I hope telling stories though 'Making a Difference' - as in my academic work and nonprofit work - will help me to live my grandmother's adage of 'Life is not about what happens to you, but about what you do with what happens to you.'

When I first held my daughter, right after she was born, I felt like it was the moment I'd been waiting my whole life for, and it just felt even more miraculous than I ever could have imagined.

As a mom, what I found so disturbing were the things that were being said on a national stage - I mean, literally on the stage and off the stage, around the convention about women, about minorities, about Muslims, about immigrants.

I believe that engaging in the political process is part of being a good person.

Celebrate those who have the courage to be second, because I do think that often there really is this claustrophobic pressure to innovate instead of to adapt.

What inspires me most are people who imagine and implement solutions to challenges in their own lives, in their communities, in our country and around the world.

Even during my father's 1984 gubernatorial campaign, it was, 'Do you want to grow up and be governor one day?' 'No. I am four.'