I look forward to beginning a relationship with Al Jazeera America, which has made a commitment to producing quality programming and pursuing underreported stories.

I grew up in a family of educators - my dad was a professor, my mom was a high school grammar and French teacher - so certainly my entire life education was stressed as incredibly important. And I think especially for my parents, who are both immigrants, and when immigrants come to this country, they understand that education is something that no one can take from them. You might leave the country with absolutely nothing, but no one can take your education from you.

When we think about the issues that matter, obviously the news covers immigration, a lot. You might think immigration is the only story that actually affects us but when you poll Latinos you'll see that education is the number one topic that they're interested in talking about and economy is the second issue.

Is the capacity for cruelty inherent in all of us?

If you can tell a story well, you can move people to do something.

Kids who are middle class, socioeconomically, are surrounded by mentors. They have coaches, teachers, they have family friends, their parents have friends. They might have opportunities, they might have jobs that allow them to experience things that kids in poverty often don't have. Sometimes they come from dysfunctional families. And when you come from a family where money's a real challenge, then it might not be a priority to get you into a summer internship.

I think we have to think about strategies that will help kids who have disabilities.