Facebook recently hired Nicola Mendelsohn, a 41-year-old British advertising executive and mother of four, as the new Vice President for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. It is a big job. She will manage a team of almost 1,000 people.

What is more amazing about her new position is...

If your kids are like mine, they don't take well to their parents giving them advice on much of anything -- academics, athletics, you name it. In many ways, I am thankful for this. My kids are independent and have learned to do their homework on their own.

But...

"If I applied to Princeton today, I'd never get in." That's what I hear so many of my college classmates say these days, as the competition to get into selective colleges and universities increases and the pressure on applicants ramps up.

Headlines like "Colleges Send Record Number of Rejections"...

I have four kids-- my boys are 14 and 12, my girls are 9 and 5. While my boys nearly drove me into the ground as toddlers with their endless physical energy and constant running around, the girls are currently winning the race to dig me an early grave with...

From Sheryl Sandberg to Arianna Huffington, Marissa Mayer to Michelle Obama, I keep a running list of how today's most successful women manage to excel in their professions and serve as role models for those of us who work "in the trenches."

Which is why I was thrilled to read...

In a recent blog post, I used the terms "queen bee" and "mean girl" as a jumping off point to discuss the dangerous dynamics of middle school girl cliques. I've always been fascinated by the cultural phenomenon of female cliques. I'm curious why girls -- and women --...

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer set off a contentious debate this week with her decision to stop allowing employees to work from home. Proponents and critics of workplace flexibility are weighing in from both sides-- proponents arguing that flexibility increases productivity and profitability and improves work-life balance; critics complaining that telecommuting...

As Catholic cardinals from around the world gather to elect a new pope, they face the growing ire of an international community that has lost confidence in the moral integrity of the Church. New details are emerging every day about Catholic priests who have committed acts of child sexual abuse...

I hit a few nerves with my recent post, "The Rise and Fall of the Mean Girl," in which I discussed the insidious nature of middle school cliques and "mean girl" bullying. The emails I received came from moms whose children had been the victim of mean girl...

With all the talk of infidelity in the news lately, you would think that most marriages are destined to fail. But if you look at the numbers, a different story is told.

A 2011 study by researchers at Indiana University's Center for Sexual Health Promotion found that...

I just deactivated my Facebook account, and I already feel my inner spirits rising anew -- unencumbered by the "pokes" and "likes" of my 600+ social media "friends."

I created my Facebook page a year ago for professional purposes. As a business tool, it worked well. I used it...

My ears perked up this morning when I heard Michael Krasny on National Public Radio talking about the recent discovery of a "Fantasy Slut League" at Piedmont High School, a top-tier school in the San Francisco Bay Area. The "league," which has apparently been an open secret on...

What motivates mean girl bullying, and what should parents do about it?

Our culture is fascinated with the image of the mean girl. Reality TV shows like The Real Housewives of New York, The Jersey Shore and The Hills feature real-life mean girls in action -- publicly humiliating and spreading...

Anthony Weiner isn't the only one sending suggestive photos on the Internet. My small suburban town on the north side of the Golden Gate Bridge has been rocked by a "Weinergate"-type scandal over the past few weeks. Several young teenagers have been caught sending and receiving explicit photos via text...

I had a "carpe diem" moment last week while watching the Olympic preliminary games with my kids. "We're going to London," I told my boys, ages 13 and 11. "We can use award miles to fly there, book a cheap hotel, and watch the games live."

Although this wasn't how...

Over the past few years, I've witnessed a growing number of married couples in my fortysomething peer group calling it quits. Not surprisingly, infidelity is a factor in many of these breakups. What is surprising is that it's the women -- not the men-- who are cheating.

Although recent...

Anne-Marie Slaughter's controversial cover story in this week's The Atlantic, "Why Women Still Can't Have It All," has got me thinking about the expression "having it all," a simple, three-word phrase that has become a rallying cry of a generation of women -- mothers, professionals and feminists.

The...

As I approach my mid-40s, each week brings news of yet another married couple in our peer group calling it quits. Some of the reasons? "He doesn't appreciate me anymore." "We just aren't in love like we used to be." "We fight all the time." And the inevitable, "I've finally...

In a recent interview with Paris' Metro magazine, 78-year-old designer Karl Lagerfeld, creative director and mastermind of the fashion powerhouse Chanel, said of the pop sensation Adele:

"She is a little too fat, but she has a beautiful face and a divine voice."

He's since apologized,...

DYK if your kids are NIFOC? Better read this primer to understand what those text messages really say.

You are an Internet-savvy parent. You've blocked all the porn sites, set up filters, and even have a monitoring program to alert you if your kids are talking about sex or...