Opportunity and Hope

Naomi Schaefer Riley is a regular columnist for the New York Post. She also edits the Wall Street Journal's weekly Houses of Worship column. Ms. Riley was, until recently, the deputy Taste editor of the Journal, where she covered religion, higher education and philanthropy for the editorial page. Her writing has also been published in the Boston Globe, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the Washington Post, among other publications. She is a regular guest on Fox Business's Varney & Co. Ms. Riley is the author of The Faculty Lounges... And Other Reasons You Won't Get the College Education You Paid For (Ivan Dee, 2011) and God on the Quad: How Religious Colleges and the Missionary Generation Are Changing America. Her book on interfaith marriage in America is titled: "'Til Faith Do Us Part." She has ghostwritten two books, Startup Weekend: How to Take a Company From Concept to Creation in 54 Hours and Living the Call: An Introduction to the Lay Vocation.

In Opportunity and Hope, prominent journalist Naomi Schaefer Riley chronicles the lives of 10 representative stories of how Children's Scholarship Fund alumni who--because of the educational opportunities afforded them--were able to turn less than perfect childhood circumstances into successful lives and careers. The stories of these children, now grown, and their families are nothing less than inspirational. They are proof that all any of America's children need to achieve their dreams is a chance, and someone to believe in them. They are also a testament to the power of private schools, including many inner-city faith-based schools, and they are proof that given the chance for the right kind of education, anyone can achieve the American dream no matter what or where they come from.