In the past year, while private insurance has become less available and more expensive and families faced the most difficult economic times since the Great Depression, the renewed CHIP program and Medicaid have offered a vital lifeline to America's children. Thanks to the strong resolve of national and state leaders, many of our children have been sheltered from this economic storm.

A great deal of our popular discourse on “successful women’’ is centered around the alleged question of “work-life balance.’’ Can a professional woman, at the top of her career, really, ever, "have it all?’’ For many, the words “Rhodes Scholar” represent Success with a capital ‘’S.’’ As a woman –...

As we approach the one-year anniversary of President Obama signing the Children’s Health Insurance Program reauthorization, think of all those babies born in the last year who were given a better chance at living a healthy life due to this important legislation. I applaud Governor Culver and other state lawmakers who had the courage and leadership to use CHIP and Medicaid funding to increase their investments in families struggling to weather the current economic storm.

It's virtually impossible to stay on top of current events and not see how toxic chemicals are impacting the health of our environment and our bodies. For me, it’s all overwhelming and difficult to digest at times. And I can’t stop thinking about how the toxic chemicals that are hidden in the...