This is National Nurses Week. To discuss the important role nurses are playing as they care for COVID-19 patients on the frontline, we FEATURE Felicia Elizabeth Stokes. Stokes is the Director of the American Nurses Association Center for Ethics and Human Rights. She completed her BSN at the University of Virginia and worked for several years as a critical care nurse. Stokes received her Juris Doctor (law) from the University of Richmond and worked as a consultant for the D.C. Board of Nursing interpreting and conferring professional ethics provisions in nursing. Media includes: Bloomberg, Huffington Post, Medical Ethics Advisor, CNN.

With borders closed, migration has slowed or come to a halt. Migrant workers have been forced to move back to their home countries after losing jobs and being denied access to social safety nets. To discuss, we FEATURE Cristina Tzintzún. Tzintzún is the Executive Director of Workers Defense Project (WDP), a statewide, membership-based workers’ rights organization that is winning better working conditions for Texans. WDP has been called one of the nation’s most creative organizations for immigrant workers by The New York Times. She has expertise on many issues including immigration, workers rights/organizing in the new economy (including worker centers), the political climate of the South, migrant workers’ rights, and Texas politics. Media includes: The New York Times, Southern Living Magazine, USA Today, NPR.

Thousands of cruise and freight ship workers are stuck at sea over virus concerns. To discuss, we FEATURE Carol L. Finklehoffe. Finklehoffe has been practicing law since 1994. She is an “AV” rated attorney with an expertise in cases involving cruise ship passengers and maritime crew members on various types of commercial and private vessels. She has handled numerous high profile cases including missing passengers and victims of sexual assault. Finklehoffe is an Admiralty & Maritime Law Certified Specialist (CA). Media includes: Bloomberg, Businessweek, CBS.

With stay-at-home orders still in place in many cities, many people are feeling are anxious and concerned. To discuss how to deal with the stress, we FEATURE Tonya Cross Hansel, PhD. Dr. Hansel is a social worker with expertise in research, statistics, disaster mental health, trauma, and maximizing outcomes for social service agencies. She holds an adjunct appointment with the Tulane University School of Social Work, where she teaches a series of master-level research courses and applied social statistics for the doctorate program. Together these experiences have allowed Dr. Hansel to focus on measuring traumatic experiences and implementing systematic recovery initiatives that are effective at reducing negative symptoms, but also at emphasizing the importance of individual and community strengths that contribute to recovery. Media includes: Forbes, Traumatology.

Virtual school is particularly difficult for students who are due to graduate high school this year. Many graduation ceremonies have been cancelled or made virtual, the job market has collapsed, and college classes may start from home. To discuss, we FEATURE Michelle McAnaney. McAnaney is the founder of The College Spy, a full service independent educational consulting firm that assists students and families across the US and internationally with the college selection and application process. Prior to founding The College Spy, Michelle was a guidance counselor and educator for more than 15 years, including serving as the Director of Guidance at two high schools, an adjunct college professor and a GED tutor. Media includes: HerCampus, College Covered, Link For Counselors.

On Sunday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reiterated President Trump's accusations that China created the coronavirus in a lab— a claim disputed by the scientific and intelligence communities. To discuss, we FEATURE Oriana Skylar Mastro, PhD. Mastro is an assistant professor of security studies at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University where her research addresses critical questions at the intersection of interstate conflict (in particular military strategy and operations), great power relations, and the challenges of rising powers – with a focus on China and East Asian security. This year, she is a Jeanne Kirkpatrick Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) where she is working on a book about China's approach to global leadership. Media includes: Voice of America, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, BBC, Fox.

While many nations pledged to donate $8 billion towards a vaccine for COVID-19, the U.S. decided not to participate. To discuss, we FEATURE Claudia Dreifus. Dreifus writes about the lives of American and international scientists in her popular interview column in the Science Times section of The New York Times, "A Conversation with..." When the scientific honor society Sigma Xi made her an honorary member, they described her as "a pioneering and original force in making science accessible." Dreifus' interviews with leading figures in world politics, particularly with emerging women leaders, have appeared in The New York Times Sunday Magazine, Ms., The Nation, Playboy, The Progressive, Mother Jones, Premiere, Town and Country, TV Guide, Modern Maturity, Mirabella and AARP's The Magazine.

