Lessons Learned and Cherished The Teacher Who Changed My Life

A giftable collection of essays from celebrity contributors celebrating the great work of teachers or a teacher they admire, curated by ABC News journalist Deborah Roberts. Contributors include Oprah Winfrey, Jenna Bush Hager, Robin Roberts, Brooke Shields, Octavia Spencer, Rachael Ray, Misty Copeland, and more.

Everyone can name a teacher who had an impact on their life. Educators not only open our minds to new ideas, but they also help us recognize our potential and our passions. However, rarely do they get credit for the life-changing work they do, and often teachers have no idea how their work can influence a student all the way into adulthood. 

In Lessons Learned and Cherished: The Teacher Who Changed My Life, award-winning ABC News journalist Deborah Roberts curates a collection of essays and musings from celebrity friends and colleagues alike that share how teachers changed them, imparted life lessons, and helped them get to where they are today.

The author has made a donation to DonorsChoose (DonorsChoose.org), a non-profit that encourages people to empower public school teachers by funding their classroom resources.

Deborah Roberts is an award-winning ABC News senior national affairs correspondent for 20/20, Nightline, Good Morning America, and World News Tonight with David Muir. A media veteran, Roberts is a highly respected journalist who has traveled the world for her reporting. She has also served as a substitute anchor for Good Morning America, World News Weekend, and 20/20, as well as a guest co-host on The View.

 
Roberts has been awarded multiple Emmy Awards for her international and national coverage of world events, including her poignant reporting on an Ethiopian American woman’s emotional journey back to her African village to discover her long-lost mother. In 2021, Roberts was awarded a Peabody Award for the 20/20 special “Say Her Name: Breonna Taylor,” which featured her extensive reporting on Taylor’s tragic case. 

 
Roberts’ long-form reports on 20/20 have consistently produced extraordinary narratives, such as an intimate profile of former first lady Michelle Obama and former first daughter Ivanka Trump. She was also part of the historic coverage of the inauguration of former President Barack Obama. 

 
Roberts is the author of Been There, Done That: Family Wisdom for Modern Times, a book written with her husband, Al Roker. She currently resides in New York City with her husband and two children.