I am so deeply saddened by the death of my friend Deborah Howell. Over the past few days, I've reflected on many wonderful memories of our friendship and on her leadership role in the field of journalism. I first met Deborah through her marriage to Nick Coleman, a longtime friend, my state senator and a mentor as I built my own communications firm. Deborah understood the line between friendship and journalism and never crossed it. What I experienced was a person who could be a friend and engage in deeply personal conversations without concern that nuggets of the conversation were "scoops" for stories. In any life, there are opportunities for this line to be crossed, yet Deborah always understood that the personal was separate from the professional. Our friendship was always a "safe" personal place. That's not to say that she didn't advise me about my own relationship with the press -- she did, and I treasured her advice. I also remember the many stories about journalists she has mentored over the years. She was an inspiration and enormously supportive. My husband and I shared dinner with Deborah and her husband just before they left for New Zealand. She was relaxed, pleased with the state of a couple of projects she was working on for a client and excited to be finally going to New Zealand -- a place she'd wanted to visit for years. And she was proud that they'd finally scheduled a three-week vacation -- her first ever! MARLENE JOHNSON, WASHINGTON; FORMER MINNESOTA LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/CEO, NAFSA: ASSOCIATION OF INTERNATIONAL EDUCATORS