In 2016, when I retired from speaking and traveling just about everywhere, I got involved with the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen of the City of New York. The society has been meeting regularly since 1785. They opened, and continue to operate, the second-oldest membership library in New York City.
They also opened one of the city’s first free schools in 1820, and in 1858, after New York City founded its public school system, the society converted its school into a mechanics institute. We’ve since offered tuition-free education to tens of thousands of women and men working in the trades. I’m currently the chair of that school.