Starting and running the Santa Clarita Valley Film Festival for seven years was something I truly enjoyed. I loved the way it evolved and grew and the people I met through the annual event at the Repertory East Playhouse in Old Town Newhall. I particularly loved the way the festival integrated projects...

The supposed “big day” has come and gone, as it is now Feb. 15. I’ve enjoyed seeing  many different online shares of Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) and initiatives to promote some extra love this month: RAK Week, 28 Days of Kindness, Operation Nice February, 100 Acts of Kindness and many more. Even...

I’ve followed the Woody Allen story and the resurfacing accusations of Dylan Farrow carefully. I completely accept that no one except a select few – or just two, Dylan and Woody – will ever know what actually transpired. However, the truth I do know is that regardless of whether Dylan was...

Reading the news of the recent explosions in Cairo launched me back in time. Almost exactly 14 years ago, I flew into New York to complete my schooling after having spent six months living and studying in Cairo, Egypt – an Egypt so different from the Egypt that exists now. Despite its current turmoil,...

“I have decided to go with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.” – Martin Luther King Jr. King’s birthday was Jan. 15, and this coming Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. While King’s “I Have A Dream” speech is most often recited and shared around this time of year, the quote...

Just over seven years ago, I trained for a 30-mile trail run. It was one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done. I injured myself the final week before the big run and was unable to run the full course on race day, but still I gained so much from the experience. My run was a Run for Peace, in...

With a New Year upon us, I’ve decided to look back and select 13 things I am grateful for from 2013. I hope it will encourage others to ring in a new year with a focus on gratitude as well as the typical hopeful wishes that always seem abundant in a new year. 1. Family – I am particularly grateful...

Tonight I’m thinking of my first Christmas with my partner of 14 years ago. We met when we were both studying abroad in Cairo, Egypt, of all places, although he grew up in Boston and was in school at UMass-Amherst, and I grew up in Texas and was in school in New York. Neither of us had particular ties...

This year, to count down to Christmas – and to seeing Grandma and other extended family members – I put together a Kindness Countdown to Christmas, making a simple “tree” from cupcake liners and a large produce bag I happened to have in the house. Inside the bag are “cards” made from...

With the recent passing of Nelson Mandela, I find myself thinking of the power of one – the amazing difference one person’s life can make, of the way one person’s commitment to justice and his life example can make everyone around him better. A friend shared a touching story about being in...