22 pieces
J. Luce Leadership Team Lauded by Forbes, Gates, Ford Foundation
New York, N.Y. The J. Luce Foundation and Orphans International leadership team, comprised of Young Global Leaders, Fellows, Scholars, Honorees, and Artists-in-Residence,…
Addressing Phi Theta Kappa on Social Responsibility
Hartford, CT. I was recently asked to give the keynote address of the New England Regional Convention of the international honor society Phi Theta Kappa. Founded in 1918,…
AFS: World Peace Begins with High School Exchanges
New York, N.Y. In World War I, there was a group of over 2,500 American men who did not join the U.S. Army. U.S. volunteers who came to France in WWI did so starting with…
Embracing Family Care For Orphans
New York, N.Y. Ten years ago I envisioned helping orphans in the developing world by building small homes and hiring houseparents. It seemed obvious that the key to prope…
Mark Zuckerberg Pledges $3 Billion of His Shares to End Disease
New York, N.Y. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg wants to wipe out disease by the end of the century. Mark Zuckerberg at the Facebook Developer Garage Paris, 2008. Photo:…
New York Times Essay: First One Orphan, Then Many More
New York, N.Y. The United States has plenty of affluent do-gooders who are taken with the idea that with their experience and creativity they could harness expertise and…
Angelique Kidjo, Peter Buffett Release Song to Support African Girls
New York, N.Y. I have been trying to interview Emmy Award-winning composer/philanthropist Peter Buffett for two years. I wrote about Grammy Award-winning UNICEF Goodwill…
He's Back! NBC's Brian Williams - Changing World for Better (2009)
Originally published in The Huffington Post , November 13, 2009. New York, N.Y. Several weeks ago Brian Williams profiled the children of the Afghan Child Education and C…
Zuckerberg Makes $45 Billion Charity Pledge to Baby Daughter
Washington, D.C. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan introduced their new baby daughter to the world Tuesday along with a $45 billion initiative to i…
Devi's Closet Offers Indian Couture in NYC: For Rent
New York, N.Y. New York fashionista Meera Patel's interest in Indian fashion designers piqued when she was planning her own wedding a few years ago - now, her passion has…
Allure of the Hive: Connectivity, Social Networking & Change
New York, N.Y. A distinguished panel of experts gathered Saturday at the Philoctetes Center for the Multidisciplinary Study of Imagination for a standing room-only roundt…
Asia Society's President on Global Citizens Like Barack Obama
New York, N.Y. “As Americans, we have the unfortunate idea that we should and need to learn more about the world, but it’s not a priority. “We get to it when we can, whic…
Brooklyn Steppers March Forward, Giving to Community, Gaining in Process
Brooklyn, N.Y. In high school I had been manager of our marching band in Ohio. It was a grueling task, but rewarding to see my friends play and march so well. The program…
Connectivity Is Key To Social Change
New York, NY. Approaching my 24th trip to Haiti in 12 years, just before the first anniversary of the earthquake, I have decided to call Haiti home for a while. I am able…
Evil in America? U.S. Fundamentalist Group to Burn Koran on 9/11
New York, N.Y. One need not journey to the mountains of Afghanistan or Pakistan to discover evil. We have our own home-grown variety of dangerous extremism here in Florid…
Fifty Lessons Learned from a Decade of Service in International Development
New York, N.Y. I recently had the honor of addressing the Fellows of the New York City New Leaders Council (NLC) as part of their 2010 Institute. Other presenters include…
Fifty Lessons Learned from Decade in International Development
New York, N.Y. The purpose of the symposium was to train and support the next generation of progressive political entrepreneurs. Mark Green 's former campaign staffer Kei…
Helping Women: Eliminating Obstetric Fistula in Developing World
New York, N.Y. Ana Langer, M.D., spoke recently at a Smith Barney seminar on health in the developing world. She was talking about the problem of obstetric fistula, of wh…
Who Was Chea Vichea and Why Does He Matter?
New York, N.Y. In my own special screening, director Bradley Cox recently showed me his 55-minute film Who Killed Chea Vichea? in his office in Manhattan. Bradley is now…
Hip Campaign from World's Oldest Humanitarian Program
Geneva, Switzerland. The International Red Cross and Red Crescent can be best understood as a collection of pieces building a whole. In my first piece, I told the story o…
Micah Kellner: Harvey Milk Lives - in Albany
"I receive $400 a month from my pension, but have lost my public housing since I retired. I must now pay $1,300 each month for my apartment. I also need to pay for health…
Giving Newly-Arrived Home Attendants Nursing Education
New York, N.Y. There exists a large population of bright home attendants in New York City from around the world, often burdened with family obligations coupled with low i…