As a runner in NYC, I’m spoiled: the community here is unique and beautiful. Not only do I have tremendous teammates on North Brooklyn Runners, but I’ve met fantastic people in other clubs around the city. Patricia Tirona is one such human. She’s run nine marathons, loves the Spurs and hot wings, and cheers her face off when she’s not actively racing.

One of my favorite books of all time is Love in the Time of Cholera. It was my uncle’s favorite, and my dad gave me an inscribed copy as a gift. Over the years, I’ve left a lot of books behind, and I rarely reread a book, but that novel is a rare gem. So happy to see UT archivists putting in the work to make his writing public. 27,000 pages is no joke!

I love reading about famous peoples’ processes. I look for meaning in their rituals and routines in hopes of finding wisdom that will make me more productive. Joyce Carol Oates an excellent productivity role model: she’s written over 40 novels, as well as a number of plays and novellas, and many volumes of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction.

Empatico is a free tech tool for teachers to match & connect classrooms around the world. Launched by the KIND Foundation, the tool provides opportunities for students from different backgrounds to collaborate on standards-based activities and learn about each other in the process. Empatico targets third and fourth graders because children are very developmentally pliable at that age. By introducing students from different backgrounds during this critical period, Empatico helps them cultivate a stronger sense of empathy and responsibility towards others. Love this intentional use of technology.

In 2016, 7% of the top 250 films of that year were made by women. If we learned anything from 2017, it’s that we can do better. Girls On Tops isn’t waiting for the world to realize the power of women in film; they’re celebrating right now. Their simple yet bold tees shout out prominent women in the industry who deserve more credit.

Love me a good year-end roundup list. I haven’t done nearly as much reading as I would’ve liked to this year, but it’s something to think about as I draft resolutions for next year. Also proud to see a Lady Collective alum on this list: check out Andrea Tsurumi’s debut children’s book, Accident!

On New Year’s Day, I create a new playlist to hold my favorite tunes for the coming year. I try to confine the list to music that’s released within that year, but...