This morning a message was left for me from a tearful Amy Ephron... when I tried to call back, I couldn't reach her. A few hours later I got a call from a good friend of Nora and Nick's. Immediately, I thought it was Nick. You always think it's the...

Every year, Stewart and I open our home to the speakers who appear at the Aspen Ideas Festival, an event thrown by the Aspen Institute as a forum for the world's thought leaders to speak on global issues. At our dinner, I always give a little...

Ruby Tuesday Pick of the Week: United Fresh's A Salad Bar in Every School program
Why It's a Gem: Early exposure...

This past Sunday, I had the pleasure of addressing the graduating class at UC Riverside's College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences. As the graduates prepared to set off and make their way in the world, I shared the seven pieces of advice that I have found to be most helpful...

It seems like just yesterday we were in the dark about breast cancer, Parkinson's and prostate cancer. To say that tireless efforts led by strong, unified communities have increased public awareness is an understatement. To be able to say they've afforded hope to so many where there...

Whenever education budgets get tightened, art programs are the first to get cut. Like the enduring popularity of reality TV, this never ceases to amaze me. So much evidence points to art's importance in a child's development - and not just in...

This New Year's, instead of waiting for our government to solve your health care needs, take action and do everything you can to keep yourself and your loved ones well -- and away from doctors and hospitals. So many in our society are already suffering from disease, but for those...

We're facing a crisis in our nation, and I'm not talking about the economy (which is indeed grim), or our health care system (even more grim), or Kanye West's lack of manners (annoyingly grim). I'm talking about the state of journalism, that once-great bastion of integrity crumbling around us. A...

In an era in history when so many of the companies and brands we once trusted have come to let us down, it's comforting to find entrepreneurs who believe in the basic tenet that to do well in business involves some degree of doing good. Any entrepreneur worth their salt...

Last night the Socrates Society of the Aspen Institute had their annual fundraiser. It was an outstanding success. Founded 13 years ago by Silicon Valley venture capitalists Gary and Laura Lauder, this group is a forum in which emerging leaders from various sectors of society come together to explore...

It wasn't so long ago that starting a small business was attempted by only the most stalwart of entrepreneurs. It took stamina to brave the reams of paper and hordes of attorneys, real estate agents, and CPAs that were a necessary part of the start-up process. It didn't matter how...

You have a terrific idea for a new product. You've been working from home, making it yourself with a few friends in the garage. Now it is time to expand. But how? This question eventually plagues any growing business, whether you're selling a software solution, baby toys, or...

Don't let the name fool you. Get Satisfaction is not of the type of website that would get you fired if you viewed it in your office cube. In fact, it's quite the opposite: Its focus is on what many companies, especially small businesses, need right now: an inside...

Have you had enough of this "evangelical pessimism" that has for months held our nation in its tyrannical grasp? Our tabloid era reduces everything to sound bites of doom and gloom; it's as if the Grim Reaper was given his own primetime news show and has been broadcasting 24/7 on...

"Pilot Hailed for 'Hudson Miracle,'" said the BBC.

"Miracle on the Hudson," declared both MSNBC and the New York Daily News.

A dear and very spiritual friend said to me yesterday, "The Hudson River crash is a sign." I know she didn't mean we should start flying...

Reverend Rick Warren was speaking at the 2005 Aspen Institute Ideas Festival. I had taken the afternoon off to finish the preparations on our annual dinner, which hosts the event's speakers, when my husband suddenly burst into the room, exclaiming something I had long suspected. "You know, you're not going...

Just a few weeks ago, my husband and I were in Mumbai with friends. We stayed at the stately Taj hotel -- the one we saw burning on television this week. It is part of The Taj Group, owned by the Tata family. They own hotels all over India; the...

Even though I knew our world was bloated and out of control. Even though I groaned every day when I saw the stock market rising into the stratosphere, and even though I wrote a book about marketing that pointed to the inevitable out come of our reckless spending; I never...

My husband and I were in India during the U.S. election. Of course we cast (so to speak) our Obama votes before traveling to India during the last three weeks of the campaign -- an insightful experience. We followed CNN throughout our journey, but we were more drawn to news...

For the last three summers the Aspen Institute has conducted an Ideas Festival in Aspen. About 70 speakers who discuss subjects ranging from Global Warming to Globalization, India and it's place in the world, Health and Obesity and World Famine, the current Political Landscape and Education in America appear at...