It's always a plus. People look to them as role models.

It's really brought to the foreground this culture issue of what women face . . . in academic institutions and the world at large. It's a monster thing to turn around.

It is a male culture and they don't think of nominating a woman.

The other thing is you need a good solid work force and 50 percent of us is female, so just play the numbers.

I could sell just about anything. At the same time in the theater, it was challenging to get people to realize I could be somebody other than that Midwestern young woman.

At the level at which I work with people, their great talent is paired with great insecurity. Self-doubt is literally the twin of self-confidence. And I have to be there for both.