When my father announced his campaign for president on Oct. 3, 1991, I had already cast my vote in favor of his candidacy.

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.'

My parents have been incredibly supportive from perhaps the first real independent decision I made to become a vegetarian at 11, which was certainly not consistent with their diet at the time.

For me it's just so exciting to have a daughter because I do think she will have even more opportunities than I had, and I had more opportunities than certainly my grandmother had. It's the arc of history, always bending toward justice and opportunity, and she will be part of that.

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.

Of course [I'm a feminist]. And everyone I know is a feminist.

Thinking about the world writ large, I am more optimistic than not that we will tackle our most pressing challenges, whether poverty or equality for women and girls or climate change; but I also know we'll only tackle them if people are really informed about the challenge and what's proven to work.