ROI is full of talented entrepreneurs and professionals, and we want to help each of them tap into the incredible power the collective has to offer and to contribute what they can.

It is striking to see the magnitude of impact mentorship and tutoring can have on student performance and young lives.

We will continue to make ROI as supportive, diverse and beneficial as possible and to meet the evolving needs of the members and communities we serve.

I am proud to state that every national Jewish organization we support enforces non-discrimination practices around sexual orientation and that more than 70 percent have written policies in place covering gender identity and expression.

My father said that I could always become an actress, but I couldn't go back to college later in life. So I had to first finish my education, and then I could do what I wanted. At the time, I was not pleased, but now, I can't thank him enough. My parents were absolutely right.

When Dad stopped playing in a rock band and was done chasing that dream, he devoted himself to his family. I would love to do the same thing - just without driving a 1991 Suburban and wearing sweatpants, a fanny pack, and six-year-old Pumas.

But for the children of the poorest people we're stripping the curriculum, removing the arts and music, and drilling the children into useful labor. We're not valuing a child for the time in which she actually is a child.

One of the themes in my novels is that our crises can turn into blessings. We can feel like our world has crumbled, but ten years down the road when we look back on that time, we can see God's hand at work. I love writing that theme into my books.