Around the world, countries are starting to open with varying levels of caution. To discuss, we FEATURE Sarah Anderson. Anderson is the Director of the Global Economy Program at the Institute for Policy Studies, a multi-issue research and education center founded in Washington, DC, in 1963. She is a co-author of the books Field Guide to the Global Economy (New Press, 2005) and Alternatives to Economic Globalization (Berrett-Koehler, 2004) as well as dozens of studies and articles on the impact of trade and investment liberalization on communities, workers, the poor, and the environment. Media includes: The New York Times, CNBC, MSNBC, and CBS News, NPR.

Tara Reade alleges that Joe Biden sexually assaulted her when she was working for him as a Senate aide. To discuss, we FEATURE Justine Andronici. Andronici is a feminist lawyer and victim’s rights and women’s rights advocate. Her work focuses on gender based violence, discrimination, and progressive politics. Justine has represented thousands of survivors of violence and abuse in her 18 year legal career, including several high profile survivors of Jerry Sandusky’s child sexual abuse. Now, in addition to representing survivors in very select civil cases, Justine works as a trainer and strategic consultant for non-profit women’s rights and victim’s advocacy organizations. Media includes: CNN’s Anderson Cooper, CNN Headline news, MSNBC News.

Vespa mandarinia, known as the "murder hornet," has entered the U.S., threatening America's honeybee population. To discuss, we FEATURE Nicole Miller Struttmann. Miller Struttmann is an assistant professor of biological sciences at Webster University in St. Louis. She is an ecologist and educator dedicated to engaging the public in science. Her research centers on the ecology and evolution of plant-pollinator interactions. Recent projects include bumble bee trait evolution in response to long-term climate change; development of non-invasive survey techniques for pollinators; and pollination and habitat specialization in rare and common plant species. Media includes: The Atlantic, Nature, The Washington Post, BBC Radio.

Sunday is Mother's Day! To discuss, we FEATURE Trina Greene Brown. Recognized as a Black Feminist Rising in 2017 by Black Women’s Blueprint, Brown is a leader on the rise and she’s taking Black parents and children along with her to higher heights. Bridging her 15 years of professional experience as a youth organizer in ending violence with her personal role as a parent of two Black children, Brown is a proud Black-feminist Mama-activist. In 2016, she founded Parenting for Liberation a platform for Black parents, which engages in a multi-media strategy, currently consisting of a blog, iTunes podcast, a self-published workbook, and in- person trainings and conferences. She has contributed to On Parenting for the Washington Post, and in 2019, her writing was featured in two anthologies centered on intersections of motherhood and activism. Media includes: The Washington Post, On-Air with Ryan Seacrest, Peace Over Violence.

May is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. To commemorate, we FEATURE Helen Zia. Zia is the author of Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People (2000) which was quoted by President Clinton in the Rose Garden on two separate occasions; and is co-author, with Wen Ho Lee, of My Country Versus Me (2002), the story of the Los Alamos scientist who was falsely accused in unsubstantiated front page stories of being a spy for China in the "worst case since the Rosenbergs." Zia testified before the US Commission on Civil Rights 1997 about inaccurate and biased news coverage of Asian Americans during the spotlight on campaign finance. She traveled to Beijing in 1995 to cover the UN Fourth World Congress on Women as part of a UNITY journalists of color delegation. Her work on the Asian American landmark civil rights case of anti-Asian violence is documented in the Academy Award nominated film, "Who Killed Vincent Chin?" Media includes: Ms., New York Times, Washington Post, The Nation, Essence, The Advocate, OUT.

Ida B. Wells has been honored with a Pulitzer Prize special citation. To discuss, we FEATURE Laura Washington. Washington is a Chicago Sun-Times columnist and political analyst for ABC 7, Chicago’s ABC-owned station. Washington brings more than two award-winning decades of experience as a non-profit professional and multi-media journalist. She specializes in African-American affairs, local and national politics, race and racism, and social justice. From 2003 to 2009 she served as the Ida B. Wells-Barnett University Professor at DePaul University and fellow at the DePaul Humanities Center. Media includes: Time Magazine, the Associated Press, New York Times, NBC Nightly News, MSNBC, PBS, BBC.