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Recently, Mike and Bloomberg Philanthropies CEO Patti Harris took some time to answer questions asked by LinkedIn users. In Mike's Q&A, he talked about the need to be adaptable in the mission to save and improve lives around the world, and shared how past lessons have shaped his approach to philanthropy. Patti answered questions about what gives her hope in the fight against climate change, the things that motivate her every day, and the importance of connecting with communities.

With Russia's war on Ukraine entering its third year, Bloomberg Philanthropies is working with Kyiv — the country's capital and most populous city — to accelerate the digitization of public services that strengthen government delivery during wartime, and address residents' acute mental health needs. The investment will increase Kyiv's staff capacity and technical ability to build, diversify, and scale online offerings, including new mental health programs for those affected by the ongoing conflict. Government innovation is a powerful tool for improving lives, even in the most challenging circumstances.

In 2023, a train derailment near East Palestine, Ohio, led to the release of more than a million pounds of the petrochemical vinyl chloride. And while the environmental damage and health risks of that incident received extensive news coverage, many similar petrochemical spills, explosions, fires, and derailments — which happen, on average, every four days in America — go unreported and largely unnoticed. To help close this accountability gap, our Beyond Petrochemicals campaign and their partners launched SpillTracker.org, a running report of petrochemical incidents across the country. Visit the site to better understand the full impact of petrochemicals on our communities, and find out what you can do to help put people over pollution.

As part of our new $250 million effort to prepare high school graduates for good, in-demand jobs in the healthcare field, we're partnering with New York City and Northwell Health to create a healthcare-focused public high school in Woodside, Queens. On a recent airing of NY1's "Inside City Hall," Howard Wolfson, who leads our Education program, sat down with host Errol Louis and Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers, to discuss what this investment can mean for students, the city's school system, and healthcare employers.

Today, the average American breathes cleaner air, drinks cleaner water, eats safer food, and is better protected from deadly diseases than previous generations. All of these advances, and the longer lives that have come with them, are tied together by one thing that we often take for granted: public health. As Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, Vice Dean for Public Health Practice and Community Engagement at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health says in a new trailer for THE INVISIBLE SHIELD: "Public health saved your life today but you didn't even know it."

The new four-part documentary series from RadicalMedia, made possible by Bloomberg Philanthropies, explores the mostly unseen public health infrastructure that makes modern life possible, and highlights the unsung heroes — physicians, nurses, scientists, activists, reformers, engineers, and government officials — who have saved and improved lives from the days of cholera and smallpox to the recent battle against COVID-19. Watch the trailer and save the date for THE INVISIBLE SHIELD premiere on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, 10:00 p.m. ET on PBS, with all four episodes available for streaming on PBS.org and the PBS App.

With traffic fatalities in the U.S. rising to a 40-year high, a long-overdue change in federal guidelines could help save lives. In a Washington Post op-ed penned by Janette Sadik-Khan, Principal for Transportation at Bloomberg Associates, and Kate D. Levin, who leads Bloomberg Philanthropies' Arts program and is the Principal for Cultural Assets Management at Bloomberg Associates, write that communities now have clear permission from federal transportation authorities to implement arts-based traffic safety efforts like our Asphalt Art Initiative projects, which have made streets safer in cities around the world. Read the op-ed to learn more about this important change and what it can mean for local communities.

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