An increase in world hunger looms as the Russian invasion of Ukraine—often described as the “breadbasket of the world”—threatens food supply to people in Europe, Africa and Asia. To discuss, we FEATURE Karen A. Tramontano. Tramontano is Founder and President of the Global Fairness Initiative, a nonprofit organization working to promote a more equitable and sustainable approach to globalization. From 1997 to 2001, she served as Deputy Chief of Staff to President Clinton and as counselor to Chiefs of Staff, Erskine Bowles and John Podesta. Tramontano's White House portfolio encompassed a wide range of issues, including international trade, transatlantic relations, and economic and financial issues involving the U.S. Treasury and Department of Commerce. She played a major role in shaping policy concerning the World Trade Organization and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, while handling public policy issues involving the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Extensive media experience.

Propaganda and disinformation have become more widespread as coverage of the Russia-Ukraine conflict has dominated traditional and social media. To discuss, we FEATURE Shanthi Kalathil. Most recently, Kalathil served as the National Security Council coordinator for democracy and human rights in the Biden White House. Previously, she was Director of the International Forum for Democratic Studies at the National Endowment for Democracy. Her work focuses on the implications to international security of growing authoritarian influence and disinformation and the role of media, communication and technology. Kalathil has authored and edited numerous publications, including Diplomacy, Development and Security in the Information Age (Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, 2013), Developing Independent Media as an Institution of Accountable Governance (The World Bank, 2008), and (with Taylor C. Boas) Open Networks, Closed Regimes: The Impact of the Internet on Authoritarian Rule (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2003). Media includes: Foreign Policy, The Journal of Democracy, The Wall Street Journal Asia, Voice of America, NPR, BBC.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. If she is confirmed, she will become the first Black woman to serve on the United States Supreme Court. To discuss, we FEATURE Debbie Hines. Hines is a Washington, DC-based trial attorney, legal analyst, former Baltimore prosecutor and member of the Supreme Court bar. She frequently appears on local, national and international news programs as a legal/political analyst addressing high profile legal cases, criminal justice, criminal laws, political issues and social justice issues on MSNBC, CNN, Fox News and Fox Business, Al Jazeera and Fox 5 News (“WTTG”) among others. Hines’ opinion works appear in The Washington Post, Baltimore Sun, The Hill, The Huffington Post.

In 2017, Swedish writer and actor Cissi Wallin named Fredrik Virtanen, a prominent figure in Swedish media, as the man who drugged and raped her. Virtanen was never charged and instead Wallin was convicted of defamation. Since the Me Too movement began in Sweden, other women have faced the same fate as Wallin. To discuss, we FEATURE Tara Demant. Demant is the Interim National Director of Programs, Advocacy, and Government Affairs at Amnesty International. She brings over twenty years of experience in global gender issues and has advocated for human rights at the United Nations, the White House, State Department, Department of Defense, USAID, Capitol Hill, and with many foreign governments. She also heads the organization’s work on women’s rights, LGBTI rights, the Indigenous peoples rights, and sexual and reproductive rights. Her analysis has been featured by The New York Times, CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera, Time, USA Today, PRI, The Nation, and other media.

The United States has formally accused Myanmar of committing genocide against the country's Rohingya minority. To discuss, we FEATURE Akila Radhakrishnan. Radhakrishnan is the President of the Global Justice Center. She directs GJC’s strategies and efforts to establish legal precedents protecting human rights and ensuring gender equality. In 2010, she helped to conceptualize GJC’s August 12th Campaign to ensure access to abortion services for girls and women raped in war as a matter of right and has since led legal and advocacy efforts on the project. Radhakrishnan also leads GJC’s Gender and Genocide project, including to ensure justice and accountability for the Yazidi genocide and is a key member of GJC’s Burma project team. In her role, she has authored numerous shadow reports, legal briefs and advocacy documents and provided legal expertise to domestic and international stakeholders and policymakers, including the International Criminal Court, the United Nations, the European Union and state governments. Media includes: The New York Times, Time, The Atlantic, Women Under Siege, Ms. Magazine, Rewire.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has said that the central bank will speed up interest-rate hikes to bring down rising inflation. To discuss, we FEATURE Mary Ellen Iskenderian. Iskenderian is President and CEO of Women’s World Banking, the global nonprofit devoted to giving more low-income women access to the financial tools and resources they require to achieve security and prosperity. She leads the Women’s World Banking global team, based in New York, in providing innovative product development, leadership training and strategic support to a network of financial institutions focused on the needs of women. Iskenderian joined Women’s World Banking in 2006 and has continued to strengthen the organization’s position as the authoritative resource for the knowledge, innovation and tools needed for the expansion of women’s financial access around the world. Media includes: The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Reuters, Newsweek, BBC.

March Madness has begun, reopening conversations about the NCAA's gender inequality. A report from last year revealed that the college athlete organization strongly prioritized and spent more money on men's basketball as opposed to women's basketball. To discuss, we FEATURE Stephanie Vardavas. Vardavas has enjoyed a varied career spanning more than 35 years in the sports business, and is one of a very small number of attorneys who have represented a major sports league, athletes and an athlete representation agency, major sports events, and a major sponsor. She is a frequent guest speaker and panelist on sports law and business issues and regularly acts as an instructor for continuing legal education programs in related subject areas. Extensive media experience.

Today marks the anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, which was first enacted on March 23, 2010. To discuss, we FEATURE Laura Packard. Packard founded a non-profit, Health Care Voices, to organize adults with serious medical conditions for affordable comprehensive health care. She is also Executive Director of Health Care Voter, a national campaign to hold elected officials accountable for their votes on health care, and support those who fight to protect our care. Packard hosts CareTalk, a weekly consumer call-in show on act.tv, tackling health care and health insurance questions and topics. Media includes: USA Today, US News & World Report, The New York Times, The Washington Post, MSNBC.

March is Women's History Month. To commemorate, we FEATURE Carmen Perez. Perez is something of a Renaissance woman in modern-day activism. She has dedicated 20 years to advocating for many of today's important civil rights issues, including mass incarceration, gender equity, violence prevention, racial healing and community policing. As the President and CEO of The Gathering for Justice, a nonprofit founded by legendary artist and activist Harry Belafonte, Carmen has crossed the globe promoting peace through civil and human rights, building alternatives to incarceration and violence, and providing commentary and guidance for state and federal policy creation. Media includes: The New York Times, The Washington Post, Slate Magazine, Reuters, Refinery29, Glamour, Teen Vogue.