We Are the Experiment
Two hundred and fifty years ago, a group of people made a bet no one had ever dared to make before - that a nation called America could be built on a principle - that everyone - no matter their bloodline - has a chance to achieve their dream.
My dad was born in Brazil, in a small river town with dirt roads in the northeast called Teresina. He eventually made his way to Belo Horizonte, and later arrived in the US at age 24 as an IBM employee, where he met my mom and they built their life, starting in Atlanta where she grew up. My mom’s family traces back to Alsace, her father’s side was Irish, English, and Scottish; her mother was German-Swiss Mennonite.
I was born in Washington, D.C., in the early 1980s, during Mayor Marion Barry’s first years in office, when go-go music and skateboarding were on the rise. The city was vibrant, and living at the heart of America’s story was simply part of everyday life. We bantered about politics at the dinner table the way people talk about sports.
The monuments and Smithsonian museums were the backdrop of my childhood, from watching fireworks on the National Mall to rowing past the city’s landmarks on the Potomac River. When friends came to visit from out of town, we took them downtown because that’s just what you did. School field trips meant walking through the nation’s history, rarely passing a Civil War marker or historic plaque without stopping to read it. It was - and still is - a city where history, politics, and culture converge.
And what many don’t realize is how truly international DC is; home to over 175 foreign embassies, with Embassy Row on Massachusetts Avenue at its heart. It’s the capital of America and a microcosm of the world at the same time. I grew up in that world, through my mom's work as a Brazilian television journalist and later as Chief of Public Affairs at the International Monetary Fund, and through my own career as a TV producer at National Geographic.
But we also took plenty of 12-hour road trips to the backwoods of Georgia, where someone always ended up sitting on the cooler, stopping at Waffle House was a treat, and my grandparents’ neighbor would surprise us with possum from his freezer. My grandmother’s midwestern Mennonite sensibility wasn't always in harmony. All to say, I understood early that “American” was less a fixed identity than a living argument about what we want to be.
That’s why I’m curious what you think. Especially now.
New York Was Always This
Before the British arrived to claim New Amsterdam in 1664, roughly 2,500 people were living on the island of Manhattan. Among them, 18 different languages were spoken.
Eighteen.
That was New York before it was New York. But "melting pot" was always the foundation.
Two Sides of the Same Coin
For Evolution Now: Our 250th Anniversary of America Special, we wanted more than celebration. We wanted honest conversation.
Leg. Jimmy Nolan (R-Yonkers, Eastchester, Bronxville) and Leg. Colin Smith (D-Cortlandt, Peekskill, Yorktown) are both Westchester legislators. They just don’t always agree. I gave them each the floor.
America, From Here
Our anniversary raised a bigger question: what does America look like from here? We are all writing our next chapters. Put them together, and what story do we tell?
Valon Nikçi, CEO and founder of Link NY Realty, was a teenager in Albania when his childhood home burned down. His story of resilience is an inspiration. See how he and his family build their American Dream.
On technology and legislation: Leg. Judah Holstein (D-Eastchester, Tuckahoe, New Rochelle) on where AI policy is heading, with a dose of much-needed perspective on the evolution of technology.
On arts and culture: Kathleen Reckling, CEO of ArtsWestchester, on why creativity isn’t a luxury item in a democracy - and what the American spirit looks like when it shows up in art, past and present.
On the workforce and its untapped potential: Jan Fisher, CEO of Nonprofit Westchester, on opportunities hiding in plain sight — and why the employers winning today understand that employees are motivated by purpose, not just a paycheck. With Tibi Guzmán and Barry Clark of Arc Westchester on why neurodivergent talent may be the smartest hire you're not making yet.
Michelle Walsh, founder of Michelle Walsh Law, makes a simple argument: not everyone who ends up in the system is beyond reach. On what returning citizens actually need - and why compassion might be the most underrated legal strategy.
We also hear from a familiar voice: Ken Jenkins, Westchester County Executive and Evolution Now’s first guest, on technology and why the most effective resource we have anywhere is still the investment we make in people.
Watch This Friday
Evolution Now: Our 250th Anniversary of America Special airs this Friday at 9:30a / 3:30p / 8:30p on Greenburgh Public TV, Channel 75 (Verizon and Optimum) and will stream on YouTube starting at 9:00a.
Two hundred and fifty years of an argument worth having, in about 30 minutes.
A Note on Who We Are
Evolution Now began as a question: what does progress actually look like? Twenty-seven episodes later, we’re still evolving our story. That’s a good sign.
Season three launches in September. Until then, catch up on all the episodes and follow us on Instagram for a new Lessons I Learned from a CEO video every Wednesday.
Til next time,
- Flora
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