For the past two days, I have been at the Aspen Forum on Children and Families, hosted by Ascend at the Aspen Institute. Along with over 200 leaders from nonprofits, academia, government, and foundations, we learned and shared about the most pressing challenges facing our nation’s children and families. We heard about social determinants of […]

I have been watching with considerable interest the news about Governor Ralph Northam’s troubling history and current responses on race. I lived in Virginia from the ages of 10-31. Virginia is where I was educated, from elementary to high school, college, graduate school, and law school. I have worked in Virginia and lived for considerable […]

The recent federal government shutdown was the lead media story throughout late December and January. Whether the focus was on the underlying policy differences, the partisanship of Congress and the administration, or the negative consequences of the absence of federal workers and the services they provide, it was clear that all Americans were affected by […]

During his tenure at Goucher College, President Jose Antonio Bowen has introduced a new meaning to “the three R’s.” Rather than the old school – reading, (w)riting, and (a)rithmetic, Goucher promotes learning based on relationships, resilience, and reflection. President Bowen will have more to say on this in the book he is writing, but essentially, […]

Each year, Merriam-Webster chooses a “word of the year.” The decision is based on a sampling of “lookups” on the company’s website which are driven by usage in media and public discourse over the previous 12 months. For 2018, the “word of the year” was “justice.” A number of events spurred public interest in justice, […]