**This interview was conducted by The City Insight and was originally featured in the "Phenomenal Women Issue" of The City Insight's print magazine: SPECIAL EXTENDED ISSUE JUNE/JULY/AUGUST 2011 - All rights reserved

Renaissance and phenomenal, Maya Angelou represents numerous talents to many people: a poet, memoirist, educator, director, actress, historian, singer, dancer, television producer, playwright, filmmaker, civil rights activist, mother, friend, but most of all, an inspiration.

The Umstead Hotel and Spa is pleased to announce it has been named the No. 10 best large-city hotel in the U.S. and Canada in Travel + Leisure’s 16^th annual World’s Best Awards 2011, as voted by readers. The only North Carolina property on the top 50 list, The Umstead elevated 24 spots from its 2010 position, solidifying itself as a luxury destination not only in the Southeast, but across the country.

“They tried to make me go to rehab and I said no, no, no” sang Amy Winehouse in her 2007 award-winning song aptly titled Rehab. Amy was in good company with her alcohol and drug addiction. Michael Jackson’s drug addiction had a professional spin to it:  he had a live-in physician feeding him high doses of drugs intravenously. Elvis Presley was dogged by drug and alcohol addiction that dramatically changed his physical appearance from one decade to the next.

Imagine being unable to pay your mortgage for a few months due to unemployment, a prolonged illness, a divorce or change in relationship. The bank notifies you about being overdue, there are threats of legal action, and no good options appear on the horizon. Or, what if you need to sell your house but, because of market changes, you owe more than the house is worth and you cannot make up the difference.  Are you stuck? Many in the Triangle have faced these very troubling issues recently.

When most of us wake up in the morning, we climb out of bed, hop into the shower and make a cup of coffee. Even on a busy day, most of us take the time to make a quick breakfast as well.

But for a homeless child or family, the day could begin in a shelter, under a bridge or in a car. Many of these people remember days when they had a roof over their head, but due to an eviction or job loss, they are now finding themselves in a situation where they have to live day by day in difficult circumstances.

Homelessness in the Triangle

Higher education leaders recognize the need for institutions to adopt strategies that are more often associated with business than academia. In many ways, higher education has become an extremely competitive industry.Universities are being challenged to compete to recruit and retain students, faculty and staff. Rising education costs are making students more critical of where they will spend their education dollars – and schools are rising to the occasion with aggressive campaigns to win prospective students.