Twenty-five years later, I remember watching the attacks from my home in New York—and the grieving families I met when I volunteered in the days that followed.

Twenty-five years later, I still think about the conference I was supposed to attend at the World Trade Center—and the postcard that changed where I went that morning.

Twenty-five years later, I remember learning about the attacks from Seattle—and realizing how differently they felt when New York was still home.

My mom's union activism inspired a lifetime of supporting organized labor through stops at the Washington State Legislature; SEIU 775, United Way of Snohomish County and United Way Worldwide.

I've been talking to my Mom lately about the early years including their time in India together and what their experiences were like when they came to the U.S.