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Monday, April 21, 2025, is Easter Monday. It’s the final day of the long weekend of Easter celebrations that traditionally kicks off on Good Friday and is celebrated by millions of people across the world. But while Easter Monday may be a widely celebrated religious holiday, many institutions remain open on the day, even if they were closed on Good Friday or Easter Sunday. However, some institutions will be closed in observance of the day. Heres what you need to know about whats open and closed on Easter Monday 2025. Is Easter Monday a federal holiday? No. Easter Monday is not a federally recognized public holiday in the United States. This means that federal institutions that are normally open on a Monday should be operating as normal today, too. However, its worth pointing out that Republican Senator Eric Schmitt of Missouri has recently introduced a bill called the Easter Monday Act of 2025 that would make Easter Monday a federal holiday, according to K8 News in Arkansas. It remains to be seen whether the bill will advance through Congress. Are banks open on Easter Monday? Yes, most major banks will be open on Easter Monday. This includes banks like Chase, PNC, Wells Fargo, Citi, and more. It should go without saying that banks online services will also be operating as usual. Are ATMs open on Easter Monday? Yep. Just as banks are, ATMs will be open on Easter Monday. But note that after a long holiday weekend, sometimes ATMs may have low cash availability. Is the post office open on Easter Monday? Yes, the United States Postal Service (USPS) is open on Easter Monday. The USPS is a federal organization, so it only pauses operations on federally recognized holidays. This means all USPS locations should be operating as normal. Is mail delivered on Easter Monday? Yes. The U.S. Postal Service will be making home mail deliveries on Easter Monday. Are FedEx and UPS operating on Easter Monday? Despite FedEx having closed or operating under a reduced schedule some days over the Easter holiday period, the private shipper says it will have normal operations on Easter Monday, according to FedExs holiday schedule. Likewise, UPS will also be operating as normal on Easter Monday, according to its holiday schedule. Is the stock market open on Easter Monday? Yes. Major U.S. stock markets will be open on Easter Monday, including the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Nasdaq. Both these markets were closed on Good Friday, but their holiday schedules do not include Easter Monday. Many other major stock markets around the world are closed in observance of Easter Monday. Are schools open on Easter Monday? This depends, so it is best to check directly with the individual school in question. In many states, public schools may be open if Easter Monday doesnt coincide with their Spring Break week. However, according to the website Time and Date, Easter Monday 2025 coincides with Patriots’ Day in Maine and Massachusetts, which is a public holiday in those states. So, public schools in those states may be closed today. Likewise, private religious schools may choose to be closed today. But again, its best to check with your particular school in question directly. Are restaurants open on Easter Monday? Most company-run chain restaurants should be open as normal, including the usual suspects like McDonalds, Taco Bell, Subway, and Burger King. Fast casual chains like Chipotle and the like should also be open, as well as sit-down establishments like Red Lobster and Olive Garden. Most branches of coffee chains like Dunkin’ and Starbucks should also be open. However, do note that franchisees usually have the power to set their own holiday closures. So its possible individual stores of well-known chains could be closed in particular areas if the owners of those stores observe Easter Monday as a holiday. Are retail stores open on Easter Monday? Most big-box retail stores should be open on Easter Monday. This includes the usual big chains like Best Buy, Target, Costco, Home Depot, and Walmart. Are pharmacies open on Easter Monday? Most chain pharmacies like those at Walgreens, CVS, and Rite Aid should be open as normal. Are grocery stores open on Easter Monday? Yes, most regional grocery stores should be operating as normal on Easter Monday. However, note that they may be busier than usual today as many were likely closed all day on Easter Sunday.
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E-Commerce
When David Mesfin was producing his documentary on Black surfing culture, Wade in the Water, back in 2023, he had a problem. Like millions of other people since ChatGPT and other GenAI tools emerged in late 2022, Mesfin was experimenting and using these tools to generate imagery for the film. But the results were always the same: white surfers with darkened skin, says Mesfin, a creative director at ad agency Innocean. It was a clear sign that these systems werent built with us in mind. That moment made it impossible to ignore how deeply bias is embedded in the technology. This week, sparked by that moment, Mesfin and his colleagues have launched Breaking Bias, a collaboration with stock image firm Pocstock, and more than 22 agency partners. As part of the project, 16 photographers donated their time to capture more inclusive images to help create what theyre calling the first-ever Ethical AI Guidebooka framework that helps creators and developers make AI more like the real world. Only 2.3% of AI-generated images of dentists featured Asians, despite the fact they make up 22% of the profession. About 9.6% of nurses are Latino, but 0% of AI-generated images reflected them. As more and more marketers utilize AI to create content, its crucial to build and maintain data sets that represent reality as accurately as possible. The goal of the Ethical AI Guidebook is to spark a mindset shiftencouraging content creators, agencies, and AI developers to make inclusivity a core part of how they generate and use imagery, says Mesfin. This initiative is about more than just fixing flawed outputs; its about creating long-term behavioral change within the AI ecosystem. By offering practical guidance and real-world examples, we aim to help the industry build technology that reflects the full spectrum of humanity.” Training challenge So far, the project has created more than 96,000 images for Pocstocks inventory, and the images will be accessible to companies that utilize AI image generation like Adobe, Amazon, Canva, Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Shutterstock. The biggest challenge for Mesfin and project collaborators was the vetting process to make sure they selected photographers who not only had technical skill but also understood and were connected to the communities they were aiming to represent. We werent looking for models; we were looking for real people, and that meant being intentional about casting talent that reflected the full spectrum of the demographic, says Mesfin. For example, when capturing Black surfers, we made it a point to include both men and women, with a range of skin tones from dark to light. We also prioritized having both male and female photographers involved to bring different perspectives to the work. Strategic approach The challenge of tackling bias in AI models has been an ongoing issue for years. Pocstock cofounder and chief relationship officer DeSean Brown says that if the goal is for AI to produce outcomes that would appear more authentic and inclusive to humans there needs to be a finely curated and strategic approach to capturing excessive amounts of images and data. “We need to target specific people, communities, and actions, [then] capture and label the images accurately with cultural and technical nuance, says Brown. Many content creators and collectors may not have the experience, process, or resources to assess negative stereotypes and bias or the ability to label data in a culturally accurate way. Continued partnership among tech companies, content creators, stock and data collection companies can help the industry get to where it needs to be. Given the scale of the task at hand, Breaking Bias is an ongoing project that is always looking for new content partners to join who want to help build more representative data sets. If youre part of an AI company, we welcome your collaboration, too, says Mesfin. This is a collective effort, and the more voices we bring to the table, the stronger and more accurate the technology becomes.
