Ideas worth spreading

How global virtual communities can help kids achieve their dreams

996,580 views | Matthew Garcia • TED Salon Bezos Scholars

How do we make historically exclusive fields like classical music, fine arts or academic research more accessible to everyone? Education equalizer and violist Matthew Garcia thinks one way to remove barriers is to create free, virtual education programs that connect talented young minds to the resources they need to thrive in their future careers. Learn more about the power of virtual nonprofits to overcome geographic borders and deliver opportunity -- and how you can help every kid reach their dreams.

How do we make historically exclusive fields like classical music, fine arts or academic research more accessible to everyone? Education equalizer and violist Matthew Garcia thinks one way to remove barriers is to create free, virtual education programs that connect talented young minds to the resources they need to thrive in their future careers. Learn more about the power of virtual nonprofits to overcome geographic borders and deliver opportunity -- and how you can help every kid reach their dreams.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Donate to Through the Staff to help every child access a high quality music education.

Donate to the Pre-College Research Institute to help support the training of the next generation of diverse and underrepresented researchers.

About the speaker

Education equalizer

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Matthew Garcia works to provide free educational opportunities to students from underserved communities.

Thomas Wolf | Free Press, 2022 | Book

Managing a Nonprofit Organization

Thomas Wolf's book is an essential resource for learning the skills you need to run a virtual nonprofit successfully. Matthew says it has been a source of infinite wisdom that he turns to when he needs advice or guidance in leading his own organizations.

Juanita L. Merchant and M. Bishr Omary | Gastroenterology, 2009 | Article

"Underrepresentation of Underrepresented Minorities in Academic Medicine: The Need to Enhance the Pipeline and the Pipe"

While focused particularly on academic medicine, Merchant and Omary's analyses illustrate the overall economic necessity of creating a more diverse pool of researchers. The need to strengthen the pipeline to careers in research for underserved high-school students is of particular importance.

Matthew Garcia and Nikki Naghavi | Through the Staff on Instagram, 2020 | Explore

"Let's talk about music education and the systemic racial inequities within it"

This post went viral in the days after the murder of George Floyd. It highlights why there is still so much work to be done to remove barriers in access to classical music for historically underrepresented communities, especially communities of color.

Lauren Bush, Emily Sanchez, and Matthew Garcia | Pre-College Research Institute, 2021 | Explore

"Why is PCRi necessary?"

Historically underrepresented communities face unique challenges that make it systematically more difficult for them to pursue and persist in academic research. Because academic research affects us all, these disparities in access to the field lead to less nuanced and comprehensive research.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Donate to Through the Staff to help every child access a high quality music education.

Donate to the Pre-College Research Institute to help support the training of the next generation of diverse and underrepresented researchers.