On the New York social scene, philanthropy is the primary organizing force. As any New Yorker can attest, it is very often causes that are the reason people gather in ballrooms and concert halls, and if managed correctly, these events can raise enormous amounts of money for important efforts, both...

Buried deep within Facebook's IPO documents, and largely ignored by media who are focused on the wealth that will be created by the IPO, is a startling letter from Mark Zuckerberg. It's a letter that should make the entire corporate world stop and take note, and a letter...

In New York and Los Angeles, the two places I spend most of my time, there is a familiar dinner party conversation that goes something like this...

"I just don't know about Obama"

"I agree, he hasn't done everything he promised he would do."

"I don't know if I'm going...

When it was first created in 2005 by President Bill Clinton and his top advisor Doug Band, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) announced that it would convene the world's leaders to work collaboratively to create innovative solutions to some of the world's most pressing challenges.

A lot...

In the spring of 2006 I went to New Orleans to see what I could do to help rebuild following the nightmare of hurricane Katrina. With a group of partners including Global Green, we began the process of developing a multi-family housing project by announcing a design competition...

It's often said that the best defense is a good offense, and in the case of Village Voice Media their attack on Ashton Kutcher was a preemptive strike aimed at changing the topic.

A bit of background...

When the online classified ads provider Craiglist closed the adult services section of...

Yesterday in the desert outside Nogales, Arizona, it was well over 100 degrees.

I was hiking up a hill, through thorns and over rocks with a colleague of mine and an agent from US Customs and Border Protection.

We had left our car and set out on foot after her...

I'm on the way to Arizona for a few days of learning about the challenges of immigration reform, and the harsh reality of the Mexican/US border.

Before I leave on any trip, I try to tell my kids where I am going, and what I am trying to do.

Today,...

Working for Ambassador Richard Holbrooke was hard. Actually, it was incredibly hard.

The problem with working for Holbrooke was that before you even opened your mouth he already knew the questions he was going to ask you in response to the questions he asked you.

In any given room,...

It was announced that 17 additional families have committed to return the majority of their wealth to charitable causes by taking the Giving Pledge. The announcement followed the news in August that a group of 40 families had taken the pledge, a long-term charitable project launched by Warren...

The Iranian opposition has again taken to the streets, with increasingly violent clashes being reported via Twitter, Facebook and Youtube.

Reports that Ali Moussavi, a 35-year-old nephew of opposition leader Mir Hussein Moussavi, was killed during a protest in Tehran on Sunday have fueled the protests--protests that could be...

One of the most important events in the history of civil rights may have happened today. Theodore Olson and David Boies' lawsuit seeking to overturn Proposition 8, California's ban on same-sex marriage is one of the boldest, clearest actions taken on the issue, and Olson's role in Bush vs. Gore...

Faced with the greatest set of challenges of any new President in recent history, President-Elect Obama will need unprecedented support -- and flexibility -- from the non-profit sector as he works to implement his agenda.

He will be asking for that support at the worst possible moment. Almost every philanthropist...

I was a Clinton supporter. I'm now an Obama supporter. My message to Clinton supporters who are still pondering whether to support Obama; get over it, and get off the fence.

All across America Clinton supporters are licking their wounds. In Los Angeles, New York and Washington I have talked...

I'm standing in the Lower 9th Ward, the poorest neighborhood of New Orleans. This is where the levee broke, and where thousands of people died during and after Hurricane Katrina.

When I first came here after the storm, houses were on top of houses. Cars were in trees. There was...

Televangelist Pat Robertson's endorsement of Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign is a bizarre moment for both. Giuliani, desperate to prove himself in the primary, has embraced people -- and values -- he despises. Robertson, desperate to stay relevant, has thrown aside the values that he holds most dear.

Hypocrisy can be...