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E-Commerce
Hello and welcome to Modern CEO! Im Stephanie Mehta, CEO and chief content officer of Mansueto Ventures. Each week this newsletter explores inclusive approaches to leadership drawn from conversations with executives and entrepreneurs, and from the pages of Inc. and Fast Company. If you received this newsletter from a friend, you can sign up to get it yourself every Monday morning. When I was a young professional in the 1990s, I didnt aspire to be a CEO. (I was a business journalist focused on getting more challenging editorial assignments.) And even if I had wanted to run a company, I wouldnt have known how to cobble together the necessary experiences to qualify for a CEO role. Graham Weaver, CEO and founding partner of Alpine Investors, has streamlined that process for ambitious MBAs who, unlike me, know early in their careers that they want to be CEOs. Alpine, a private equity firm with $18 billion in assets under management, offers a CEO-in-Training (CIT) program that places wannabe chief executives in senior roles at its portfolio companies. A crash course in being a CEO During their time in the CIT program, trainees are immersed in all aspects of running a business. They have access to mentorship from board members and executives at other Alpine-backed companies, and they regularly gather as a cohort for networking and peer coaching summits. Weaver says the program, launched in 2015, allows aspiring executives to move into CEO rolesa journey that can take decadesin just months or a few short years. Graham Weaver [Photo: Alpine Investors] We created a system where aspiring leaders could come in and learn the basics of being a CEO with a kind of safety net underneath them, which gives them a very, very high probability of success, says Weaver, who also teaches a class focused on leadership and entrepreneurship at Stanford Universitys Graduate School of Business. The CEO-in-Training program is highly selective. Alpine hired 14 CITs for its 2024 cohort, and this year it will recruit about 10 trainees in a process that is set to wrap up in early summer. The company says Stanford, Harvard Business School, Northwestern Universitys Kellogg School of Management, and the University of Pennsylvanias Wharton School all confirm that the Alpine CIT program is one of the most applied-to programs among MBAs seeking executive roles in private equity (PE)-backed companies. What makes a successful CIT? Weaver says the ideal candidates for the CIT program have a will to winthats something we cant teach, but he also seeks candidates who can temper their competitiveness with self-awareness and emotional intelligence. We used to not screen for that, he says. We would get these really hard-charging people, and they wouldn’t work out in our system, where its really team-based. Finally, he looks for people who can create a followership, adding, this rarely is the charismatic person who stands up and gives the big rah-rah speech. Its actually just someone people trust; they want to go where this persons going. Alpines program has produced a diverse group of leaders: Since launching, the program has minted more than 65 full-time CEOs for its portfolio companies; nearly 40% are women, and nearly a quarter are women of color. Weaver says his commitment to training a new generation of executives stems from his belief that Alpines talent strategy differentiates it from other private equity firms in terms of attracting investing professionals and portfolio company executives alike. He says rather than ceding talent development to human resources, he has sought to operationalize it through programs such as the CIT program and other initiatives. Weaver personally dedicates nearly 50% of his time to assessing and developing talent, he says, including evaluating potential hires to run Alpine portfolio companies, designing culture, and more. The Gen Z difference Weaver, who has taught and hired employees from different generations, is bullish on Gen Z, the newest cohort to enter the workforce. I know a lot of people complain about this generation. The stereotype is that theyre going to quit their jobs more quickly or they have their own personal goals, and theyre difficult to manage, Weaver says. But underneath all that is that they want to make a difference. When I asked how a career in private equity, with its relentless pursuit of efficiency, margin improvement, and cash, can satisfy purpose-driven young people, Weaver noted that several Alpine portfolio companies provide software and services to nonprofits or support their communities through healthcare and education services. He says he takes pride in making sure the people who work at Alpine and its portfolio companiesabout 38,000 peoplehave meaningful work and career opportunities. And Weaver says he appreciates the values that Gen Z is bringing to Alpine. They hold us to a higher standard, he says. If you can meet that standard, Gen Zs amazing. How do you train the next generation of leaders? Are you or your team focused on developing young leaders through mentorship, formal training programs, or in other ways? Id love to hear about these efforts. Send me your thoughts at stephaniemehta@mansueto.com. Read more: Gen Z Fast Companys 142-point guide to managing Gen Z Meet the youngest founders on the Inc. 5000 list of Americas fastest-growing companies Gen Z distrusts capitalism. Will they prevail in changing the system?
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E-Commerce
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