barring them to educational success. This is one of three similar programs in Georgia. To qualify, veterans must live in one of these Georgia counties: Bartow, Carroll, Douglas, Floyd, Haralson, Paulding or Polk. The man behind the program Dr. Dalton Lemelle, Jr., CEO of the L.E.A.R.N. Foundation and an Air Force veteran is today's guest. His story of graduating high school with only a 5th grade reading level to earning his Ph.D. with support from the Air Force illustrates how critical programs like Veterans Upward Bound are to the community.

AileyCamp, the nationally acclaimed summer program that uses dance as a means to stretch the minds, bodies, and spirits of middle-school students, launches in Atlanta this week in partnership with Purpose Built Schools Atlanta and continues through July 14 at Luther J. Price Middle School.

Aligning with Atlanta’s “Year of the Youth” initiative announced by Mayor Dickens, the six-week, full scholarship program helps students ages 11-14 reach their full potential with classes in dance, personal development, creative communications, and inspiring daily affirmations. Nasha Thomas, National Director of Ailey Camp/Arts in Education joins us on Perspectives today.

Georgia Public Service Commission Vice Chair Tim Echols joins Perspectives to talk winning the road race by driving an EV. The 13th annual Georgia Clean Energy Roadshow educational series, hosted by PSC Vice Chairman Tim Echols and produced by Event Energy Partners together with Clean Cities Georgia, kicks off June 23rd with four tour-stops in Savannah, Augusta, Peachtree City, and Albany. Four half-day events designed for fleet operators, local government, industry, MPOs, and other community leaders will feature a showcase of the latest technology Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), Electric and Propane vehicles paired with a lunch and learn seminar. This year the series will also highlight federal and utility funding programs for public (EV) charging and the workforce development opportunities emerging from Georgia's booming EV ecosystem

Today we talk with author Ruth P. Watson about A Right Worthy Woman. This work of historical fiction follows the remarkable true story of Maggie Lena Walker and Virginia’s Black Wall Street. Maggie Lena Walker was the daughter of a formerly enslaved woman who eventually became the first Black woman to establish and preside over a bank in the United States. As a child, Maggie helped her mother with her laundry service, opening her eyes to the overwhelming discrepancy between Black residents and her mother’s affluent white clients. Maggie was bold and ambitious, vowing to secure the same level of home and finery for herself, and aiming to help others in her community achieve the same. She rose from a schoolteacher to a secretary-treasurer of the Independent Order of St. Luke, founder of a newspaper, a bank, and a department store. Watson describes Walker as yet another "hidden figure" in Black History whose story should be told.

In YES PLEASE!, author, CEO and certified executive and personal coach L. Michelle Smith draws upon positive psychology, neuroscience, and the experiences of high-performing professional Black women, including herself, to reveal the seven secrets for success for the “double disadvantaged” in senior executive leadership positions, most notably tapping into positive emotion. Her book emphasizes the importance of Black women prioritizing their happiness as a pathway to achieving their career aspirations since research in positive psychology has proven that happy people are successful people. Smith conducted a survey conducted with 100 high-performing professional Black women leaders and found that 90% of them felt everything but happy, attributing their gender and race as the primary obstacles to their success in corporate environments where they are not centered. Smith believes that a mindset shift is crucial for Black women to overcome these challenges and claim their rightful place in senior executive leadership roles.

Alaya Dawn Johnson is an award-winning author of speculative fiction for adults and young adults. Her most recent novel, The Library of Broken Worlds, introduces the reader to Freida, the daughter of a library god who has spent her entire life exploring the library's ever changing tunnels and communing with the gods. In the winding underground tunnels of the library, a heinous secret lies buried -- and Freida is the only one who can uncover it. Her unbelievable access makes her unique and dangerous. Johnson, the author, talks with us about her passion about exposing the failure of systems and repetition of history and the desire of today's teens to change the narrative to one more just.

Summer season has arrived and the concern over COVID continues to decline. Nonetheless, a new variant that comes with an unusual, new symptom is gaining traction in the U.S. XBB.1.16 or Archturus is responsible for a growing share of new infections which often begin with an eye infection in addition to other cold-like symptoms like coughing and sneezing. We speak with HHS Regional Director Antrell Tyson about how to avoid exposure and stay healthy. Then, it's a conversation with Atlanta's own Goodie Mob, performing Father's Day weekend at Mable House Amphitheater as part of the celebration of Black Music Month and the 50th anniversary of Hip Hop.

National Brain Tumor Society, the largest patient advocacy organization in the United States committed to curing brain tumors and improving the lives of patients and families, will host the inaugural 2023 Brain Tumor Walk & Race at The Battery - Atlanta on June 3, 2023. Hundreds of local volunteers and participants—including patients, survivors, caregivers, families and friends, research scientists, medical providers, and local businesses—will walk and run for a critical cause: conquering and curing brain tumors — once and for all. WSB-TV is partnering with NBTS and walking in memory of Jovita Moore who died from a glioblastoma in October 2021. Joining me on Perspectives is David Arons, President and CEO of NBTS.